《Arena - Book 1 : Soulmates》Chapter TWENTY NINE
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After telling her friends that she was going to the bathroom to freshen up, Mia had gone into the halls of the castle, escaping the surveillance of the Vila. She knew it wasn't very clever, but she convinced herself that she had nothing to fear when she saw a few professors patrolling the hall and around the castle.
And she had a good reason to want to escape her bodyguard for a few moments. His intoxicating smell didn't seem to want to leave her nostrils anymore, even when he was a few meters away from her. She had limited herself to a reasonable amount of alcohol, but the relaxation she felt after her second drink made her turn off her brain and want to jump on the vila as if her life depended on it.
A few students passed her when she pushed open the bathroom door and the young human found herself alone in the room. She sprinkled a few drops of water on her face to look good before an urgent need caused by the frozen liquid pushed her to join one of the toilets. Her sigh of relief was cut off by a quiet voice. She hadn't heard the door open.
"Are you sure she came here?"
A shiver ran up her spine. A wave of anguish crashed into her stomach as her breathing and heart quickened.
Shit! What do I do now?
Holding her breath, Mia silently pulled her feet up on the toilet to conceal her presence. Footsteps resonated and a first cabin was opened. It was the first on the right, opposite the door, the farthest from hers.
Breathe, think, she repeated to herself, trying to control her breathing. There is a window to my right as I come out of the cabinet which overlooks the back of the chateau. This is my only possible exit. But by the time I manage to open it... They will catch me...
And as if a higher force had heard her prayers, a loud knock knock echoed through the room, followed by someone trying to open the door.
"Hey, asshole! Open the door or I'll call a teacher!" shouted an annoyed female voice.
"What the fuck is he doing? Shouldn't he be stopping the others from getting in?"
The sounds of footsteps scrutinizing the cabinets moved away for a few moments to whisper two or three words to his partner. One of her assailants opened the door to the room to inquire about the situation. It was her moment. If she had understood correctly what was happening, there were three of them. Two who guarded the door on each side and the one who searched the toilets. This one had just joined his comrade in front of the door, which left her enough time to attempt to run away.
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Neither one nor two, she discreetly pushed open the cabinet door and frantically put her hands on the window latch. In two seconds, a cool breeze greeted her. Without looking back, she climbed, both palms on the ledge to pull herself up through the opening.
"Don't think you can escape!" a voice screamed behind her back as a hand closed painfully around her ankle.
In a survival reflex, she threw her foot back to crush the face of her attacker. He tried to grab hold of her leg by digging his nails into her flesh, but Mia managed to free herself with a second kick. On the other side of the window, she stumbled in her haste and fell palms first onto the damp grass.
"Fucking bitch! She almost broke my nose!"
"Stop complaining! Lock the door, it'll make him lose time!"
Mia didn't wait to hear the last words of the male voice to run away. Even though she was a few seconds ahead, she knew they were running faster than her. And they knew it too. Along the way, she quickly threw off her wedge heels which slowed her escape.
I won't have time to go around the castle... Damn, I'm so stupid thinking I can escape these creatures...
Her footsteps brought her back to the edge of the forest. She didn't hesitate and plunged into the darkness, sinking between the trees, zigzagging between their imposing roots. She was already out of breath, but her survival instinct was pushing her to keep running. Her feet tugged terribly from running barefoot on the hard ground. The silence of the forest only increased her anxiety, and she finally yielded to the temptation to glance behind her.
A wave of relief swept through her that they weren't after her, but it was short-lived when a hand halted her course, clutching her throat as she turned her head to focus on her path. The grip took her breath away, crushing her airways. A stern look greeted her, and she cursed herself for choosing to go deeper into the forest. She had been warned, however, that the centaurs did not like anyone entering their territory.
"Drop the human, Thorfinn, she's ours," a hooded figure called out, accompanied by two others.
The centaur released her, letting her crash to the ground, coughing. He moved forward, passing Mia, and was joined by three other centaurs who lined up beside him. Mouth agape, the blonde watched them come to her defense, daring the individuals to move forward. The three attackers backed away and whispered a few words, panicked, before fleeing. Surely they hadn't planned on having to go up against the centaurs in their twisted plan.
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Thorfinn grabbed her arm to help her up while his comrades were taking their leave. He gave her a pointed, meaningful look. As if he knew a lot more about the situation than she did.
"Be careful."
And he disappeared, leaving her alone in the middle of the darkness of the forest. Her legs struggled to support her weight and her whole body shook with tremors from the adrenaline and terror she had felt. She had only one desire: to cry all the tears in her body to evacuate her stress and to take refuge under her quilts until the end of her life.
"Mia!" shouted a voice she instantly recognized as Ethan's.
Within seconds, he was at her side. Without even thinking, she put her arms around his shoulders and buried her face in his neck, inhaling his scent which immediately reassured her. He hugged her back, almost squeezing her tight, but she wasn't complaining. There, surrounded by his arms, she was safe, and that was all that mattered at this moment.
"What happened?" he whispered in her ear.
Mia didn't answer, refusing to rehash the events in her head. She was exhausted, still in shock, and clutched at him as if her life depended on it. He sighed and slipped his arm under her knees to lift her and lay her against his chest. When she didn't protest, only strengthening her embrace, he started to walk out of the forest.
At the edge, a familiar group greeted them, running towards them. Ethan wondered for a moment how they had been able to find them so quickly, but the thought quickly left his brain when he saw the worried looks from the blonde's friends.
"What happened?" Arry asked hysterically.
Again the same question. Still no response.
"Let's go to the infirmary," Lily ordered after looking at Mia.
The fairy led them to a small door on the western facade of the castle, thus saving them from passing through the festivities and the curious eyes of the students. It led to a reserve containing plants, potions, and some pastries and led to the corridor of the fairies' apartments. The place was deserted, much to their relief. Lily led them to Mia's room and motioned for Ethan to put her down on her bed before heading back to the infirmary hall.
There were only two things in her mind at that moment: cling to the Vila as if her life still depended on it and stay in his reassuring embrace and never let go of him.
"It's okay, you're safe here," he whispered, trying to pull the blonde's arms away so she could sit on his bed.
Mechanically, she obeyed, but her panicked look begged him not to move away. Lily came back a minute later with a wet cloth and balm.
"Go home, we'll talk about it tomorrow", Lily ordered the two magicians who left with a nod.
Ethan sat down next to his soul mate, passing a hand around her trembling body and removing the mask that still sat around her eyes. Mia rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes, letting Lily clean her wounds and apply the balm. Her short-circuited brain hadn't registered the pain, but the warmth of the remedy engulfing her feet reminded her that she had abrasions covering them entirely. A feeling of well-being spread through her body as the cream worked, relaxing her tense shoulders. When the fairy had finished tending to her wounds, Mia turned and climbed under the quilts, exhausted, not even bothering to undress her ball gown.
"Please stay," she implored the Vila as he was about to get up.
Lily and Ethan shared a goodnight nod before he slipped under the duvets himself after the fairy had closed the door. Lying behind her, he put his arm around her and she retreated deeper into his embrace, pressing her back against his chest.
Within seconds, she fell asleep.
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Rise
Su Xue, a woman in her mid 20s, is struggling both in paying rent and finding her path in life. Her latest stint has her trying to become a popular League of Legends streamer, though to poor results. One day, she is interrupted in the middle of a livestream by a surprise visit from her landlady. She is informed that she will be having a new roommate. The landlady’s nephew, Lin Feng, a 18 year old boy who has just transferred over to Shanghai for his last year of high school.Though initially opposed to it, Su Xue reluctantly agrees to the arrangement. She learns that the two share a common interest—League of Legends—and that he’s really amazing at the game. Lin Feng also reveals to her he wishes to become the best professional League of Legends player in the world.The next day. Lin Feng attends his first day of school as a transfer student at High School 13. He meets Ouyang and Yang Fan, and the trio find a common passion in League of Legends. Lin Feng is then introduced to Ren Rou, the president of the esports club with a fiery personality, and Tang Bingyao, a quiet bookworm with a love for money and a surprising talent for the game.A little about Lin Feng’s past is revealed. He was a once pro player, the youngest in history and a contender for the best player in the world. Until the finals of the Season 1 World Championship. There, he lost to his arch-rival, an equally brilliant Korean youth. That was the peak of his career, and also the turning point in his life. He stepped down from his team and disappeared from competitive play altogether. Now, after a four year long hiatus, he aims to make a comebackOver the next couple of weeks, Lin Feng learns about the upcoming Shanghai 16 School Tournament, and that his school’s esports club had performed especially poorly the previous year. He agrees to coach the club’s team and help them win the first place trophy this year. And so, he starts the members of the club out on an intense training bootcamp.Meanwhile, the Season 5 League of Legends World Championship is taking place at around the same time. Tian Tian, one of Lin Feng’s former teammates and best friend, is on one of the Chinese teams playing at Worlds. After a poor showing, he is on the verge of a mental breakdown. Lin Feng witnesses everything in a viewing party with the esports club members and becomes worried.On the day of the Shanghai 16 School tournament, Lin Feng reunites with Tian Tian on the phone. He tells Tian Tian he’s going to return to the professional scene, that he’s making a new team and plans to invite him. But Tian Tian has to vow not to give up at Worlds and keep winning. Tian Tian agrees, and Lin Feng promises he’ll fight alongside him. Lin Feng then heads into his match with renewed resolve, to climb from the bottom all the way back to the top, and overcome the rival that defeated him so many years ago.
8 1136Phoenix's Requiem
Painfully shy and conflict-averse, Yun Ruoyan is a scion to a noble house only in name, a puppet embroiled in political machinations beyond her ken. At the tender age of eighteen, poisoned and at death’s door, she finds herself thrown out into the streets. Her relatives have all been executed, betrayed by her dear husband and her cousin. With her dying breath, she curses her own weakness and swears revenge.When Yun Ruoyan awakens once more, she is thirteen, transported five years into the past by the will of the heavens. Her death-defying experience has changed her: no longer is she the malleable creature she once was. But more questions await at every corner—what is the truth behind the birthmark that disfigures her appearance? What are the circumstances surrounding her mother’s mysterious death?Will the phoenix rise from the ashes, or will she fall once more in thrall to fate?
8 646Poison Physician Consort
Follow Bai Luochu on a journey back to the peak as she reincarnates into the body of an orphaned daughter of the former great general of the Cloud Water Nation.With the Three Great Immortal Sects in front of her, her mortal enemies who caused her death, how would she rise to the top again?With her astounding medical skills and ability to create heaven defying poison, Bai Luochu heals the crippled meridians of her new body and attracts the attention of all three princes of the Cloud Water Nation!
8 1749Rebirth of a Fashionista: This Life Is Soo Last Season
Cinderella went from rags to riches, but when you are already at the top, fate is more than happy to kick you down. A car accident kicks off Sheng Jiaoyang's reverse Cinderella story by trapping her soul in the body of a poor girl, leaving her to succumb to fate and wait for her Prince Charming to come to her rescue -- obviously not!Like a phoenix rising out of the ashes, Sheng Jiaoyang forges her own way back up to the upper echelons of society, clearing obstacles, taking revenges, and bagging her handsome and rich childhood friend on the way.If you are tired of reading about poor damsel in distress waiting for a man to rescue her, and wants a female lead that can carry herself to the top, Rebirth of A Fashionista is the novel for you!
8 274The Attack of the Wastrel
Her rebirth gave her a second chance at life. She was back with a vengeance and wanted to make those that had harmed her pay. But to those that helped her, she wanted to repay them. Her evil stepmother? She would slowly pull out her claws, one by one. Her evil stepsister? She would crush her pride. She thought that by getting her revenge for her past life, she would be happy in this life. However, she never would have thought that danger would chance upon her time and time again. The hatred from her clan and whether their bloodline would continue to exist, lay solely on her shoulders. Luckily, on this thorny path, someone had always been protecting her. "Third Prince, have you ever regretted being with me?" That person laughed lightly and peered at her with a loving yet weary look, "As long as I am together with you, I have no regrets."
8 1461Demoness's Art of Vengeance
Jun Xiaomo, notoriously known as “Lady Demoness”, finds herself chained and bound in a dungeon. Her hard-earned cultivation has been completely crippled, and she has no means of escape. Qin Shanshan, a lady she used to called her “close friend”, mocks Jun Xiaomo, revealing that Jun Xiaomo had been used by the people around her. Even her lover, Qin Lingyu was one of the masterminds scheming against her. Jun Xiaomo watches her life flash before her eyes and realizes that she had indeed blindly placed her trust in people. Her naivety had led to her current predicament. Jun Xiaomo wanted to end it all. However, she is determined to deliver a swan song. Over the hundreds of days tormented in that very dungeon, Jun Xiaomo had painstakingly painted a complicated formation array with her own blood. With a determined look, Jun Xiaomo burns her life force to activate the array. Her sole intent? To bring with her as many schemers to the gates of hell as she could. The bright red light from thearray intensified, and the end was nigh.…or was it? Jun Xiaomo opens her eyes and finds herself alive again; time had rewound right back to when she was sixteen years of age, albeit only at the eighth level of Qi Cultivation. Armed with the knowledge and memories of her previous lifetime, Jun Xiaomo is determined to learn from her mistakes and bring retribution to those who so deserve…
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