Fated and Claimed by Four Alphas
Chapter 66: A Step-Down

Chapter 66: A Step-Down

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Chapter 66

~Spring’s POV~

The crowd screamed. And from the corners of my eyes, I saw many student pushing forward as it to catch me.

"Spring!" I heard someone shout. Maybe Jace. Maybe Eva. I didn’t know.

I tasted iron and pride.

"Get up, Solstice. You cannot let a nuisance teen upstage you. Solstice!" Jade screamed in my head, forcing my eyes to stay open.

Immediately her healing kicked in, to help with the pain.

"Get up!" I told myself and immediately, I moved.

I clawed at a nearby rung and hoisted myself up. Every cell in my body shrieked in protest, but I kept going.

Lilith was ascending the last few meters, her figure a blur of motion but I didn’t stop.

Not when the blood dripped from my knuckles.

Not when my skin burned from the shocks.

I climbed.

I climbed until I reached the second-highest point... just as Lilith’s hand slapped the sigil at the top.

A blinding light erupted.

A low cheer exploded from the stands and I knew what it meant.

Lilith had won. Game Two was hers.

I exhaled, the sound ragged. My body trembled, but I still made the last climb.

When I reached the platform, Lilith turned slightly, her expression smug but tired.

Her lips curled, but not in glee just in spite.

I didn’t speak.

I didn’t need to.

My body was proof enough that I wasn’t broken, just delayed. Soemthing I doubt she’d be capable of.

As I stood there, the electric burn still crawling across my skin, I whispered low enough that only Jade could hear, "One win for her. One for me."

And then I looked ahead—beyond the crowds, beyond the judges’ box—toward the pool gleaming in the sun.

The last game.

The final test. Tidal Gauntlet.

"Let’s end this," I muttered. "Once and for all."

"Definitely." Lilith snickered. "I see you are eager to meet your doom quickly and lose your mates."

Honestly, I was tired listening to her third-rate fake villainess bullshit and just wanted this to be done with.

I looked forward to how that smirk on her face would disappear right after I won the last round.

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My chest still burned from the climb. Every muscle in my arms and shoulders ached, and the leftover sparks from Lilith’s double buzz were still sizzling under my skin.

My breath hadn’t fully recovered—not that I’d let her see that.

"Contestants," Storm’s voice rang through the crystal-enhanced speakers, calm but commanding, "you are granted an hour and thirty minutes cooldown before the final match."

I didn’t move. Neither did Lilith.

Then her voice cut in, cool and clipped but laced with heat.

"I don’t need a cooldown."

Every head in the council box turned.

"I’m perfectly energized," she added, brushing a strand of hair off her shoulder with that smug grace she always wore like a crown. "And unless the council fears for Spring Kaine’s performance, I suggest we proceed."

Jace stood from his seat, arms folded. "It’s not about fear, Lilith. Don’t twist the system just because you’re desperate."

Her smile turned venomous. "Or is it that you’re afraid she’ll lose? Is that it? Or perhaps—this is about protecting your precious mate?"

The air tensed. Storm said nothing. But his hand curled into a fist where it rested on the edge of the balcony.

I smiled. I didn’t mean to but it just slipped.

Tyrion leaned in from his seat beside Storm. "Spring, you don’t have to accept. She’s baiting you."

But I just shook my head. "No. She wants it now?" My voice was steady. "Then now it is."

"You mustn’t be irrational," Raphael chided from his place beside the steps, arms crossed over his broad chest.

But I only tilted my head, flashing him a small smile. "Irrational?" I glanced at Lilith. "I’m not the one pushing ahead without thinking. That title belongs to your Vice President."

Lilith’s jaw twitched. Then a voice I hadn’t expected rang out from the crowd behind the arena.

"Yes. I believe she’s fine. If she says she’s ready, then let the game begin."

It was Rael, the one person I least expected to speak up for me.

I turned sharply, my gaze colliding with the vampire’s. He was already standing beside the other council members, somehow having slipped through without me noticing.

He gave me a calm, unreadable smile and my heart stuttered.

Not from attraction. No, but from a memory.

From the image of the other him—the one I killed in the maze and ended me in another life.

I bit the inside of my cheek, grounding myself. Storm’s eyes flicked to Rael and narrowed, but he didn’t argue.

He turned toward the audience, voice booming.

"As she wishes."

Then he raised his hand and declared, "The third game—Tidal Gauntlet—will commence in fifteen minutes! Contestants, prepare and report to the aquatic arena. Everyone else—prepare to witness the storm."

Cheers erupted as the council all stepped down and left.

~Fifteen Minutes Later~

~Amphitheater—Aquatic Arena~

The massive pool shimmered under spell-forged lighting. Rippling waves reflected off the crystalline tiles and the arena’s glass dome overhead.

Around the edges, witches and fae stood in teams—stationed evenly—magic already pulsing in their palms.

At either end of the pool were two floating sigil crystals—one red, one blue.

We were to swim from the start to the red crystal, touch it, and return to the blue to finish.

Easy? Not even close.

Magical tides, illusions, and whirlpools would fill the path. No flotation spells. No gear. Just raw instinct and strength to push through the waves.

Lilith emerged in her black-and-white swimwear—tailored, intimidating, and pristine.

I stepped onto my side of the dock, dressed in shimmering green and black swimwear with my name customized on it, one of the gifts from Eryx, my hair pulled back, my bruised arms exposed, and my breathing even.

We waited for the witches and faes to walk away and then took our spots.

I tried to block out every thought and worry my friends all had when I agreed to Lilith’s bait and focused.

"On your mark..."

We got ready.

"Set!"

And then... the whistle blew.

We dove.