Needing a distraction against the fear settled heavy in her chest, Melody leaned into Jules. “That’s sorta an odd coincidence that his name’s Romeo. Isn’t Jules short for—”
“Don’t say it.” Jules turned to glare at her. “You know he’s the enemy, right?”
“But…that was the coincidence,” Melody started, finding herself looking into Jules’s icy-eyed stare. “’Cause you’re from different houses.”
“No, I get it,” Jules said sharply. “But if you believe in omens, you might wanna stop with the comparisons because Clay’s from my house, and we want a different third act.”
Melody frowned, trying to remember Romeo and Juliet from eleventh-grade English. She vaguely recalled Romeo killing a family member of Juliet’s, and got Jules’s point. The coincidence was a little too odd, and she decided to stop thinking about it before she gave herself heart palpitations.
“Well, I don’t believe in omens,” Melody said, needing it out in the air.
“Me neither,” Jules assured her, though she sounded decidedly unsure. “Okay, here he comes.”
Melody stood on her feet to watch as Clay and his team made their way to the center of the arena. The excitement was intoxicating. It seemed like the crowd screamed ten times as loud for Clay, and her heart was literally bursting with pride over it. It was amazing Clay had managed to achieve this level of success. She was awed this many people not only knew who he was, but were excited just to see him. All of Garnet treated him like a celebrity, but they were used to him too; many even avoided him because he gave off an intimidating air. Until this moment, Melody hadn’t understood the sweeping scope of his fame, and it was surreal.
It felt like she had accidentally fallen into a relationship with a rock star.
Clay wasn’t as dynamic as the other fighter. He didn’t have the flash. He didn’t posture to the camera. Wyatt, however, did. While Clay walked stoically to the ring, Wyatt jumped to give high fives to fans, looking enthused and pumped to be exactly where he was. Melody realized he was compensating for Clay’s quiet intensity, and he was doing a damn good job of it.
Even with his cap pulled low over his eyes, Clay was easy to read. He seemed oddly calm and completely unaffected by the buzz of the crowd. His shoulders were stiff and straight. His stride was confident, and Melody hoped with all her being that he’d have a reason to remain so self-assured.
Clay and Romeo entered the ring.
She fell silent, feeling the pound of her heartbeat reverberating in her ear. Why had she agreed to come? Clay didn’t even know she was here. A surge of cowardliness slammed into her, and she was desperate to flee before the fight started. The idea of Clay getting beaten by this man, of sitting there watching him take abuse she understood better than she wanted to—this was Melody’s idea of hell.
“I can’t do this,” Melody said in a wild panic.
Jules just reached over and grabbed Melody’s hand in a powerful show of unity, her grip shockingly tight. Jules squeezed her fingers nearly to the point of pain, making it obvious Melody wasn’t the only one who wanted to run away.
“I’ve been to dozens and dozens of these fights, and it never gets easier,” Jules said in anguish. “I’m so sick of this sport.”
Melody had just been introduced to the sport, and she was already sick of it. She could hardly imagine poor Jules, who’d been watching both her brother and Clay compete for years and years. It was like witnessing a train wreck, seeing the two fighters facing off with only a referee to stop something truly terrible from happening. Melody was so frozen with fear the only thing she could focus on was Clay’s bare chest, which was now slick and smooth. He must have shaved for the fight. His hair was shorter too, leaving it standing up in inky black spikes as he bounced up and down on his side of the ring, loosening his shoulders, his fists held up as the referee stood between the two fighters.
The referee in black stepped back, and Clay and Romeo met quickly in the center of the cage, their gloves touching. Then they both bounced out of reach, their stances springy, gloves held up. Melody could feel Clay’s concentration from across the room, but Romeo’s was also noticeably intense. It wasn’t even surprising when he flew at Clay, looking like a wild bull, throwing his fist into Clay’s jaw before he could respond to such a swift move.
Jules squeezed Melody’s hand tighter. “Shit.”
Clay punched back, but Romeo got two more hits. Romeo was stunningly fast for such a big man. He had a crazed air about him, reminding Melody of a street fighter, someone with nothing to lose. It was a boldness she didn’t know if Clay could match. When Romeo threw another wild punch, Melody was about to close her eyes and pray for it all to be over, but Clay managed to push him against the cage before she could.