The leader of Section 5 continued to worsen in his condition, and his section kept having mess with Section 2. Laila became closer and closer to Kira, Rogue, and Maximon as each meal went by.
With the other creatures in her section, not so much. Many of them had made friends in Section 2, but large swaths of them did not want to change. Kira supposed it was because they already had it good for themselves.
Still, even the ones who were making new friends stayed mostly the same. They believed that killing was the only way to survive, and it didn’t look like they would turn away from that belief any time soon, despite how hard Section 2 tried.
Kira was now at ten fights, each one “failing” miserably. She knew the other Sections were whispering about her—some bad, some good. Some said she was going to kill them all with her antics; that eventually the Grandmaster would have enough and kill everyone who disobeyed. Kira had yet to meet this “Grandmaster”, however, so she was skeptical.
Others said she was changing things for the better. It saddened Kira when she learned that some of the prisoners had been here for eclipses. She had only been here for half an eclipse.
The realization made her heart crack. Six and a half moon cycles since she and Deya had been separated. Six and a half moon cycles since her village was massacred and she was given a mission.
A mission she was failing to complete.
Kira gazed at the half-moon in the sky, barely visible through the hole at the top of the arena. The stands seemed to reach all the way up, covering any sight of the stars.
I’m sorry, Deya. I’m trying. I’ll find you; I promise.
And then she would have to find a way to defeat the Black Dragon.
The task seemed impossible. Her, a 12-eclipse-old fox kit challenging one of the most powerful Dragons in Cyalia?
She remembered Tempest, and thought about how she had challenged him straight up without any fear. That felt like eclipses ago—when she was so brash and uncaring.
Now, she would do things differently. She would get to know Deya better instead of shunning her for being a Dragon. She would accept the Ice Dragon’s help, and be more patient with Queen Eclipse. She wouldn’t have pushed away Cyfrincato’s offer.
Kira felt in charge of the animals in Section 2, and of the creatures she saved. She needed to be responsible; to think before she acted and listen before she spoke. She still had a fierce side, but now she knew there were more important things than herself and how much respect she got.
How could she have failed that badly? There were so many things she had done wrong in her journey across Cyalia.
Nothing she could do to change that now. She was trapped, imprisoned in this arena where creatures were forced to kill each other. At least she could change that, even if she couldn’t escape.
She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, with the moon watching from above.
Another day, another fight. Kira was chosen once again to battle in the arena, in the blazing sunlight and noisy space.
When Kira entered, she looked around for her opponent and saw a horse. She’d never fought one before, and her tail twitched nervously at the thought of those sharp hooves slicing her skin.
“An on the floor here, we have Kira of the foxes, who has fought ten fights,” the alligator started, “Tuwile of the Horses, who is on her twenty-first fight, and Liraz of the Bats, who is on his first fight.”
The crowd laughed, and Kira whipped around, trying to see the third contestant. She’d heard of bats, but only on the other continent. Weren’t they supposed to be like fluffy birds?
Suddenly, movement caught her eye near the ground. She turned her head and thought she saw something small and black fluttering near her. The glimpse of a wing, maybe?
“Three…two…one…fight!” the announcer called gleefully.
The horse immediately charged at Kira, whinnying angrily.
“Wait!” Kira tried, sidestepping the equestrian’s attempt at a fatal blow with her hooves. “We don’t have to fight.”
“Yes, we do!” the mare neighed furiously, stamping her foot on the sand. “You’re ruining everything! We’re all going to die if you continue what you’re doing!”
“No, we’re not!” Kira tried to reassure, backing away slowly. “If we keep fighting, we can stop this madness! We can team up against them. Just join us.”
Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
The mare tossed her head and bellowed, then stampeded towards Kira, baring her large teeth.
“Hey!” a small voice said. A large piece of black fur and leather barreled into the mare’s face, and she skidded to a stop in her tracks, shaking her head to try and get the thing off of her face.
She succeeded. The creature (bat?) was thrown off into the sky about fifty feet, then started falling, struggling to right itself. Kira rushed after it, opening her wings as much as they could with their bindings to catch the wind and run faster. She couldn’t let it die.
Come on! Run faster!
The bat fell to the ground, and Kira leapt and caught it in her paws. It was soft and warm, and its little wings beat against her hold on it helplessly. It made a terrified squeaking noise.
“Please don’t kill me,” the bat said breathlessly. His large, adorable eyes gazed unblinkingly at Kira. In that moment, she felt the urge to smile despite the situation. She wouldn’t let anything happen to this harmless creature.
“I won’t,” Kira vowed.
“Stop your cuddling and come over here so I can get rid of you,” the mare snarled savagely from across the arena. “The others are scared of you and your magic, but I will show them. I will destroy you, and then they will see how great I am.”
“FIGHT! FIGHT! BOOO!!! NO MORE HUGGING!” the crowd roared in agreement.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” Kira warned. “Step down and I might spare your injuries.”
The mare bolted towards her, head down, intent on the death of her opponent. Kira stood her ground, hugging Liraz to her chest with a fierce expression. His tiny heart beat faster than a fly’s wings.
Three seconds until the horse collided with Kira…two seconds…one second….
A flash of light illuminated the sands, blinding everyone in and out of the arena. The horse was launched across the arena, head over hooves. She landed roughly on her back with a thump and did not get up again.
Kira sprinted to the horse, fearing the worst.
Did I kill her?
I didn’t mean to.
Is she dead?
When the fox reached her, however, her chest was still rising and falling, ever so faintly. Kira stepped back to let the guards haul her off back to the cell, refusing ot make the finishing blow.
The crowd shouted angrily.
“What happened?”
“Is the horse dead?”
“What about the other prisoner?”
Kira hurriedly tucked Liraz under her wing, where he went with a small squeak of protest. She would apologize later, but for now he needed to stay secret.
Kira returned to her cell and opened her wing to let Liraz out. He rolled onto the floor, groaning.
“Are you okay?” Kira asked, concerned. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t want them to take you away.”
“I’m okay!” Liraz gurgled, waving one wing at her dismissively. “Only five bones are broken! I’m so lucky!”
“What?” Kira looked at him to see if he was joking, but it didn’t appear to be so. He was grinning happily with his tiny, pointed teeth, but he seemed unable to get off of the floor. He squirmed around for a moment.
“Thanks for saving me! I was in a bit of a peach over there! I can’t fly very well, you know. They put holes in my wing flaps! Where are we, by the way? I asked the other creatures here, but none of them responded. It was kind of mean! But you’re not mean. You saved me! Your scar is really wicked looking. I wish I had a scar like that. Where’d you get it? Also, that light thingy you did back there! What was that? Who…” he rambled on.
Kira thought hard, trying to ignore the questions for a moment. Maybe she could heal him? She’d never tried to do so, but if her magic was like Deya’s, then there was a possibility she could.
The fox took a deep breath and flexed her paws open and closed. She’d never tried using her magic manually before. What if it only came when she was feeling strong emotions or something like that?
“Ooh, what are you doing?” Liraz asked, seeing her getting ready.
“I’m going to heal you,” Kira responded, closing her eyes and trying to concentrate.
“Really?” Liraz questioned eagerly. “You don’t have to do that, you know. I’m fine.”
“I’m going to do it anyways,” Kira said firmly.
“Okay!” Liraz seemed just as eager for healing as he was staying injured. Kira was starting to think that there was a serious issue in this creature’s mind.
Kira took another deep breath, then searched inside herself, not sure what entirely she was looking for. A vault of warmth in her heart? A spark of light in her center?
It appeared more complicated than that. Kira felt her consciousness drift, as if she was going to sleep—but she felt wide awake.
A bright white light in her mind’s vision was approaching her conscious self. It got closer and closer until it overtook her, bathing everything in a pearly rainbow-white glow.
Memories flashed past her. Kira and Ava, playing in the field, laughing together as if they wouldn’t be permanently separated in the future. Kira’s mother, telling her how proud she was to have such a perfect daughter. Kira making friends with her siblings’ companions. Kira getting ready to be chosen for a companion.
What do my memories have to do with finding my magic? Kira thought.
The images continued, despite Kira’s question. More recent ones—Deya performing her light magic, Deya singing, Kira and Rogue joking together. Then there was the memory when Kira and Deya first met. Kira watched Deya’s tears fall on her like a third person. She saw her own transformation, and suddenly she understood how to use her magic. It was part of her; it always had been. All Deya’s tears had done was bring out the best inside of her, though it seemed unreal.
Kira opened her eyes and held one paw over Liraz. It glowed white, with lights and colors flitting and circling around it. Then it entered Liraz. Immediately, the holes in his wings healed. His fur ruffled, and his expression turned dreamy. He stood up straight, using his wing-arms to walk over towards her.
“Thank you,” he said, smiling. “I think I needed that after all maybe.”
Kira laughed, then used her paw to ruffle the fur on his head affectionately.
“Kira?” Rogue’s voice reached her uncertainly from the next cell over. “What’s going on? Who is that?”
“Um…” Kira’s ears twitched. “I have a tiny bit of explaining to do..."