Fatefall - 29

Chapter 29 - Nakoa

As much as I’d like to claim that Dusan unwittingly led us to his siblings, I believe that he was aware that we were following him because he led us straight into a trap.

Nakoa startled awake to a loud crack that sounded as though the sky was splitting apart. She tensed, her body protesting at even the tiniest movement. The events of the past day came rushing back to her in a blur of emotions and sensations.

She could recall the false Fate and the scorpions and reversing time, but she had no idea where she was now. Fates, had they managed to get to safety--

Nakoa tried to jump to her feet but harsh hands pushed her back down the cot she’d been lying on. “Lay back, miss. You may feel ready to go, but your body has been through quite the ordeal.”

Quite the ordeal, Nakoa thought. That’s one way to put it.

“Where…where am I?” she managed to ask, though her throat burned and her words came out raspy. 

“Your team brought you to a checkpoint. You remember your team, right? And the Tournament?”

“How could I forget,” Nakoa mumbled, more to herself than this strange woman who stood over her. 

The woman wore the robes of a medic and the wrinkles of someone who had been through a lot at a young age. She smiled warmly, but it only made Nakoa feel more uncomfortable. How had her team managed to drag her to a checkpoint, much less keep her alive when enough poison had coursed through her veins to kill ten grown men?

“Would you like me to fetch one of your friends?” asked the medic.

Nakoa shook her head, wincing at the effort it took. “I’m…I’m fine. Are they all okay? My teammates, I mean.”

The medic’s smile brightened. “Of course, sweetie. The lovely red-headed lady sat with you all day until the one man came to get her. I haven’t seen the other two gentlemen since you first arrived here this morning.”

So Poppy had watched over Nakoa until one of the boy’s---probably Adrian, if Nakoa had to guess---came to find her and the medic hadn’t seen the other two (most likely Jett and Sage) for a few hours at least. And they’d arrived in the morning, which surprised Nakoa because that meant they must have found the checkpoint almost immediately. 

“And they’re all unharmed?” she asked. 

The medic nodded. “As far as I know, yes.”

Nakoa exhaled a sigh of relief. She could cross one thing off her list. Her teammates were safe and she was alive---for the time being, at least. 

“Anyway, the Trial is over now,” the medic continued. “I assume you heard the fireworks when you woke up?”

So that’s what that loud crash had been. 

“The Trial is over,” Nakoa repeated. “And you were just going to let my team sleep through it?”

The medic pressed her lips together into a thin line, obviously weighing whether or not she was allowed to say what she wanted to. Finally, she seemed to settle with, “There’s been an occurrence with a previously eliminated team. You and your teammates will be personally escorted by the Golden Guard back to the city. It’ll take a few hours for the wagons to reach us, but we’ve notified them of your presence here. We figured we’d let your teammates sleep, though. No sense in waking them up so they can sit and wait until the wagons get here.”

Nakoa nodded, her mind still reeling over the fact the Trial was over. The Trial was over.

They’d made it. Against all odds, her team had survived long enough to make it to the final two. The final two. Nakoa froze. Only five people stood between her and the glory she and her teammates deserved. One more Trial. A soft laugh escaped her.

The medic grinned. “I’m glad the news excites you.”

“I never thought I’d make it this far,” Nakoa admitted. “Just wait until I tell…”

Her voice trailed off as the name Ansel died in her throat. Fates, she hadn’t managed to check on him with her Grace. She decided that the second she was free to visit, she would drop by Ansel’s apartment and check on him.

The medic chuckled to herself. “It’s fine, darling. I won’t tell your teammates about your secret lover.”

“We’re not lovers,” Nakoa said immediately, blushing. “And it’s not a secret because there’s nothing to hide. It’s just…my friend has a bad habit of not making smart decisions and I’m afraid that he might have done something reckless in wake of my absence.”

Which wasn’t exactly a lie---Ansel did tend to make stupid choices---but it wasn’t the truth either. The medic didn’t need to know that, though.

“Ah, I see,” the medic said. “If it eases any of your worry, there’s been no reports of any major crimes since the Trial began. I doubt that your friend has been seriously harmed---or made any poor decisions.”

Which wasn’t particularly reassuring to Nakoa because just because no one had been reported committing any crimes didn’t mean they hadn’t happened. 

She told herself that there was no point in worrying about it. Ansel’s safety was in no one’s hands but his own. Once she returned to the city, she could check in on him but right now there was nothing she could change.

“Oh my, I’m sorry, my dear. I didn’t realize I’d only worry you more.” The medic seemed genuinely apologetic, which made Nakoa feel a tiny bit better. 

“It’s not your fault,” Nakoa tried to reassure her. 

The medic offered a small smile, though it seemed forced as she changed the subject. “You should get some sleep, miss. Your body’s been through so much…”

Nakoa nodded, drowning out the rest of the woman’s rambling. Her worry for Ansel only served to exhaust her further. The second her head touched the pillow, she was out cold once again. 

“Stand up and hold your hands out in front of you!”

Nakoa jolted upright, still half asleep as two figures shoved their way into her tent. They were less than gentle as they jerked her to her feet and wrenched her arms forward. Cold metal clasped around her wrists and the world spun as Nakoa’s Grace vanished abruptly. 

She tugged away from the two figures, who appeared to be members of the Golden Guard. The manacles threw off her balance and she ended up falling to the floor. 

“Careful!” This was the medic’s voice, reedy with concern. “She’s still healing!”

“We’ll have some real healers work on her when we get back to the city,” spat the man closer to the tent entrance. The other guard grabbed hold of Nakoa’s chains and yanked her back to a standing position. 

The medic fumed but said nothing as the two guards escorted Nakoa out of the tent.

Still groggy from sleep, Nakoa didn’t bother fighting. She knew these two men were probably stronger than her and she was also distracted by her missing Grace. Was the metal responsible for the loss of power, or was that her body telling her it was still recovering? 

Evidently, however, the others were experiencing similar situations. 

As Nakoa was dragged into the center of the checkpoint, she caught sight of two more guards escorting Sage and Jett, who sported similar manacles. Sage’s curls unruly and Jett’s eyes were half-lidded, as though they’d just been sleeping. Neither of them fought their captors.

Which made sense, because if the chains truly did eliminate Graces, Sage probably didn’t care because they did nothing to him and Jett was probably still weak from his own brush with death. 

A few moments later, three guards heaved Adrian into Nakoa’s view. One of his eyes was swollen shut behind his mask and blood dripped from his nose. Even with the cuffs on his wrists, it took all three of the guards to restrain him. Which made Nakoa wonder where Poppy was--

Her question was answered with a shrill shriek as Poppy came tumbling out of one the tents, her hands tied behind her back, but with rope, not chains. 

“A little help here?” asked one of the four guards that poured out of the tent after her.

Nakoa felt a small hint of pride that Poppy had managed to hold off against four fully trained guards. Until she remembered that these people were only trying to help…

Before Nakoa could tell Poppy to relax, one of her guards left her side to join Poppy’s. 

Poppy, to her credit, did her best to scramble away from them with her hands bound. Still, they caught her in a matter of seconds and one of the guards snapped a metal collar around her neck. 

The collar must have been made of that Grace-stealing metal too because Poppy froze at once, her skin turning pale. She dropped to her knees and  started hyperventilating, and Nakoa knew it was time to intervene. 

She pulled away from her remaining guard, kneeling beside Poppy. Her mouth struggled to find the right words, afraid that anything she said would be insensitive. 

Finally, Nakoa settled for, “Hey, you’re going to be okay. Just breathe.”

She wanted to say more. To assure Poppy that she’d get her Grace back. To promise that this would all be over soon. But she couldn’t bring herself to lie. 

Suddenly, Adrian was at her side, his face flushed with color.

He laid a manacled hand on Poppy’s shoulder and she tensed under his touch. Nakoa watched in amazement as Adrian leaned closer, whispering something in Poppy’s ear. She calmed down immediately, her cheeks stained with tears. 

One of the guards mumbled something along the lines of waste of time under his breath. Nakoa shot him a glare. 

With Poppy somewhat under control, the guards seemed to decide it was safe to start packing Nakoa and her teammates onto the wagon, which looked nearly identical to the wagon that had brought them to the desert in the first place, only bigger. 

The guards led Nakoa and her teammates onto the wagon, fastening their shackles to chains on the floor, or in Poppy’s case, her collar. 

Nakoa didn’t know why the guards didn’t just put manacles on Poppy too. The collar had to be humiliating, and yet somehow she doubted that Poppy would take the cuffs any better. 

Two guards stood at the back of the wagon, hands resting on the hilts of their swords.

As if Nakoa and her teammates could make any escape attempts in the first place. With their missing Graces and being chained to the floor of the wagon, she doubted they’d make it very far. 

With the guards in the wagon, conversation was also awkward. 

The first part of the ride was silent. Poppy stared blankly at the wall across from her while Adrian seemed to be trying to catch her attention. Nakoa got the sense that something had happened between them, but she was too afraid to ask what. Meanwhile, she also guessed that something had gone on between Sage and Jett as well, judging by their clasped fingers. She felt a pang of longing and her thoughts briefly jumped to Ansel--

“Do you think these cuffs are Koda’s invention?” Sage asked abruptly, his lips pressed into a frown. 

Adrian shook his head. “Koda specializes in potions. Fa---the king employs many people.” He paused at his near slip. “Odds are, this is the work of one of his smiths, although Koda may have had something to do with the theory.”

“Great,” Sage grumbled. “So you’re saying it would be reasonable to smack him a few times after this?”

No one laughed. 

Nakoa hadn’t minded the cuffs at first, but they were starting to get to her now. In the village, they had an annual ritual where everyone drank wine tainted with a certain concoction that nullified Graces for one night. The festival was supposed to celebrate equality, and so Nakoa was at least somewhat used to the dull ache of a hidden Grace.

But these manacles were different. There was something almost…poisonous about them. Pain leached into her stomach and sucked her breath away. She needed to distract herself.

“So,” Nakoa began, “would anyone care to explain how I’m alive?”

It was as good a conversation starter as any, and she was genuinely curious as to how her teammates had managed to save her.

Jett glanced at Poppy, Sage at the floor, and Adrian met Nakoa’s gaze.

“You have Po---your red-headed friend to thank for that,” he said, and explained the situation to her, careful to avoid any names in case the guards were eavesdropping.

Nakoa couldn’t hide her astonishment. She knew Poppy’s Grace was powerful---she was an assassin, after all. Even so, she’d never expected anyone to be strong enough to not only transfer poison from body to body, but to keep it at bay and then remove it entirely? Impossible. 

Her village would’ve hailed Poppy as a Fate reborn. 

When Adrian got to the part about Poppy glowing and the white starburst on the ground, he glanced nervously at the guards, and then at Poppy. Nakoa looked at Poppy as well, but she didn’t react besides clenching her fists. 

“Thank you,” Nakoa whispered.

Poppy seemed to shrink into herself, uncomfortable with the attention.

“Thank all of you,” Nakoa continued, shifting her gaze to Sage and Jett, who had carried her to the checkpoint. 

“Ah, well, what are teammates for?” Jett said weakly. “In all seriousness, though, let’s not go through the whole dying thing again.”

“Any of you,” Sage clarified, with a meaningful glance at Jett. 

“Oh, so now it counts as a near death experience--”

“Not this again,” Adrian said with a scowl. “You were lucky you were unconscious for most of the flirting.”

Nakoa stifled a laugh. “Let’s be honest, this team can’t do anything without someone almost dying.”

“Meal times,” Jett said. 

“Are you forgetting the time a certain someone almost burnt down the apartment?” Sage countered, with a pointed look at Adrian. 

Adrian threw his chained hands up in the air. “You burn one pizza and all of the sudden they accuse you of arson.”

“Anyone can make pizza,” Sage said. 

“I’m pretty sure my life flashed before my eyes that day,” Jett added. 

“Well, just think that by the end of this Fates-forsaken Tournament, you’ll be well acquainted with that sensation,” Adrian said.

Jett shuddered. “Trust me when I say that I think I’ll be done with near-death experiences when all of this is over. Maybe I’ll buy myself a huge mansion and hire my own private guard to protect me.”

“Trust me when I say that living in a mansion isn’t all it’s made out to be,” Sage grumbled. “And hiring your own private guard will only do so much to protect you.”

Jett frowned. “Fine, my little ray of sunshine, what are you planning to do with your winnings?”

“If we win.”

“When we win,” Adrian challenged. “Besides, I’m curious as to what you’d actually use the money for.”

Sage was silent for long enough that Nakoa wondered if he’d drifted off to sleep.

But then his eyes opened, his gaze pointed downward as a soft flush painted his cheeks pink. “I think I’ll buy my own place. It probably won’t be a big mansion like Jett, but I think I’ll have a huge library and I’ll open it to the public.” He thought for a moment longer. “I suppose I haven’t given in much thought. I’m not really in the Tournament for the money, to be honest.”

Which made sense from what Nakoa had gathered. She knew from past discussions that Sage’s main reason for competing was to prove to his parents that he didn’t need a Grace to be successful. 

“What about you?” Jett asked Adrian. “Any special plans for your winnings?”

“Unlike the rest of you, I think I’ll be saving my money,” Adrian responded curtly. 

“Lame,” Jett said. “C’mon, if you had to indulge just a little bit of the winnings, what would you buy?”

Adrian didn’t hesitate. “A proper grave for my brother and a gag for you.”

The mood in the wagon plummeted. Jett gave a nervous laugh and scooted away from Adrian so he was practically sitting on Sage’s lap.

“On that happy note, what would you buy?” Sage asked, turning his attention to Nakoa.

She froze. “I guess I’m similar to you in that I was never really in this for the money.” The prize would be helpful, Nakoa had to admit. She could use it to help the village. Or maybe she could get a healer to save Ansel’s dad or she could buy her own apartment in the city so she didn’t have to spend so much time in that stifling village--

“You all have boring answers,” Jett complained.

“Or maybe you have unrealistic expectations,” Sage said. 

“What about a mansion isn’t realistic?”

“Well, for one, I’m pretty sure to buy a house you have to go through the bank and my parents have probably put the bank on high alert for your face--”

They continued arguing but Nakoa ignored her, more distracted by Sage’s question. What would she do with the money if they won? An image of her and Ansel buying their own apartment and joining the Golden Guard surfaced in her mind. Her heart yearned for it to be true. 

What about your family, the rational side of her pointed out. Would you be so willing to leave them behind in exchange for this other life?

Nakoa wanted to say that no, she would stay with her family. Would put up with the smothering false religion if it meant getting to keep them. It should be that way, right? Her loyalty to her family first? So why did she want to leave her whole life behind for a dream that probably wouldn’t come true?

She grappled with the problem for the remainder of the ride, Sage and Jett’s bickering an appropriate backdrop for the battle raging in her mind. 

She barely registered the guards leading them out of the trailer and depositing them in their apartment, unlocking the chains but bolting the door behind them. 

Trapped, once again.