𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐀 | 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬

𝟎𝟖. 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲'𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝

— 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐮𝐬 —

━━━━━━ ☽【❖】☾ ━━━━━━

Rena's attack was quick and ferocious as her knives clashed against my larger blade. I deflected her blows with ease, but it was the subtle pause between each strike that caught me off-guard. It wasn't hesitance but a calculated move as her eyes absorbed each deflection, likely storing that information to turn against me later in our fight.

It was unlike her. To strategize in the midst of battle. The Rena I knew fought until she and her opponent had no breath left in their lungs. Perhaps the arena had changed us both.

She slashed her knives in one direction—another easy deflection—then she stepped back and slowly began to circle around me, swaying with serpentine influence.

She gestured with one of her knives at the girl behind me with a burning hatred. "You called me delusional, but I knew from the moment you set your eyes on her. So who's delusional now?"

"Still you," I replied barely changing the inflection of my tone. We knew the other's weaknesses and how to get inside one another's heads. But the less I showed that, the more likely she was to make a mistake. "Where's Lux?"

"Died of a broken heart," Rena's lips curled back into a twisted smirk. "The flame lost its halo of light, so I snuffed it out for good. It was worthless on its own."

"He was a person—"

"He was a tool! They all were!" Rena seethed, snapping her jaw like a wild animal as her biting words echoed. "Or did you forget that when your queen made a tool of you?"

"No one is using me," I protested, holding back an insult between grit teeth.

"I did," Rena tsked. "And so did the little ginger bitch, only I guess her lies were more effective than mine since you fell into the palm of her hand and willingly accepted the leash that she handed."

"Leave her out of this." My tone darkened and my eyes narrowed. "This is about you and me."

She threw her head back and laughed. "There never was a you and me, Romulus. I saw a crack that I tried to wedge open, only it was your so-called allies that widened the chasm."

"You're stalling," I noted.

She shook her head. No anger, only a false look of pity reflected in her eyes. "No. I'm helping you understand why you're about to lose."

I scoffed. "Is that right? Enlighten me then."

Juneaux frowned, but remained silent. It was apparent she thought I was making a mistake by allowing Rena to waste time, but whatever small amount of respect I had for my opponent was enough to grant her a few more seconds of breath.

"You seek out an equal," Rena said with an airy haughtiness to her tone. "You find someone you believe reflects your better half and form an attachment that blinds you to their flaws. And when you surpass them or they disappoint you in some small way, you always move on to your next infatuation. We made quite the team until the masks I wore were too blood-stained for your liking. You tried finding someone as depraved as you—more-so perhaps—then decided you'd like to try innocence for once. So tell me, how does purity taste?"