Chapter.2

with our machetes. The branches cut my arms, which felt like revenge for disturbing that place. It was a war to get to the war, quite literally.

The path became clearer, and soon we could see the river. Before leaving the forest, we had to find a way not to scare away the deer. I was truly tired, so I welcomed the small tactical pause. Leaning against a rock, feeling my arms tremble, I tried not to dwell too much on the risk we were taking. I waited for Clarisse to assess the surroundings. My legs were throbbing and burning, and I looked at them with self-pity for not being able to truly rest.

"This is too risky," Sabrina said, as if blurring the line between speech and thought. Her impatient posture, arms crossed, made her want to follow Clarisse immediately. I was still watching the two of them move away when I noticed someone taking the remaining space on the rock where I rested. It was Tales, adjusting his boots.

"Have you ever wondered why her?" he said, disguising his words.

I was still trying to understand what he was talking about when Henrique came from behind the rock where we were. "I still didn't understand until now…, but it shows that maybe I'm not so far from being the next one." That's when I understood they were talking about Sabrina and why she had been chosen by D'haime. It was really strange, but I had never stopped to think that no ability stood out in her, except for the beauty that everyone commented on. The girl was small with wavy dark blonde hair, round honey-colored eyes, and a tanned skin that made her look like a doll. There were people in D'haime who were there just because they were beautiful. I didn't understand how beauty would bring resistance to energy, but we couldn't believe that even though she was beautiful, she would be the most beautiful of those in D'haime on the day she was called.

"Maybe the vein on her forehead doesn't give her away when she's scared." Henrique laughed, and Tales cursed me while laughing. I didn't want to mock him, but he should at least feel a little less tense about what we were going to do.

"But it's not fair that she was chosen and you weren't! Just because you avoided D'haime's physical activity assessments doesn't mean you don't deserve it!" I retorted. I hadn't run away, but I didn't want to face Hugo and other captains in a clearly lost competition. This resulted in a not-so-good reputation in my village; I offended Mirana's memory, Hugo told me after the event. Maybe I should have accepted if there had been the help of some weapon, because I had enough motivations against him.

"She doesn't need it; I always cover her during the hunts, so she avoids the heavy stuff," Henrique said.

"Man, I know you don't have a chance of getting out of here, but don't ruin her chances just because you want to marry her. This one definitely isn't Caius' son." We laughed, but somehow this topic created an odd atmosphere there. Tales always said that if I didn't marry Henrique, I would marry Hugo, because I always had strong connections, albeit opposite ones, with both of them. He clearly rooted for Henrique. I hoped to return home alive and for the awkwardness between us to pass. Being na affront to the founders of that place would actually be a point in favor of Henrique in my grandmother's eyes. I laughed, dismissing the thought; that wouldn't work—I would be the hindrance for him, for sure.

Clarisse signaled for us to follow. And I thanked her, even though it might cost me my life.

"Look," Clarisse pointed to rocks that emerged until they reached the river, "we'll all climb up to stay hidden behind the stones. The archers will position themselves as close as possible to kill as many deer as they can. You all need to be ready in case a deer doesn't die instantly—kill it and dismember it so we can take as much as possible from the hunt. We don't have time."

Soon, I was creeping through the grass, avoiding making noise. The deer hadn't noticed us yet. That's when we saw smoke in a spot to the south of where the tiger was.

"They've already started—hurry!" Sabrina's order came. Everyone rushed, and in no time, we were in position. My group and I were on rocks near the deer and the river, while the archers were positioned higher up.

As soon as we gave the signal for them to shoot, the hunt began… and deer were immediately hit and fell. One was wounded in the hind leg and ran with difficulty in my direction.

"Now! Catarina, catch!" Henrique shouted as he descended the hill to help the others.

I stood up with the machete in hand, leaping at the animal that hadn't seen me yet. It tried to dodge, but I was already gripping its neck. Blinded by the force the animal exerted, I plunged the machete into its neck, and it collapsed on top of me.

I was covered in blood.

The pressure of the moment made me get up and start cutting the parts of the deer that I had skillfully killed myself. I filled the bags I was carrying and put them on my shoulders; they were heavy, but I shouldn't delay. When everyone had their share of meat, we headed toward the meeting point.

I ran as fast as I could, but I was the last one again. Clarisse and Pedro stopped to pick up the pieces of meat that were weighing down the bag I carried. Now that it was lighter, I managed to keep up with them. Blood marked our path, urging us to run faster, as any predator that caught wind of the scent would follow us.

We reached the meeting point, and Hugo was covered in blood, a huge gash on his arm. He held Uriel, who was unconscious. "Get down now!" he shouted. "What happened? Where are the others?" everyone asked, bewildered. "Shut up and get down! Do you want to stay here and die?" he snapped.

In response, everyone hurriedly descended. The tension in the air was palpable, and we knew we were in a dire situation. The hunt had taken its toll, and survival was our only focus.