Not long now. Blood was pulsing through Sophie's veins with excitement and the possibility of going home. Back, probably about two weeks ago, that was just a fantasy, but now it was becoming more real by the day. Biana was clearly sharing the same excitement, having reached the same conclusion as Sophie, but she also had a look of restraint, almost... Dread. Only then did Sophie realise that she'd have to kill her brother. Wow. A wave of overwhelming guilt came over her with the realisation that she'd never even thought twice about killing him or Biana having to kill him. Tam had obviously come to the same realisation, and though he looked uncomfortable slightly, he hid it well.

"OK, we only have two people left," Sophie began shakily, trying to push away her conflicted feelings about Fitz and to focus on the task at hand. "Ruy's our bigger threat, but he can't resist a fight. If we meet at the cornucopia, he'll come. Then we just need to take him out." Biana looked relieved, and Wylie nodded slowly, with a hint of begrudging respect.

"Okay... That plan sounds solid. Until you factor in how we actually murder him," Dex argued, glancing at the floor when he said 'Murder'.

"I can deal with him," muttered Marrela darkly, a spark erupting from her hand viciously. Sophie glanced at her briefly then nodded. Keefe stood up and began to pace, shaking his hand nervously as he went; Sophie felt antsy too, but not that afraid. If they didn't go, they'd die anyway. What did she have to lose?

"Ready?" Everyone nodded quickly after, confident and ready. It was amazing how much they'd all changed in the two weeks since they'd arrived in the arena. Or was it two weeks? Sophie had lost count, but she knew it hadn't really been that long, but they'd certainly changed. Keefe balled his fists, much to Sophie's confusion.

She pulled at her bag, dropping it to the ground with a thud. It wasn't as if she'd need it. However, she did pull out a few goblin throwing stars which she tucked into her pocket quietly. She felt slightly queasy handling them, but it disappeared not long after when she pictured Ruy's cruel face. She would kill him. As he wouldn't hesitate to kill her.

Dex smiled grimly as he pulled out a couple of makeshift devices he'd been building out of random pieces of wire he'd found from around the arena. He claimed they could dissipate Ruy's force-fields, though Sophie was doubtful they'd work. And even if they did, he'd just make another. Though some of the others were mini-bombs, which would probably be more effective, if more risky.

Sophie noticed Wylie pressing his hand down on his stomach again, drops of red seeping through his shirt that she'd not noticed before. It was disguised by the black, and while it looked old it still seemed to hurt. However when he noticed Sophie looking, he pulled it away. He shrugged it off so perfectly that if Sophie wasn't looking, she wouldn't have noticed it.

"You OK?" She murmured to him when she walked passed. He glared at her, but there was a look of defeat in his eyes that was at this point undeniable.

"Don't you dare try stop..." he began to threaten, before Sophie nodded quickly.

"Only if you show me how bad it is." Wylie winced as he pulled his top up to reveal the deep wound. The blood had dried, and it was smeared across in a way that suggested Wylie had tried to clear it up. It was slightly yellow around the edges from an infection that the physicians would surely be able to fix once they got out - and they would get out. 

"I'm fine," he told her bitingly, but Sophie didn't need to be an empath to be able to tell he was lying. He pulled his shirt back down, and began to walk on, a sharp piece of metal in hand.

Sophie glanced at Keefe, who'd been subtly brushing Wylie's wrist as they'd talked. He began to tell Sophie that he was lying, but Sophie cut him off by mouthing

'I know.' Biana came into view right in front of Sophie, scaring her momentarily. Tam muttered something that probably wasn't that nice, but Dex just laughed at the others surprise.

"Guys, just keep up! We're nearly at the..." he shouted, pausing when he noticed the white flashing lights. Voices were shouting from inside the clearing, where a fight seemed to be going on. Sophie raced into the arena, followed by Biana in vanish and Tam shrouded in shadows. They were obviously smarter than her, for she just raced in to see what was happening.

"If I'd known it was this easy, I'd have volunteered years ago," Ruy's voice called, as Fitz fell to the ground, bleeding and trapped in a force-field. He'd not seen them yet, which gave them one shot at taking him down first time. Sophie raised a star and aimed it at his head, the nausea swaying her at the last minute. This meant it curved slightly to the right of his head, slamming into the force-field, sparks flying everywhere as it rebounded towards Sophie. Terrified, she ducked and rolled on the floor, feeling it fly above her hair. At this point, any chance he didn't know she was there had gone, as he'd turned around and smiled. He glanced at the others, all hands on hips and looking like cliche heroes from the action films she used to watch as a kid.

Wylie was panting hard, which automatically attracted Ruy's attention as the weakest. He aimed a shield at him, a flash of light that ran into him, knocking him over. Sparks flew as he cut through it with a streak of light, but it tossed Wylie over onto the floor, blood oozing out of his wound; he spat something out that was barely audible, but it didn't need to be for Sophie to understand.

"Kill him." With that, Sophie pounced at Ruy, aiming for his head as the rolled together, glaring into each others eyes. They wouldn't get another opportunity like this again. One of them would have to die.

And looking at him, Sophie knew he would try to kill her. Which was why she had to kill him first.

AN

OK, another two weks. ARGHHHHH WHY DO I HAVE TO BE SO UNORGANIZED!!!!!!! Anyway, here's the update. Hope you enjoy. Two chapters left... You have a week to vote for your favourite book cover - go check them out in the previous chapter. Do it before you read on. And I will slap myself if I don't update next week. OK? Hopefully that makes me stick to the deadlines. Don't try and stop me slapping myself. Cause I will. Trust me on that.

Anyway, another 28 reads and I'm at 3K. 3K!!!!! Yup, it's that part of the AN when I scream about that again. Cause you know me. When I first published this, 100 reads was outstanding. Look how far I've come. Honestly, I'm surprised about how popular this has become. So... Reread, vote on all the chapters and keep up the awesome comments and stuff. Cause otherwise I'd have given up on this by now. And it would be on a very long hiatus like my other KOTLC fanfictions. Basically every other story but this one. Says a lot about what a ton of nice comments can do for a story.

Anyway... Dedication time! Today's dedication goes to @sophie123fitz for you know, the usual. Commenting, voting, adding to lists, etc. But I do really appreciate it, don't get me wrong! It made my day you doing that, even though that was back in June. Sorry for the wait. I have a very long list of dedications. That's full for the next 2 chapters. I'm finishing this AN 6 minutes until midnight on Sunday, so it's close timing.

All I can say is comment, vote, maybe even a follow? XD That's a big wish. Everyone seems to say that, but I don't care honestly. I just like to know people are enjoying this and want to keep reading it. Idc whether you vote or follow, but a comment would be nice. Maybe a vote too if your feeling in a good mood. Whatever you want. Now I finish this a couple secs before release. Bye! Cya next week!