Tenn seemed to vanish.
Then again, the Chryon was a huge ship. There were dozens upon dozens of nooks and crannies the old man could've been holed up in. Iggy had no idea which cell in the labyrinth of halls and rooms was his. He had no idea where to even start looking should he want to find him.
And he did want to find him.
If it wasn't for Tenn...
Iggy shuddered at the thought. A slimy, trickling chill cascaded down his bane, coiling around the base of his spine. He hadn't even made it to the arena yet and his life had already been threatened. What was going to happen when the games start? At this rate, he wouldn't even make it to the first one.
With a sigh, he raked his grime-covered fingers through his matted hair. As he yawned the last night away, sharp pinpricks flared through mouth. Wincing, he carefully pressed his swollen lip. It had gone down a bit in his sleep, but the bruising was far from gone. He couldn't see his neck, but he was certain the marks from Vonn's blade were still there.
"Jeez, kid. Can't even take one punch?" Vonn's words echoed in his ear, loud like a cannon shot disturbing the uncomfortable silence he sat in. "Even the children on Galenrad are tougher than you. You won't last a minute in that arena."
Iggy scowled. His fingernails dug into the palms of his hands as he glared at the floor. His distorted reflection in the metal of his door stared back at him. Through the corner of his eye, he swore he saw himself shake his head in disapproval. Or perhaps he had actually done so himself. He wasn't too sure.
But he was sure of one thing: Vonn was right.
There was no way he was surviving those gladiator games. He wouldn't have even survived the night had it not been for the old man.
The old man...
Memories of the short fight between the two Andradans in his cell flashed through his tired mind. Tenn might've been old, but he was a capable fighter. More than capable in fact. Not only had he managed to disarm and take down Vonn with a few simple moves, but he also intimidated them enough to flee without putting up a fight.
How was that possible?
Surely Vonn and his lackeys would've tried their luck against him. After all, it would've been a three-on-one.
Unless they knew something Iggy didn't—which was usually the case.
Iggy blinked. Then again. An idea, small like a budding flower in the spring, sprouted in his brain. He felt it open, spreading its pedals. A small stretched across his face. There was only one way he was going to survive that arena. He would have to learn how to fight.
And he knew exactly who his teacher was going to be.
Standing up from his bed, he let the cold floor rush up his toes and jolt his stiff body. Ignoring the shoes at his bedside, he ventured toward the small window on the opposite side of the room. Nothing but black met his wide eyes. The occasional fading star blinked in the abyss of space.
He'd only seen it once before, and even then, the memory was hazy at best.
Being confined to sandy dunes and salt mines of Novr didn't give him much opportunity to experience. The heavy amounts of iron-oxide in the desert planet's atmosphere made star sightings an extremely rare occurrence. Until a few days ago, he didn't even know what the inside of a spacecraft looked like. He just hoped every ship wasn't like the Chryon. The oppressively bleak grey of the metal and stone was already starting to get old.
At least Novr had some color. Even if it all was some variation of brown and orange.
He wouldn't be stuck on this ship forever, though. The Chryon was taking them all to Elysium Prime—the crown system of the Elysian Empire and the location of Elysium itself. The galaxy's oasis. The promiseland. He'd only seen bits and pieces of it through news clippings and the few times he was able to catch glimpses of the reality television shows his next door neighbor watched religiously.
What he had seen was enough to convince him that the rumors were true.
He just had to make it there first.
Nodding to himself, he turned his eyes to the door.
There was only one thing on his mind: find Tenn.
#
Locating the old man in the massive hunk of metal that was the Chryon was easier said than done. It wasn't like he could just go up and ask someone either. The ship wasn't exactly full of people he'd call his friends. In fact, he had more friends than enemies at this point and he'd only been on the thing for a cycle. Even if he could ask someone, something told him no one knew where Tenn was. Besides, it was best if he kept a low profile after what happened with Vonn. They no doubt would still be out for him. He feared no one would be around to save him next time they decided to attack.
After breakfast, Iggy decided now was the perfect time to take a tour around the ship. He never officially got one after being brought aboard. The Elysian guards weren't the most friendly people he's met. No one else looked friendly enough to show him around either.
He started with the courtyards, which housed majority of the ship's captive population. They milled about aimlessly, their faces downcast and shoulders so low they nearly touched the ground. Iggy couldn't help but feel the despair and trepidation permeating the air like the gas Elysian soldiers dispersed upon rioting citizens across the galaxy.
In just a few days most—if not all—of them would be dead. Slain by the hands of another in the name of the Elysian Empire and its royal elite.
Iggy sneered.
It wasn't fair. Then again, most things about the empire weren't. Planets all over the galaxy often complained about exorbitant taxes by the Noblus families who ruled over them. Hands like Iggy were forced to endure terrible working conditions in exchange for wages that barely covered basic necessities. The Elysian Empire was a siren—a beautiful monster.
A monster that couldn't be killed.
He thought back the hidden room he found in the salt mines. His father's hidden room. The man was a rebel conspirator. A member of the growing unrest sparking throughout the underbelly of the empire; operating in secret, away from the watchful eye of the emperor.
Iggy shook his head. Even if the rebellion was real, it meant nothing. A few rebels were powerless against the emperor and his forces. He was better off forgetting what he found out about his father. It would only distract him once he got to the arena.
He wasn't a rebel, nor was a warrior.
But in a few days' time he would have to become one.
After scouring the courtyards, Iggy wormed his way down a few dimly lit corridors. They didn't house any cells, and all the doors were closed and guarded by holographic hand-scanners he didn't even bother trying to unlock. Running a fingertip along the smooth, metal walls, he continued down the hall, his head on a constant swivel.
At this rate, he'd never find Tenn.
As he approached the end of the hallway, a series of grunts followed by blades clashing stopped him in his tracks. With an eyebrow raised, he cautiously approached the noise. It came from the room at the end of the hall. He kept his shoulder close to the wall and attempted to peer inside. From his viewpoint, he spotted several Elysian guards without their helmets on. Instead of their typical all-white armor suits, they donned sleeveless grey shirts with pants of a similar color. He watched as two of them swung heavy blades at each other. Sweat dripped from their faces as they sparred.
Iggy's eyes widened.
The only fights he'd ever seen were the scrappy little brawls that occassionaly occurred in the marketplace he frequented back on Novr. And those involved weren't usually trained fighters.
But these men? They were soldiers. Likely trained to become the empire's fighting force from the moment they gain consciousness. They swung their weapons as if they were extensions of their own beings. Their movements were quick, precise, nimble. Iggy had never seen anymore move so fast before.
Was that what he was up against when he eventually arrived on Elysium? If so, he was definitely needed Tenn's help.
That's if he could find him first.
Craning his neck, he tried to get a better look at the sparring match inside the room. As he moved toward the door, he felt his shoulder slip off the slick wall. Eyes bulging, he prepared to crash to the ground. Holding his arms out, he waited for the floor to rush toward him.
It never did.
He was suspended in the air. Someone's hand had grabbed a fistful of his jumpsuit. He froze like a statue, his breath catching in his throat. The hand yanked him backward, forcing him upright. He immediately spun around.
An annoyed expression met his gaze. Iggy couldn't help but smile.
It was Tenn, his savior for the second time now.
"I found you!" He grinned.
Tenn brought a stern finger to his taut lips. His dark eyes shifted past Iggy. "Do you want them to hear you?"
"Right." Warmth spread across his face. "Sorry."
"Besides," Tenn continued. "You didn't find me. I found you."
"You were looking for me?"
"No, but if I were, it wouldn't have been hard."
He rolled his eyes. Tenn took a step forward.
"But you were looking for me?"
Iggy nodded slowly. "Yeah, I was. Listen, I need your help—"
Tenn averted his gaze to the ground. A muscle in his jaw flexed. "I cannot help you, boy."
Iggy flinched backward; his features screwed in confusion. "But—"
"What I did yesterday was a mistake. If Vonn hadn't killed you, someone in the arena would have. In retrospect, it might've been better to let you die in your cell."
"You're joking, right?"
Tenn blinked, his face deadpan.
"Okay, you're not joking." He squinted at the Andradan. "Why did you save me then?"
If that's how he truly felt, then his previous acts of heroics were a tad bit contradictory. In most cases, Iggy would've despised looking like a damsel in distress, but considering he narrowly escaped death he wouldn't sweat it this time. Still, if Tenn didn't think his life was worth saving, there was no chance he'd accept the proposal to train him.
Tenn pondered Iggy's question for what felt like a millennia. Iggy remained in front of him, shifting his weight across his feet as he awaited a reply.
"It was a mistake," Tenn finally said.
Iggy tilted his head. "Or maybe it was fate."
He snorted. "Fate."
"Yeah."
The two of them stared each other down, silently studying each other's souls through their eyes. Iggy could practically feel the frigidness of Tenn's. It pricked and prodded his skin. He wasn't sure what the old man had seen. His expression was deathly still, almost as if his face had been etched into stone by a sculptor hired by the emperor himself.
Iggy kept his own expression neutral. He knew the old man was sizing him up and down, determining whether he was worthy or not. Well, he was. At least, that's what he told himself. He no longer had his mother to be his cheerleader. Someone had to believe in him.
His gaze wavered for a moment at the thought of his mother.
She was alone on Novr. No one to take care of her; her medication was already low before he left. What would happen when it finally ran out? Leaving her on Novr was the last thing he wanted to do, but it was the only way he could keep her safe. The Elysians would've murdered them both had he not given them his faux confession. She didn't deserve to die because of him. But if he didn't return to her soon, she might've been as good as dead.
Furrowing his brow, Iggy pushed the thoughts out of his head and squinted at Tenn. The man was as motionless as before. Finally, he lifted his chin ever so slightly.
"What makes you think I can help you?"
Iggy's face lit up.
"See, I'm not a fighter—"
"That much is obvious."
Tenn, master of sarcasm, was a sassy old man. A bit too much for Iggy's liking, but he wasn't in the position to be care. The Andradan was the only person in this whole ship who could help him survive the arena. He'd do whatever it took to get that help.
Pursing his lips, he ignored the man's snide remark.
"I saw how you took down those goons in my cell. You might be old, but you're a fighter. A pretty good one." He took a step forward. Courage surged through his veins. "I need you to train me. It's the only way I'll have a shot at surviving the games and returning to Novr."
Tenn lifted a brow. "Novr? Why in the name of Galenrad would you want to return to that shithole? Winners of the games are granted with unfathomable wealth. You could go anywhere in the empire, and you want to go back to Novr?"
Iggy faltered. Tenn was alone. There likely wasn't anyone waiting for him back wherever the empire plucked him from. He couldn't have had anyone depending on him. He wouldn't understand Iggy's motives.
"My mother," he answered. "I've got to get back to her before it's too late."
"Your mother, eh?" Tenn stroked his beard. "And why should I help you?"
"Is your heart really that cold?"
Tenn snorted again. "You think you're unique? Special? Well, you're not. Everyone on this godforsaken ship has a sob story. The empire doesn't care about you, your mother, or anything else. The quicker you understand that the more likely you are to actually survive."
Iggy took it that was his first lesson. He hoped it wasn't the last.
"Why are you here?" Tenn demanded.
"Huh? I already told you—"
"I mean on this ship, boy. Why are you here?"
Tenn couldn't be more correct. Still, Iggy couldn't help but be a little offended. Did he really look that innocent?
Iggy opened his mouth to answer, but the words were stopped behind the invisible vise forming within the constraints of his tightening throat. Revealing the truth behind his arrest could go one of two ways: Tenn would immediately recoil at the mere mention of rebellion like most citizens of the Elysian Empire, or he'd laugh and call him a liar. Of course, slight variations of each outcome were possible, but those were the main scenarios currently playing out in his head. Neither one was desirable if he wanted to convince the Andradan to train him for the gladiator games.
He couldn't exactly blame him for being skeptical, though. Had their roles been reversed, he would've done the same. He wanted nothing to do with the Chryon, Elysium, or that wretched arena they were being carted off to. And he definitely didn't want to be associated with the rebellion.
But, like most things in his life, that was out of his control now.
The only thing he did have control over was whether he survived. And he would do whatever it took to get back to Novr and, more importantly, his mother.
"Well?" Tenn prodded. "Spit it out, boy."
The green tint behind Iggy's cheeks flushed red. He jammed a hand into the pocket of his jumpsuit and ran his finger along the amulet hiding inside. After a long, careful internal debate, he fished it out and showed it to the old man before him.
"This thing is why I'm here."
Tenn looked as if he'd been struck by lightning.
"Where did you get that?"
"It's not mine...well, technically it is now. It belonged to my father." Clearing his throat, he lowered his eyes to the ground. Suddenly the metal paneling beneath his feet seemed far more appealing than this conversation. "He left it behind before he...before he disappeared."
"That's a rebel trinket, boy."
"You don't think I know that? Also, my name isn't boy."
"I don't care what it is."
Iggy rolled his eyes.
"Your father...he's a rebel then?"
"I don't know." That was a lie, and a particularly bad one, but Tenn hadn't seemed to notice. Or maybe he did. Not an ounce of emotion broke through those frozen oceans he called eyes. His face might as well had been a slab of rough [alien material]*.
"You don't know?" Tenn clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "That amulet would imply he was."
Iggy knew what it implied. He had been trying to avoid that truth the second he stumbled into that hidden room in the salt mines. A brief period of silence settled between them, occasional interrupted by the sound of sparring in the room just a few paces behind them. As Iggy studied Tenn's features, a question sprouted in his head like the tiny [flower name*] flowers his mother kept in their apartment.
"Why are you here?"
"That's irrelevant."
Tenn shifted his feet. A slight break in character. Iggy lifted a brow.
"Hey, I told you why I'm on this ship. Now it's your—"
"You're not my king, boy."
"It's Iggy!" His fists were clenched at his side, shaking slightly as he squinted at the old man. "My name is Iggorii Amrada. Iggy for short." He stuck a hand out toward the man, a common greeting across most Elysian-controlled planets.
Tenn examined his hand like it was a foreign object. Eventually, he took it. Iggy yelped as the Andradan's grip nearly shattered his digits. As he massaged his throbbing hand, he wondered if he really was that frail or if Tenn was really that strong.
"Ohr-Yahn Tennic," Tenn said.
"Ohr-Yahn? Why don't you go by that instead of—"
"I'm not going to explain to you the complex nature of the Andradan naming system."
Iggy simply shrugged. He glanced down at the amulet in his other hand. His eyes flickered to Tenn's neck. He got a closer look at the tattoo inked into his fair skin. Just as he noticed before, the symbol resembled the one pressed into the metal of his father's amulet.
Tenn still hadn't answered his question.
"You're a rebel, aren't you?"
The old man didn't respond. He didn't have to. Iggy's eyes widened.
"Do you know my father?"
"I know a lot of people."
Iggy stepped forward, his chest swelling with a spark of hope. "His name is Icarii Amrada. We're Arigorii but we've been living on Novr for the past few cycles. Ringing any bells?"
The man shook his head. The boy's shoulders deflated. Spark of hope gone, extinguished like a wavering torch in the middle of blizzard that ravaged the snowy tundras of Troslore.
Tenn grumbled something under his breath before running a liver-spotted hand over his head. "Alright," he said tiredly.
Iggy blinked. "Alright?"
"I'll train you."
His eyes widened.
"Don't get your hopes up, boy." Tenn words were sharper than a blade. "I said I'll train you, not help you survive. That's not up to me."
Iggy gulped. Tenn was right; his survival rested on his shoulders alone.
A miniscule seed of doubt planted itself in his cerebellum. Even if he did get a little bit of training before they arrived in Elysium Prime, that was no guarantee he'd keep hold of his life. A few day's worth of training wouldn't turn him into a master warrior, and with his injured leg, he was at a significant disadvantage. There was no time for optimism. Still, he couldn't help but smile at the old Andradan standing ahead of him.
He couldn't explain it, but something about this all felt right to him.
"Meet me in the main courtyard after dinner," Tenn told him. "Make sure you eat too. You look like a skeleton."
Iggy knew he was skinny, but that was just plain rude.
Tenn gave the boy a curt nod before turning on his heel and walking down the hall.
He watched the man disappear. Hope bubbled in his chest, eventually spreading across his face. This was it. This was his chance to take hold of his destiny. In just a few days, the Chryon would be arriving in Elysium Prime. Soon he would have to fight for his life. His smile faltered. Soon he would have take a life. He hoped it wouldn't come to that, but if it came down to himself and someone else, he wouldn't hesitate. He couldn't.
His mother needed him back on Novr. He'd do whatever it took to get back to her.
Iggy pulled the pendant out of his pocket and examined the symbol again. Nodding to himself, he ventured down the corridor with believe pumping through his heart and determination shining across his face.