CHAPTER 177: TWO SIDES OF A COIN

Percy stood outside Kali’s room, rubbing the back of his neck in confusion. Everything had happened so fast, leaving him overwhelmed. One minute Kali wanted him dead, and the next she was in his face kissing him. No matter how Percy tried, he just couldn’t understand the woman.

Stepping away from the room, Percy decided to go ahead and do something more important. It was getting late, and there was still no news from Rhane and how the tournament had ended.

"Percy... Percy..."

Percy closed the distance, standing in front of the man that called him.

"I heard from someone that they have a winner now."

Percy’s heart skipped- it had to be Rhane, no matter what. Trying to remain composed, he asked, "And who is this winner?"

The informant shook his head, "Nobody knows that much."

Percy hummed; his first guess was that Rhane had won, but because he wasn’t the council’s choice, they had done everything to keep quiet.

"Umm Percy... what happened to your lips?"

It was then Percy licked his lips and felt a sharp pain. "Ow..." he winced, rubbing his upper lip. He turned to look at Kali’s door.

"Did that woman bite me?"

The informant raised his brows, "What?"

Percy waved his hands dismissively. Now he really prayed for Rhane to win and return home as soon as possible in order to put a leash on his sister. Percy didn’t know if he could survive staying with Kali, and worse, if anything should happen to Rhane, then it was over for him.

"Please come home, Rhane..." Percy prayed silently, his finger grazing his lips.

. . . .

Meanwhile, back in the mountain, Hart, who had tried to stop Lois, sat under one of the trees with his eyes staring at the leaves falling gracefully to the ground. The mountain was cold and chill enough to lull one to sleep, but it wasn’t the case for Hart. He heard Lois screaming; as he had expected, Rhane had also rejected the woman.

"Jenna... I guess you are lucky this time," the young man muttered, shaking his head. He was ready to leave but wasn’t sure who to go to first. From the other side, not far from where he sat, Hart could hear Gerald whimpering and raining curses on his life and Rhane.

And on the other side was Lois, whose situation Hart didn’t know, but if he had predicted the girl right, she must have inflicted harm on herself or on Rhane.

"What should we do..." Hart rapped his fingers on his thighs. His eyes scanned the place. He could help Gerald, and that would foster a friendship between him and Nikolai. If he was thinking like a merchant, then helping Gerald should come first.

On the brighter side, Hart hummed. As a man, helping Lois would add to his fame and brush his ego. If the woman didn’t get Rhane, then maybe... Hart’s eyes gleamed with mischief. Hart had seen how the woman had almost given up her body if he pressed hard.

Though raved with obsession and had lost her mind, the woman looked really good. Hart had never been one to paint the truth as what it isn’t. So, as a man, his first instinct was to help Lois.

Then there was Rhane... the coin had two sides. Hart thought about it, he could go and meet Rhane in his weakness at the moment and return with Jenna’s veil, making him the winner. Or he could help Rhane, thereby strengthening his friendship with Jenna.

So, victory and friendship were on the line for Hart when it came to Rhane.

"What do I do...?" he hummed, his attention shifting back to the trees. In that moment, Hart envied those leaves. They could decide at what time they no longer fancied sitting high on branches, and they would fall to the ground, turn brown, get squashed, and wouldn’t be bothered by anyone or anything.

Hart pushed his body up with a grunt, "It’s a shame I am not like you... I have to make a decision and be held accountable." He glanced at where Gerald was.

"He deserves more than that... he should be fine before help arrives." He turned, making his way to where he saw Lois follow Rhane.

Hart snorted when he found Lois struggling by the cliff, her hair covered in dust and stone pebbles, the smooth skin of her palm covered in filth. The woman was fighting for her life.

"Do you need help?" Hart asked, staring down at her. "I am surprised to see you alive; Rhane has a good heart, if you ask me." he twitched his lips.

Lois snarled, turning her face away, "If you have come to mock me, do so and leave."

Hart nodded, "As a matter of fact, I will... I did tell you so, didn’t I?" he snickered, shaking his head. "I am petty like that... won’t let this moment pass me by."

Lois scowled, shaking her head to move her hair away from her face. She grabbed the next rock in her path, but it crumbled and fell.

Hart frowned, reaching out to grab the girl’s hand, but Lois hit him away, regaining her balance all by herself.

"That’s impressive; you don’t look like you can handle the jungle," Hart confessed, taking back his hand and returning it inside his trouser pocket.

Lois made another attempt; feeling her shoulder wearing off, she groaned and bit her lip. She was ashamed and at the same time furious.

Hart took a step back; he stared at the girl in pity. "You know there is no prize in taking this too far... it’s okay to stop when it get—"

"Preach the bull crap to someone who wishes to listen," Lois retorted. "I might not have won the battle... but the war was mine to win." She chuckled, making another move, pushing her body up.

Hart narrowed his eyes. The young woman wasn’t one to say empty words she didn’t mean. Tearing his gaze away from her face, he noticed that the place was covered in blood. And except for the blood on Lois’s hand, there was none on her body.

"W-what did you do?" Hart stammered, turning around to see the girl still struggling to climb up. He ran over to her and grabbed her small chin. "Where is Rhane?"

Lois pushed her face away from his hold, "Somewhere dying alone in the cold and not in Jenna’s arms, I’m sure." She smirked, "He is already with an infected injury... he won’t be able to make it out of the mountain in time." The young girl was certain.

Hart grabbed the girl’s hand, pulling her up to sit, and he just stared at her in disbelief. What other low was she willing to go just to prove her point?

"B-but you said you loved Rhane?" Hart was confused.

Lois nodded, sitting on the ground. Her eyes looked empty. "If he can’t be mine, then there is no use for him to be alive," she muttered.

Hart shook his head; the woman had lost all reasoning. Before he could say anything, Lois grabbed his hand.

"There is still hope... I have everything I need here to save him with... if you can take the veil and return it to Jenna, then I can save Rhane."

Hart raised his brows, "You who tried to kill him?"

Lois smiled, "It doesn’t matter... he will forget it all after I have saved him."

It was really over for the young woman, Hart thought, standing on his feet. He began walking but halted. "You know, Lois... the first time I met you, I was enchanted by your beauty... then you spoke, and I couldn’t have been more curious. A woman so beautiful, elegant, and had the brains. I’d wanted to have you go on trade journeys with me after the tournament. You’re an asset in the kingdoms across our seas."

Lois stared at him blankly.

Hart turned and walked back to her, using his palm to smoothen the woman’s hair. "You deserve men bowing at your feet... that is what I see when I look at your face. It is a shame you let obsession cloud your thinking."

Lois slapped his hand away, "I am not obsessed... I love Rhane!"

Hart let out a humorless chuckle, "You’re smart, Lois... and you know at the point you should have stopped, but you didn’t. You kept walking, and that was the line you crossed, Lois. The line that was supposed to stop you." He stood up and sighed.

"Maybe in another life... in a better time where we both know what we deserve. Let us meet as more than friends." He walked away from the young woman. Hart could have sworn he heard sniffling, but he didn’t turn to look.

After a long walk, he found Rhane covered in blood but still trying to walk. Hart ran towards him to hold him up; Rhane’s body was already burning up with fever.

"Jenna is waiting... I need to get to her."

Hart closed his eyes and sighed, "Even if I wanted to steal the veil from you... how—"

A loud crash was heard from somewhere deep in the mountain. Hart exhaled tiredly. He used his hand to cover Rhane’s stomach that was bleeding.

"Is everything crumbling now that the tournament has ended?" Hart mused, looking for where the sound came from. Then he remarked coolly,

"I believe this is the situation where things turn around for me." Hart took the veil from Rhane’s hand. "I told you, didn’t I? Not every day the second options get this lucky."