I slapped him out of reflex. He seemed caught off guard and left ahead of me. I arrived at the arena still in shock.Why did he kiss me?! Hasn't he moved on? I even met his fiancée.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Smoke said to Zai... but my husband's eyes were fixed on me. I didn't want to distract him during his fight, so I closed my eyes and turned away.
"What the fuck did you do to my wife?" he asked.
I've always had trouble playing coy. Of course, I was going to tell him what happened—after the fight.
"I talked to her about our past together... We are each other's first love, after all," Smoke admitted.
I gasped and looked up at the two of them. Zai and Smoke were locked in a deadly glare.Why did Smoke invite me here? Was it just to catch up and see his brother get married... or did he have less pure motives?
Zai's face twisted into a smile, and he tilted his head. "Let's start. Who's our referee?"
Ibij then rushed in with a small crowd behind him. I recognized Kara and Buba, but the others were strangers.
"I'm the ref!" Ibij announced, standing just outside the battlegrounds. The others filled the audience stands, and I sat down with them.
I felt sick. I might puke. It reminded me of what happened during my music video shoot—nausea from guilt, from letting my guard down, and fear of how Zai would react.I don't want to hurt him.
Zai removed his shoes and socks, then pulled off his shirt and tossed it aside. His stance was relaxed. Smoke was already in battle clothes, so he just turned to Ibij, and both shouted in unison, "READY!"
"All right! Begin!" Ibij called out.
I didn't even see Zai move. It was like an invisible force hit Smoke's face—then a flash of light, a sound, and a gust of wind that forced me to close my eyes.When I opened them, Zai's fist was covered in blood... but a second later, it pierced through Smoke's face—only for his form to dissolve into smoke. Zai withdrew his arm, now covered in dark purple bruises.
"You're fast," Smoke praised. As he spoke, his body dispersed into a black, gaseous form, spreading across the field.
Zai didn't flinch. He simply pressed his palms together in a prayer-like motion. His body began glowing, his hair stood upright, and a sphere of electricity surged outward, covering every inch of the arena floor. The charge was so strong I could feel it even in the stands. I had to close my eyes against the brightness.
When I opened them, Smoke was tangible again—his body full of black, smoldering holes.
"Pulled yourself together just in time," Zai noted.
Smoke didn't respond. He just dropped into a fighting stance. Zai smiled, still relaxed.
Then the battle shifted to hand-to-hand combat. Their movements were so fast they blurred; I could barely follow.I don't think I've ever seen Zai fight like this. He looked like he was enjoying himself.
At one point, Smoke caught Zai's punch—but then Smoke froze, completely rigid. His teeth were gritted, and his wide eyes which gave away the truth: he couldn't move. Even so he used his power to retailiate, Zai's fist was black and purple, and I saw the poison creeping up his arm—rose-shaped, violet marks blooming across his skin, and tears of blood streamed from his silver eyes.
"Yield," Zai commanded, as if he was perfectly fine.
A moment later, Smoke collapsed to his knees, the ground beneath him cracking. He was foaming at the mouth, still injecting venom into Zai's bloodstream while Zai's body radiated electricity at a dangerous intensity.
Are they trying to kill each other?!
"It's a draw!" Ibij yelled.
Zai clicked his tongue and withdrew his fist. He exhaled sharply, and a cloud of black smoke left his body—along with all the poisonous marks.He... wasn't in danger at all.
"I figured you'd respect me once you realized I can kick your ass," Zai said, kneeling in front of Smoke. "You've never been beaten before, have you?" he whispered.
I rushed onto the battlefield and embraced him."I was so worried," I said, tears spilling from my eyes.
He laughed. "Why? It was just a friendly sparring match…"
I sniffled as he stroked my cheek and rested his forehead on mine."I've got to… talk to you… once we're alone," I mumbled.
"If you don't tell me now, I don't want to hear it," Zai replied.
I glanced at Smoke. He was recovering, but I could see anger in his eyes. Then he turned to Ibij and the others and said,"Thanks for coming—but I need you all to leave. Now."
They didn't ask questions. They just left.
I felt a little bad for bringing this up now, but...
"Smoke kissed me," I confessed. If I kept it in, the guilt would eat me alive.
"Oh… I knew he was looking down on me. Now I regret holding back so much."He let go of me and turned to face Smoke again.
"Yeah... I kissed her. But it was obvious she wasn't into it. I just wanted to see if she still had lingering feelings," Smoke admitted casually.
He sounds so unbothered. Was it really that meaningless for him?
"You must be a moron if you think that's a good excuse," Zai replied with a smile.
Oh no. I know what that smile means.
"It's just unfair," Smoke continued. "It's been much less time for her, but she's already moved on completely. Why should I be the only one still hung up on our memories? I just wanted to stay on her mind a little. I'm not trying to steal your woman—I'm happy where I am. To be honest, my fiancée is my real first love…"
And with that, they started fighting again—this time without a referee.
They became their elements completely, streaks of smoke and lightning flashing across the ground. I could only keep up with one of them. While their strength was evenly matched, in terms of speed, Smoke was completely outclassed.
Even after creating dozens of clones, Zai swatted them away like dandelion seeds. They moved so fast, it hurt to watch.
Then the battle ended—Smoke was forced back into his physical form, his face crushed into the center of the stone arena floor.I screamed, "Don't kill him!" to stop Zai from striking again.
He looked at me, sighed, then rolled his eyes and walked away, expelling black smoke from his nose as he did.
When he reached my side, he grabbed my hand and teleported us to our room.
"I… wasn't trying to stand up for him! I promise!" I blurted. "It's just—if you kill someone on Infaniya, the Balancers will come for you. Especially since Smoke is a prince… I'm sorry. I should've told you before the match, but I was worried it'd throw you off."
Zai kissed me, silencing my rambling.
"I'm going to need you to keep your guard up better," he murmured.
I nodded tightly, lips pressed together. He kissed me again, and I relaxed, closing my eyes.
"Also... I figured it was something weird," he said. "But I don't think he would've tried it if you came here alone."
Does that mean... he only kissed me because he felt like he needed to compete with Zai?
"Just so you know, he's not one of the people I wanted to see. I didn't even know he existed before we got here."
"I'm sorry," I whispered. He snickered.
"Fine… as revenge, I'll tell you about the second woman I've been with."
His words triggered a whole storm of emotions. Why do I already hate this woman I've never even met?
"Or do you not want to hear it?" he teased.
"No, tell me!" I raised my voice slightly.
Zai pouted. "I wanted you to be jealous."
"I am!" I assured him. He looked at me fondly.
"All right... story time. Then we can go see your mom together."
See who?!
We returned to our room first, and he began:
"I was ten."Okay... at least he was full-grown by then. Infaniyans stop growing around ten, and sometimes males stopped at eleven, so it should be the same for him.
"I was under isolation because of some… rebellion. But to be useful, I still had to be trained. The only person who had a decent enough understanding of my element to train me was a woman named Giga. She had straight burgundy hair and orange eyes. Bronze complexion."
I pouted."Is she prettier than me?"
Zai broke into laughter, then kissed me sweetly and said,"Impossible. Now stop interrupting, or I won't finish the story."
I mimed zipping my lips, and he closed his eyes, continuing.
"I resented her. She was always talking down to me—no matter what I accomplished, she found a way to criticize me. Even the sound of her voice irked me. So I figured the only way to change the way she spoke to me was to alter the dynamics of our relationship…"