Chapter 10 Hit me with your best shot

Round two of archery had moving targets. I hadn't practiced with moving targets yet and ended up taking fifth place. It wasn't last, but it wasn't good either. Thankfully Athena took first and our other two team mates took second and third. So in all I was the only one beaten by a Celestial member, and to her credit she was a great marksman with moving targets. Clearly their schools best.

After being told to rest up and wait for the hand to hand event, I watched the rest of the events from the bench. Cheering and chanting with the crowd above for my each of my teammates as they showed their skills. Again Alaric and Evander came in close, Alaric taking first again with comments that Evander was a close second.

I could see a bit of annoyance in Evander when they came back to the team. It bothered him, always being put second to Alaric. They were obviously equals in strength and power, but because Alaric's father was such a high status Creation God, according to everyone I've spoken to, he was given a little more credit to his scores. As if the judges actually believed that doing so would catch his fathers attention to them. All but one of them seemed to ogle Alaric anytime he came into view, only the death goddess seemed to be less impressed with who he was. Her frown when he was announced first place told me that perhaps she didn't agree with the decisions being made.

"Don't worry Vand. You could still have a chance to beat me at hand to hand." Alaric told Evander, slapping his shoulder with a laugh. I couldn't tell if he knew that he was only getting first place because of his father or not. His tone so cocky and self assured, but his eyes gave away something else. As if he was just as annoyed with the judges as Evander was, maybe even more so.

Evander smirked, sitting on the bench next to me. "Yeah, unless Little Warrior here gets you first." He threw an arm over my shoulder while Alaric took the spot on my other side, chuckling and shaking his head.

"In her dreams. Short cake has a ways to go before she takes me down."

"We're fighting each other?" I asked, having not been told this before. Sure, we had all spared in our combat class, but this felt different. More intense with weapons added to the fight.

"Not right away, no. We'll start with sixteen matches according to the board up there." Evander explained, pointing to a large screen that had been put up during lunch. It was now lit with a blank bracket that reminded me of the ones kids at my old school use to fill out for the spring college basketball tournament. "They will tally up our scores from the first and second rounds to place us in matches. They do their best to not put team against team in the first round of fights. It can happen, but not often."

As he spoke, I began to see names appearing on the board. Alaric and Evander were each at the top of opposite ends of the board. Alaric paired with some guy named Alan from Celestial and Evander was paired with Markus, the guy who took sixth place in archery. I watched the names of my team and Celestial's continue to pop up on the first line along either end of the brackets until my name appeared. I was placed on the same side as Evander but near the bottom of the board. I had been paired with a guy named Luther from Celestial. Looking across the arena I found a large guy with long black hair smiling back at me. His grin made him look insane, maniacal even, like something from a horror movie. He sized me up. Even with the entire arena between us I could tell he saw me as an easy win.

"Luther is a melee user. Did you pay attention to the swordsman event?" Alaric asked me, leaning close to my ear as he sized up Luther with me. I nodded in response, watching Luther saunter to is own friends, huddled and discussing their pairs together. "Good, then you should have seen that he is weak on his ankles." I turned away from my opponent, meeting Alaric's grinning face. "You did notice didn't you?"

Evander leaned forward with us, nodding his agreement. "You're best weapons against him will be your whip and daggers. Distract him with the daggers, aim for his ankles with the whip." He instructed. I looked over at him, finding a confident grin aimed at me.

"You get him on his ass, and it's your win." Alaric finished, giving me a wink as he leaned back against the wall.

"Make sure to win Little Warrior. Because I'd hate to have to break his legs for hurting you." Evander whispered with a wink and an expression that had me question if he was joking or not. I was leaning closer to not, nodding my head automatically. I turned to look at Alaric, the same vicious smile on his own face.

"Get him good Shortcake. And make sure to put on a good show when summoning your weapons. They give extra points for that in these things."

"What exactly are the rules here?" I finally asked, leaning back with both gods, Evander's arm automatically draping over my shoulders. "We can use our powers right?" I wanted confirmation on what Tamera had told me the other day in class so that I didn't make a mistake. Ignorance tends to not be an excuse and being disqualified for it would be embarrassing.

They nodded, Evander opening his mouth to speak just as Coach Mars stepped in front us and answered for him. "The only rule, Hadria, is no killing. You can use any gift you possess during the matches. The first one on their backs for ten count or knocked both feet out of bounds loses. So keep both feet firmly on the ground and in the boundaries and your ass off the ground." She gave the entire team pointed looks. "Remember all of you, you will be scored win or lose with possibility of further awards based on the score. So do your best."

Noise drew my attention back to the arena, two creation gods beginning to raise two stages from the ground on either ends of the arena. A fertility goddess then, grew soft moss atop the stages, cushioning the dark rock of the stages. Once they were done the bell rang followed by the now familiar animated voice of the announcer.

"Gods and Goddesses! Are you ready for the main events! Hand to hand combat!" The crowd went completely wild. Cheering and stomping their feet, the wall behind me vibrating with the excitement. I looked up at the VIP section seeing Evander's dad and Reina sitting together. Reina smiled down at us while Evander's dad only had eyes of pride for his own son. Despite his questionable beliefs on bloodlines, and his rude manner towards me, it was obvious he had all the love of a father for his son. Their presence making me wish I had parents of my own there to watch me, cheer for me with such pride. I wondered if my parents would turn out to be big shots in the VIP box like them. Or if they would be lesser bloodlines and sit in the seats below with the general admissions. Either way, I would have been happy to have them there to support me. To feel that love and desire to make them proud.

"Welcome to stage one, Miss Athena Marshalls of Deitus Academy and Miss Christy Jacobs of Celestial Academy!" The announcer called out, a wave of cheers filling the air. I joined the cheers for Athena, clapping excitedly as she stepped away from us and went onto the first stage. "And on stage two, welcome Mr Markus Alexander of Celestial Academy and Mr Evander Chevalier of Deitus Academy." The announcer continued, a louder wave of cheers overflowing from the stands.

Evander stood looking down to me with a confident smile. "I'll be back soon Little Warrior. Quicker if you give me a kiss for luck." He leaned down, puckering his lips dramatically.

I rolled my eyes and laughed, shooing him towards the stage. "I think you have plenty of luck on your side sir, don't keep your fans waiting much longer."

He chuckled darkly, stalking away to the stage with a determined look flashing in his eyes. He met up with Athena half way sharing a wordless fist bump before parting ways to their respective stages. I sat with Alaric, wondering who I should watch since they were fighting at the same time when Alaric leaned towards my ear and answered my unspoken question.

"Keep your eyes on Vand, his fight will go fast. Athena's more evenly matched." He said with confidence, his eyes trained on Evander as he met his opponent in the center of the stage. He let out a dark laugh, looking at me for only a moment. "This guy doesn't stand a chance."

A tall god in a referee uniform stepped between them, speaking to the both of them in a low voice that only the two could hear. Evander and Markus shook hands before stepping back a few paces, preparing themselves for their fight to begin. At the sound of the bell Evander's hands flew up, with a boom of thunder that shook the entire arena, his sword appearing in his hand. Materializing so quickly that it looked as if the lightning delivered the weapon to his hand.

'So this is what Alaric meant by putting on a show with our weapons.' I thought, watching Evander evade an arrow, cutting a second in half with his sword before diving at Markus, removing the distance between them in a blink of an eye. Fast as the lighting he had summoned with his sword just a moment before.

My jaw dropped in the same moment that Markus dropped on his back, knocked out cold. I hadn't even see what Evander did. Did he hit him with his sword? Or had he hit him with his fist? As my mind tried to make sense of it all, I realized he had been going easy on me in class when we were paired up in class. Evander didn't even look down at Markus as he turned and moved to stand beside the referee. Ten count up and his victory announced to a chorus of cheers and whistles. I stole another glance at his father and saw him beaming with pure pride.

"I told you it would be fast." Alaric stated, leaning back against the wall lazily, closing his eyes and crossing his arm over his chest.

I narrowed my gaze at him. "Are you taking a nap?"

He hummed in reply, nodding as he explained that Evander's matches would be the only real thrill of the day and he wanted to be well rested for his own fight. Shaking my head and a roll of my eyes, I turned my attention to stage one and watched Athena fighting off her opponent with her bow staff, sweeping their legs after faking a head shot and finally pinning them down for the count. Her match over by the time Evander sat back on the bench beside me, throwing his arm over my shoulder and hugging me to his side.

He whispered in my ear, his breath warm against my lobe and neck. "I definitely would have been done fast had you given me that good luck kiss."

I pushed his face away from me with a scoff, only to have him lick my palm making me gasp and pull my hand back in surprise. Rubbing his saliva off on my pants, I laughed at his cocky smile. "You don't need any more luck. Maybe I should give your next opponent a good luck kiss to help him last a few extra minutes against you." I teased.

His eyes darkened, and I felt Alaric suddenly sit back up from my other side, no longer lazily dozing off. Both gods gave me dark smiles exchanging heated looks before looking back at me. Evander opened his mouth to say something but I quickly got up and hugged Athena as she made it back to the benches. I was happy to see my team mate win, but even more so to have the distraction from the two gods who's power had begun to press into me at the joke of me kissing someone from the other team.

When I sat back down, both gods were leaning against the wall, resting their eyes as the next matches were announced.

There they remained, until the announcer called out my name to stage two, along with Luther Drago of Celestial Academy. Suddenly both wide awake, reminding me of their advice to use two of my weapons and to take him out by his ankles. Promising that they would break his legs if he got me on my back for the even half the ten count.

I stepped to the center stage, facing Luther as the referee reminded us of the rules. Stay in the boundaries, stay off your back, and no killing. Luther smirked down at me. Standing at around six feet, he looked like an angry giant in comparison to me. The ref had us shake hands and wish each other luck before dismissing us to opposite sides of the stage.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you. If you don't take the loss too hard maybe I can take you to dinner after." He said in lieu of wishing me luck, rubbing his thumb over the back of my hand. The caress made my stomach roll, not in the same way that it did when Alex did the same thing. I ripped my hand back with a growl, suddenly I felt desire to beat him to a pulp. If I had my way, his own mother wouldn't recognize her creepy son when I was finished with him. I walked away to my end of the stage.

I had been thinking hard on what to do to be showy with my weapons while watching the other matches, deciding to combine all my gifts together to show the judges and my opponent exactly who I was.

The bell rang and I stomped my foot into the moss, vines of thorns and roses shooting up and wrapping around my arms before withering and dying as I grasped them. In the place of the decayed vines, my whip appeared, as if the vines themselves became my weapon. My dagger appearing in the other hand as more vines grew and died in there. I could hear Tamera and Candy going crazy from the stands, louder than all others as they screamed my name.

I hadn't even paid attention to Luther's show, too proud of my own display, the lack of attention nearly costing me as he launched his large frame at me almost as quick as Evander had moved, but not quite. I barely managed to block his sword with my dagger, flinching under his weight as the loud clang of metal on metal rang between us.

I used my combat training to slip down and between his legs, popping up behind him and whipping his ass hard enough to rip his pants open and send him yelping forward, nearly falling out of bounds before catching his balance and whirling around to advance at me again. I managed to evade his moves, cutting his right arms with my dagger in the process. The cut deep enough to weaken his grip on his sword.

We continued this dance, him diving at me as evaded him, trying several times to wrap my whip around his ankles and pull him down. Each time I would only manage to welt him as he managed to block my true mark. He even managed to scratch me with the tip of his swords a couple times. The marks stinging, leaving small drops of blood along my arms and chest.

Our fight felt like it was going on for a lifetime, becoming all too clear just how evenly matched we actually were, despite our size difference. Finally, I saw my opening. He had gotten slower, his stance weaker with each dive he took towards me. My own stamina barley tapped, glad for all the running Mars had me do during tutoring and class. I was understanding exactly why she herself always ran before and after class.

He lunged for me once more, slightly wobbly on his feet. I took my chance, dodging him and flicking my whip for his left ankle. The whip successfully wrapped around him, a look of horror on his face as he realized what was going to happen next. One solid pull sent him tumbling forward and over the edge. I hadn't realized how close we were to the boundary line, panicking slightly as my feet dragged along the mossy ground while I gripped my whip handle. I dug my feet down, leaning back to hold up his weight and summoning vines to anchor me to the ground so he didn't pull me over with him. Judging by the way he jumped at me with his last attack he must have seeing how close I was to the boundary, hoping to end this match by knocking me off the stage and out of bounds. Instead, he fell over the edge, dangling from my whip by one ankle.

I didn't move until the referee was at my side, telling me I could recall my weapons and holding my arm up as the announcer called out my victory. Deitus academy fans erupted into cheers and whistles, chanting my name in celebration for my first combat win. I smiled big, the smile not leaving my face as I descended the stage and jogged to my waiting team. Evander and Alaric standing at the front of everyone. Evander held out his arms and I couldn't help but pounce into them, squealing as he spun me around before Alaric pulled me from him and into his own congratulatory hug.

"Keep your pants on kids." Coach Mars told us, hiding the grin on her own face. "That was just the first round of fights. But good job. Now, Alaric, you're up."

Just as she said it, the announcer called out Alaric and his opponent to stage one. On stage two the girl who took fourth in Archery was called along with Dante, but all eyes were set to stage one a hush falling over the arena, waiting for Alaric to ascend the stage steps. I was starting to realize just how important Alaric's family must actually be to the Deity world, as even the Celestial side seemed to hold their breath in anticipation.

"Don't blink Shortcake." Alaric whispered, setting me back down before walking away.

He strolled casually to center stage, shaking his opponent's hand with a bored smile, as if this was all just a formality for him. At the sounding of the bell Alaric didn't even summon his weapon. Hands in his pocket, he dodged every attack thrown at him. The bored expression plastered to his face as he moved with such ease and speed, I could hardly register the movements.

"Stop messing around Al!" Evander yelled out to his friend. He shook his head looking down at me with a frown. "He's showing off too much."

I kept my eyes on the stage and caught Alaric grinning our direction before shooting a quick glance up to Reina. In a blink of an eye, he disappeared, reappearing behind Alan with his sword in hand. Before I could comprehend what just happened Alaric simply kicked Alan in the backside and right over the edge of the boundary line. Match over.

The crowd exploded, their sound the loudest they had been all day. Alaric announced as winner, he left the stage with a short wave to the crowd, strolling casually back to our bench and sitting back down next to me.

"Eyes on the stage Shorty," he told me while closing his own eyes, leaning against the wall again. "Your next opponent will be decided there."

I turned back to the second stage and watched as Dante and Caitlin fought. She had a spear in her hand showing that she is at least a duel weapons user. Spinning it expertly as Dante shot arrow after arrow at her, blocking each and every one. Their fight took much longer than Alaric's had, but by the end, Dante had been forced over the edge of the stage as Caitlin shot her spear directly at his feet. Going over the edge had been the only way for him to avoid the weapon.

"You may not be very good with your sword still, but it could be the weapon you need against her." Evander stated, leaning against the wall with his hands behind his head. "That or your whip, got to separate her and that weapon, then force her back and over. With the sword though, you could force her to her back and hold her. I can tell right now that you have more strength than she does." Evander mused, looking to Alaric who nodded, though his eyes were still closed.

The second round of matches began, and just as they advised, I beat Caitlin by pinning her to the ground, though I didn't use my sword. I kept to my whip and dagger. Pulling her spear from her hands and then pinning her with my dagger pressed to her throat so she couldn't move before the count. The next four matches showed up on the screen. Alaric and Evander of course advanced, but I was happy to find Athena was also up for a third match.

My third match came, my opponent, Paul, used a bow and bow staff like Athena. Given my training with Athena, I had a good idea of what to expect in the match without Alaric and Evander's coaching me before my match. This match my whip and dagger trick weren't working though. Paul laughing in the midst of our fight to tell me that I was predictable. He wasn't wrong, I had used this duo in my first two fights. Fights he clearly had watched closely. He avoided my whip and nearly smacked my dagger from my hands twice.

I decided to take a note from Alaric's play book and used a new trick I had learned in my death magic class, disappearing with a puff of smoke and reappearing behind him, my whip and dagger now gone, replaced by my sword. He didn't notice the replacement, so when he turned to swing his bow staff at me, I raised my sword and the staff split into two pieces, disappearing in the air, returning to his core.

He looked at me with surprise. Head turning between me and the sword in my hands then back to me. I had to move fast as I saw the beginning of his bow and arrows being materialized in his hand. I disappeared again, hanging in the air around him as he turned in circles to try and find me. I waited, casting my laughter in the air around him like a nightmare brought to life. He spun around in search of me, fear of the unknown set in his face as he froze in place when my voice echoed around him.

That was when I struck, appearing directly above him, dropping on his shoulders and letting the heavy hilt drop onto the crown of his head. The impact knocked him to the ground, where I pinned him down with my thighs until the count was up.

I was sweaty and panting as the referee pulled me to my feet and raised my hand for my victory. I was onto the final four, and my next match was up on the board after winning his own match. Evander. The look was excitement on his face as we turned to each other from both stages, each with our arms raised by the referees. We descended the stages at the same time, meeting up and walking back to our bench side by side.

"You ready Little Warrior? This is what all our training has led up to." He purred into my ear as we sat, watching Alaric and Athena walk back to the stages for their matches.

I turned to Evander, looking up at him through my lashes, hoping my face looked as angelic as I thought it did. "Oh Evander, I was born ready." I replied playfully. Evander drew in a sharp breath, biting his lip as he looked me up and down.

"I'm sure you were Little Warrior. I'm sure you were."

Athena lost her match, leaving Alaric to fight the Celestial opponent who beat her. He looked bored still, as if none of the matches have been a challenge for him and that this next one would be no different. His disinterest earning my full attention as I watched him leaning against the wall yet again.

The two stages were now being merged into one large stage at the center of the arena. The gods and goddess working together to raise it higher now, and patch in the bald areas where the moss had been lifted by the previous matches. Alaric met my gaze, looking me up and down then turned to Evander doing the same. Sizing us both up.

I raised my eyebrow at him, his gaze returning to me. "What are you doing?" I asked a little sharper than I had meant to sound, though he seemed to not even notice.

He gave me a dark smile and winked, "Just deciding which of you will be my next match. Have to admit. I really hope it's you."

I laughed flipping him the bird, making him chuckle while Evander punched his arm. At a single look from Coach Mars we all settled down, Alaric rubbing his arm with a grin on his face still chuckling. He looked back at me and gave another wink while leaning the back of his head against the wall again, slowly closing his eye.

Evander leaned forward whispering in my ear again, "Don't hold back a single punch. Give me everything you have."

Our names were then called out, bringing us to the stage. We walked side by side, eyes straight ahead, even as I felt his hand brush mine, a silent wish of luck just between the two of us. We stopped in the center with the referee, again he told us rules, with the added encouragement to use our power and gifts that have not yet been seen so the judges could score our performances on a higher scale.

Evander smirked at me, flirtation in his eyes behind the serious warrior he displayed himself to be. I returned the expression, knowing that he although wouldn't hold back, I could take him. The fights leading up to this had awakened a new confidence in myself that I had lacked this morning. Not only that, but I knew he wouldn't give his all if he didn't believe I could hold my own against him. Alaric wouldn't consider me for his next match if he didn't see that strength in me, the potential to beat Evander here.

The bell sounded and both Evander and I disappeared from view, both sensing each other but not quite knowing exactly where the other was until our essence collided and we rematerialized with a clang of metal on metal, his sword hooked with my dagger. He leaned forward, kissing my nose playfully before I shoved him back with a growl.

Evander's laughter rang around the stage as he disappeared into a mist again. Using the same trick I used on Paul in my previous match. I chuckled, stomping my foot and raising tall grass around me, hiding me even from his corporal form. With my movements hidden, I disappeared into smoke, leaving the grass and waiting for Evander to strike where I had vacated.

Only he didn't, he collided right with me, as if seeing through my trick. His dark laugh filling my ears as we both materialized, his arms around my waist and sword held to my throat. The metal somehow warm against my skin, a strange excitement sparking through my veins at the contact of his body and weapon against me.

"Got you Little Warrior." He whispered, his voice adding goosebumps to my skin.

"I think I got you, or at least your personal 'little warrior'" I whispered back as the point of my dagger lightly grazed his family jewels.

He released me with a yelp, pushing me away as I chuckled and replaced my dagger with my whip, snapping it with a show as it sprang free of my body. We continued on his this dance, each matching the other, never taking a lead. Not until I heard the voice of his father calling down to him to stop flirting and finish me.

My attention moved to the VIP box, finding his father glaring down at us, Reina looking at him with disapproval of his outburst. It was the first time I had seen him glare down at Evander this entire day. I felt the full wave of Evander's power hit me then as he released his full potential. Our game now over, the irritation in his eyes towards his father, but the obedience taking over.

'My Queen, do you need us?' A voice called out my mind. The voice of my creature as it sensed the dangerous power directed towards me.

'Not yet.' I responded, realizing that I very well may need them. They were part of my gifts, not against the rules. I had made sure to stress the question about the use of our powers in the rules. Everyone told me the same, just don't kill your opponent. As long as my creatures didn't kill, it was within my rights to use them.

I let out a startled scream as Evander appeared directly in front of me, sword held high, about to bring his hilt down on me to knock me out as he had done with his first match. He was fast, but my instincts were faster, as my own sword appeared in my raised hand, blocking his blow, though my leg gave out from his strength and I fell to one knee.

'My queen, please give us your order.' The voice pleaded in panic, feeling the force of Evander's blow.

Feeling his force, as he pressed in on me more, wanting to end the match with me on my back, I relented and gave the order. 'Only one of you.'

The ground between Evander and I shook, forcing him away from me as a fissure appeared at my feet. I rose slowly as the largest of my male creatures crawled from the hole. His movements slow and precise, like a predator seeking his prey. He was fully clothed, thanks to Professor Moore, dressed in leather like a Hells Angel, jacket included.

I felt the hush of the crowd, murmurs here and there, questioning who he was, if he was interrupting the fight. It wasn't until his blood red eyes turned to me, bowing to a knee and rising back up, and taking up my sword that a gasp rang through the crowd.

Only the deity chosen by the weapon could wield it, but since he was born of my magic, since he was my creature, my sword accepted him to wield it. My creature dove for Evander and I quickly shot him the order not to kill him which he thankfully obeyed. Evander and my creature went head to head, sword to sword. The inhuman growl from my creature's lips shook me to the bone. But even with the flash of his fangs as he snapped to Evander's hands, I did not fear him. His presence seemed to calm as I knew that the creature would fight to protect me against all threats until it's life ended.

Evander held his own against my creature, sharing his own growls and snarls as they collided. I watched from the side, circling around them as I watched for my chance to jump in. Cheers and jeers rang from the stands. Some calling out that I was cheating with my creature helping me, not realizing what he was. Ignoring the crowd, I summoned my whip, ready to take Evander out by the legs and sent the plan to my creature, ordering him to keep Evander's back to me. I knew if he saw my whip he would know my plan.

I snapped it out, wrapping the whip around of his legs, his attention torn from the beast he was fighting, eyes snapping to his leg then to me. I saw a flash of pride in his eyes as he gave me a feral smile before disappearing into mist and out of my whip's grasp.

My creature growled, sniffing the air for Evander. Moving closer to me to protect me from any attack. 'Why can't I kill, my queen?' He asked, worry leaking into my mind from his.

"Because, this isn't a real fight." I answered aloud, watching for where Evander would appear. I was about to turn to smoke myself when he materialized behind me, sword once again pressed to my neck, this time he grabbed my hands to keep me from summoning my dagger. I gasped, the way he held his sword to me preventing me from being able to wisp away into smoke, my back pressed against his body as we both panted from the adrenaline of the fight.

My creature shrieked in anger, ready to pounce but Evander called out to him "No no, bad boy. You attack me you hurt Hadie." He told him. I could hear the humor in his voice. "Well Little Warrior, no shame in forfeiting to me. I have you." His voice tickled my ear, and Deitus help me, I felt myself melt to my core. The press of his body against mine. If not for the crowd watching our every move I might have pressed myself harder against him.

"Release her!" My creature growled, pointing my sword at Evander in a threat.

"No killing." Evander warned, seeing the bloodlust in the red eyes. "Yield to me Hadie. You fought like a beast. You can be proud of that."

I released a sigh, knowing that he was right. The only move from here would result in serious injury or death. This was only a competition, and I really wasn't that competitive. Closing my eyes for a moment, I nodded towards my creature.

"Go back. The fight it over. I yield the match."

My creature straightened from his crouch before bowing respectfully to me. "As you wish, my queen." He said aloud, setting my sword down. He back up, never turning his back to me while making his way towards the crack he had crawled from. Disappearing into it with a single jump back. 'Call us anytime you have need my queen.' His voice echoed in my mind, a chorus of other voices joining with agreement.

The referee held both Evander and my arms as Evander and I parted from each other. I noticed Evander reposition himself as covertly as possible with a large crowd watching us. Holding back the chuckle as our eyes met and I smirked pointedly at his pants. The hint of a bulge barely hidden, but hidden enough that the crowd would not notice. The ref threw Evander's hand in the air, the announcer calling him out as the winner. Evander's eyes never left me, even as the crowd chanted his name. Passionate heat boiling in his gaze. We left the stage together in silence, close side by side, our arms brushing with every stride.

Coach told me to get changed since I was done and told Evander to rest up for the last match, sending us both towards the locker rooms. We didn't hesitate, passing Alaric as he moved to the stage, patting Evander's shoulder and telling him he'll see him soon. I went to open the girl's locker room before Evander pulled me into the equipment closet between the two rooms. His lips finding mine with such force and wanting, I let out a small squeak of surprise. The sound quickly morphing into soft moans as my arms wrapped around his neck.

Evander pulled me flush against his chest, the full evidence of his desire pressing into my stomach as his hands gripped my ass, grinding me up then down his body. He let out a growl as I let out another moan. Our breath mixing together as we both panted, out bodies grinding together. I felt my underwear begin soaking with need and desire as his hands moved up my waist to cup my breasts, letting them fill both his palms.

"I've wanted to do that since the first day I met you and you knocked me on my ass." He whispered, his right hand moving around to the back of my neck, tangling in my loose hair there as his left remained on my breast.

I narrowed my eyes at him, a traitorous thought taking over me. "Is that why you went home with Anne after that party?" I asked, pushing away from him. My body crying out in protest, but my mind continuing to bring up the times I saw him with the love and beauty goddess.

Evander gaped at me like a fish out of water. "You slept with Alex that night!"

I shook my head and laughed. "Slept being the operative word. I didn't fuck him." I opened the door back up and left before he could say anything else, slipping into the locker room and locking it behind me so he couldn't follow me inside.

Turning from the door I found Athena laying on the bench in front of our lockers a shirt covering her eyes. Exhausted from her last match, she had a rolled towel under her head as a pillow and was napping with an ice pack on her leg. She lifted the shirt from her eyes, smiling when she saw me. "Win or loss?" She asked.

"Evander forced me to yield." I replied, walking over to sit on the bench by her feet.

"So he didn't get you on your back or out of bounds. Sounds like a win to me, even if it's officially a loss. Congrats girl."

I smiled at her, pulling my shirt over my head to change into my clean clothes so I could watch the final match. "You coming out to watch him and Alaric?" As I asked, we could hear the announcer calling out Alaric's win and the announcement that the final fight was about to start.

Athena sat up and smiled back to me. "Oh this is going to be good. I wouldn't miss it for the world."