The sound of the door shutting jolts me from my restless bout of sleep. My hands run across the sheets, feeling strangely empty for some reason and the bareness next to me makes me sit up and stare at the table expecting to see Lucian eating. I rub my tired eyes, surprised that I had slept through the night without any disturbances. Did Lucian even sleep last night?

I get up silently and walk over to his dining table where an assortment of food has been laid out for me already but there is no sign of him.

I sit down and stare at the empty seat of his wondering if he had gone to work already. My eyes scan his room for the clock he had taught me how to read. The small device sits on top of the table in his study and I see that it was only seven in the morning.

Aside from the time he had to travel for a nearby expedition, Lucian rarely left for work so early. A flicker of worry settles in the pit of my stomach which I quickly brush aside to be nothing. I doubt he is still angry with me after last night. There isn't much to be angry about anyway.

Setting aside my thoughts, I walk over to his large bath room and wash up at a leisurely pace seeing as I have woken up early and have ample time till the morning drills.

I take a few quick bites of food before rushing out to head to the training center.

When I reach I notice people gathering in the center already to begin the morning drills and I rush over to join them. I see Rosie standing towards the back and immediately stand in the row next to her.

"Someone looks chirpy today," Rosie mutters as she stretches her long and lean arms over her head.

"I do?" I mimic her stretches and the soreness in my muscles becomes excruciatingly apparent. I wince and bend over in an attempt to touch my feet which proves to be equally as painful while Rosie does it like she is made of rubber.

"Yeah, you look more relaxed than I saw you yesterday. Considering the circumstances," She observes me from the corner of her eye while her body contorts into various painful looking positions.

"Really?" I unconsciously touch my face wondering what's so relaxed about it. Maybe the extra amount of sleep? But that brings me worries of Lucian and about whether he slept at all.

"Well don't get too relaxed. They're announcing our opponents today."

Her words cause a familiar jolt of apprehension to rush down my spine and I can feel a sense of unease spreading through my veins like the dull burning of dry ice in the South. I don't think I will ever get used to this feeling and I turn to look at Rosie wondering how she had been able to do this for the past four years.

Thankfully, Aries our instructor has joined us and we begin our morning jog.

I am able to keep up with my new and improved stamina so I maintain pace with Rosie who doesn't even look like she's trying. Although after a few rounds, it slowly becomes obvious that she is actually keeping in pace with me.

As we jog steadily around the center, the memory of Rosie and her companion at that Humanoid cafe I saw last night slips into my thoughts and I turn to look at her.

"Can I ask you something?" I ask through gulps of air.

"Sure," She replies in a smooth voice unlike my own.

"What do you do after training hours? Are humans allowed to leave these quarters?" We finally stop running and I bend over and wipe the sheen of sweat across my forehead with the sleeve of my shirt.

"Of course we are. Just like the paramours, fighters are also allowed into the city after we have completed our training. Some of us even work at restaurants and cinemas to earn some money which we spend on ourselves. That't actually the best part about being a fighter and paramour. They allow us to interact," Rosie sits down and begins her push ups.

This piece of news shocks me slightly and I so badly want to know more but everyone has started with their push ups so I begrudgingly start doing mine as well. After we finish our drills, I walk over to the water dispenser and drink a few huge gulps of water to quench my thirst.

Rosie has walked over to one of the simulation cubicles where she picks up a long metal pole with sharp knife like edges. She begins training on life sized simulations and I proceed to another cubicle to train by myself not wanting to seem too intrusive.

It's true Rosie has been the most accommodating to me so far but now I realize that the humans here may actually have their own network outside of these cold steel walls. Something I may never experience because of my arrangement with Lucian.

I begin hitting the human sized dummies wondering why I suddenly feel so down. Maybe it's for the best that I don't form any close human connections here. It isn't my goal to make friends anyway. My purpose is to make it to the army and escape.

I repeat those words like a mantra in my head and hit the poor unsuspecting dummy in front of me repeatedly till it topples over.

"Lunch?" Rosie pops a head into my cubicle and I look up at the clock surprised that three hours have passed already.

I nod my head and follow her out of the training center and into the recreation room.

"So what do you do after training hours?" Rosie asks me a question I am not prepared to answer and I just look at her with wide eyes.

"Not much," I answer her and then I proceed to pick food from the buffet table.

"Well Commander's are usually busy. There's not much they would like to do besides satisfying their needs," She says this with so much spite that I automatically look up at her angry face. "Does he allow you to leave his quarters?"

I stand still deep in thought wondering if Lucian would allow me to leave his quarters in the evenings without him. I really didn't know if he would but his demeanor so far tells me that he would.

"I think so."

Rosie's expression changes to that of pity. "You should have your own time and space. Constantly serving them will drive us crazy. They know it too, that's why they let us do our own thing in the evenings. Even the Plutonian's let loose in the evenings. You should see how they act when they aren't in uniform," She laughs but there is no humor in her eyes. She hates them, I can feel her hatred resonate with my own and it draws me to her more.

I need this friendship more than I'd like to admit. I can't drive myself alone especially since I don't hate Lucian at all. The very fact that I am worried about him worries me even more.

"It's a pity you haven't been out yet," Rosie seems to take my silence as misery and she nods her head in understanding. "You know what, you should join us tonight. We're having a small get together at a cafe in the city. It's called Humanoid. Exclusively for humans."

She smiles proudly and I pretend that I haven't heard of it before.

"Really? So it will just be us humans? Having fun?" I really don't have to act much. The idea of a bunch of humans having a party already sounds preposterous enough to me.

"Yup, it starts at ten. We meet after some of us have finished our work shifts. I work in a restaurant called Onyx and I finish at nine so I will join after. Can you make it?" She asks me after chewing down a mouthful of algae.

My fingers tingle with excitement as I bite into a large piece of rhye. A chance to let loose with a bunch of humans sounds so foreign to me I don't know whether to be excited or frightened.

"Will Leslie and his friends be there?" I ask cautiously. I've been able to avoid him the whole day and I want to keep it that way.

"Nope, it's exclusively for the coolest people on the planet. All Plutonian worshiper's are strictly not allowed," She whisper's the last few words cheekily showing a new side of her that makes me like her even more.

"It sounds perfect. Would you mind if I brought a friend. I think she might be in need of some new company as well," I ask, thinking that Cassandra who would love the idea of a party even more than I.

"Sure, the more the merrier. Just as long as she isn't a deranged worshiper," She says making me think of Stela. She was definitely not on my list.

I nod my head and once we have finished eating we head back to the training center. The two of us practice with the laser poles and Rosie teaches me how to counter attack Leslie's moves from yesterday. When we hear everyone scuttling to the combat ring we both stop knowing that the names have been announced.

I walk out first, already feeling jittery and nervous.

The screen appears to slide out of the ceiling and it floats in front of our eyes. I watch as blue words appear one line at a time and the audible whispers of all the fighters fill the air around us as more names appear.

Rosie's name appears with Christina as her opponent. It is a sure win for Rosie seeing that Christina is injured and I have a feeling she will go easy on the small sized girl.

With a bated breath I soon see my name appear and my heart feels like it has dropped to the floor when I see who I am supposed to fight next. Rosie stiffens next to me when she sees this as well.

My eyes automatically scan the crowd around me and then I catch his gaze and I don't miss the wicked grin on Leslie's face as he licks his lips in anticipation. We stare at each other and the blood lust is evident in his green eyes.

It would be his dream to watch me lose and miss this chance to join the army like he has countless of times.

I know he has been waiting for this opportunity since we met and as I bunch my hands into fists by my sides, I feel a strange mix of fear and anger flood my veins knowing he is much more skilled and vengeful than I am. I finally tear myself away from his hateful glare and deep down a small part of me can't help but wonder if this whole thing has been rigged.

Heyy, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Let me know your thoughts below. Do you think the fights are all rigged?