There it was! The mischievous arrogance. The snark. I knew he’d had it handy, just for occasions like this. “Hold your horses,” I shot back, aware of the pun. It flew right past him, since he didn’t know what horses were. Mere seconds later, I finally felt as though Midnight was giving me her approval.
With one swift move, I firmly gripped the saddle and got up, throwing one leg over her back as gracefully as possible. Midnight and I had been made for each other, I thought, as I settled, my thigh muscles stretching with sheer delight. Taking hold of the reins, I decided to test her first.
I clicked my teeth, and she shook her head, gradually becoming restless. She was enjoying this. Pushing my heels gently into her ribs, I held on tight, as she started to trot around, following my lead. When I tugged the reins right, she turned right. When I tugged left, she turned left.
“Oh, the two of us are going to get along great,” I said, patting the side of her neck. Her mane felt like silk threads slipping through my fingers.
“Ready?” Kalon asked, and I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
He smirked. “She likes you. That’s good. Race you to the Blood Arena?”
I remembered the general direction from yesterday, so I gave him a brief nod. “I hope Lightning can keep up,” I said.
“I named him Lightning for a reason.”
“What vanishes faster? Lightning or a midnight’s dream at dawn?” I shot back, pushing my heels and prompting Midnight to dart across the cobblestone plaza outside the palace.
I heard Kalon laugh as my Vision galloped on the wings of the ocean breeze. She was light and remarkably fast, I quickly realized. The whole city darted past us in smidges of gray and beige, of green and white. I had to use one hand to hold my hood on, but I only needed the other to grasp the reins, as I leaned forward and allowed Midnight to do the rest.
She seemed to know where we were going, but she did allow me to lead, taking sharp turns where needed. I heard gasps swishing past us from different bystanders. We must’ve looked like a flashing tornado, cutting through the streets and raising dust behind us.
The thundering of hooves soon joined us, as Kalon caught up with Lightning. I threw him a glance, noticing his broad smile. He was enjoying this more than anything. We dashed through the city, headed south between the buildings and square parks. We raced past the slow-moving carriages and hopped over the occasional loose cobblestones on the streets.
It didn’t matter that I was still in a dress, and that my shoes were anything but adequate for riding a horse. The wind brushed against my face, and I felt more alive than ever. My blood rushed, my muscles were hot and strained, and my soul felt intrinsically tied to Midnight’s, in a way. I could feel her joy, the thrill of running and caring for nothing but the wind and the sky and the ground and the world in between.
I was a whisper riding a Vision. A dream fluttering through the city. A thought. A mere blip in the fabric of the universe. And I felt perfect.
By the time the Blood Arena rose before us, I had an indelible grin on my face, knowing that Kalon and Lightning were a couple of yards behind. I wondered if he was doing it on purpose, since he’d already bragged that his Vision was the fastest. But something told me that this was all Midnight’s doing, as if I’d come along and pushed her to challenge herself. To run faster than the wind. Faster than Lightning. Faster than anything!
We came to a sudden and laughing halt outside the Blood Arena’s main entrance. My muscles hurt, but it was a delightful ache that I hoped would linger for a couple of hours, at least. My heart was full, my soul expanded. This kind of happiness was hard to come across, and I suspected that the experience was strictly related to riding a Vision. Just like their blood-drinking was out of this world because of the Rimians and the Naloreans, the Aeternae had added more spice and magic to their existence by breeding and raising these magnificent horses, whose souls touched their riders’. This was unique. I’d never felt this way before.
Kalon reached us a couple of seconds later, beaming like the sun. Lightning’s breath was ragged, much like Midnight’s, so he clearly must’ve put in all the effort he could’ve mustered for this race. One of the Blood Arena’s valets rushed to greet us in his dark red leather uniform.
“You looked like you were having a lot of fun,” Kalon said, getting off Lightning.
“And you looked like you were having a little trouble back there. I thought Lightning was the fastest Vision on this continent,” I replied with a satisfied smirk.
Kalon shrugged as I slipped off Midnight’s back and gave her a soft pat on the neck. She nuzzled my face, shuddering with delight. I’d made her as happy as she’d made me, it seemed, and I wasn’t sure what to make of this peculiar synergy.
“Midnight gave it everything she had,” he said. “I’ve never seen her run so fast, to be honest. I think you’re a good influence on her.”
I was blushing again. Dammit. “Thank you, I guess? It feels different from riding a horse,” I murmured. “It was like… I don’t know, like our souls were bound together, our bodies fused into one.”
The valet took the reins on Midnight and Lightning and led them to a nearby stable, where water troughs and fresh hay awaited, along with about a couple dozen other Visions, brought in by other visitors to the Blood Arena.
“Oh, wow.” I gasped, faced with the enormity of this place.
It reminded me of an ancient Greek theatre, with hundreds of steps dug into the stony ground. Shaped like a giant, oval bowl, the Blood Arena had numerous box stalls and enclosures with sun covers for those who preferred the shade. At the bottom, I could see the fighting area, covered in a thin layer of red clay, similar to what I’d seen on tennis fields.
A stage had been extended at the bottom, overlooking the entire place. Round panels were mounted on the sides, facing the arena. “What are those?” I asked Kalon, pointing at them.
“Sound enhancers,” he said. “It’s where the announcer stands, and it’s also where the prizes are awarded.”
We stood on the very edge of the bowl, right next to the main entrance. A dozen staff members in dark red leather uniforms checked the paper tickets used by the guests to enter. “So, people pay to watch these things,” I mumbled.
Kalon nodded. “The profits are added to the prizes,” he said. “Well, part of them, anyway. The rest goes into the empire’s coffers.”
There were thousands of people already pouring into the Blood Arena. Carriages were pulled farther up the arched alleyway, beyond the stables. Riders came through, leaving their horses with the stable boys before producing their entry tickets. Murmurs rumbled from below as the people settled on the steps or in their boxed seats, eager for the matches to start.
“If I may,” Kalon said, extending his arm once more.
We walked up to the entrance, where the staff immediately recognized him and moved back. “Please, milord. It’s an honor to have you here today,” one of the young Aeternae boys said. “Will you be fighting in this tournament?”
“Not today,” Kalon replied.
This was purely a demonstrative visit, then. I felt a hint of disappointment. After everything I’d heard about Kalon—mostly from him—he was quite the fighter, a most revered champion of the Blood Arena. I would’ve wanted to watch him in action.
“You don’t seem very happy,” he said as we descended the steps all the way to the bottom. From there, he guided me to an elevated boxed stall, where Tristan, Valaine, Derek, Sofia, Amal, and Nethissis were already waiting. Next to them, in a neighboring box adorned with the golden sigil of the Nasani dynasty, were Acheron and Danika, joined by Petra and Corbin. I didn’t see Zoltan anywhere, but I assumed he had work to do. The empire couldn’t stall everything just so he could keep the guests company, after all.
“What makes you say that?” I asked, as I climbed the wooden steps of the stall.
“When I told the boy I wouldn’t be fighting today, you sort of… deflated.”
“Deflated?” I retorted, raising an eyebrow as we took our seats next to Tristan and Valaine. I exchanged brief glances with Derek, Sofia, Amal, and Nethissis, before shifting my focus to the arena.
“Disappointed might be a better word,” Kalon answered.
