Chapter Twenty-Four: First Round. The Last Set. My Prince. “What Do ‘You’ Think?”
Contains spoilersOverview
The first-round bouts begin. Under pressure, Jaya kills Hamey, other winners advance, and Elden’s monstrous presence is revealed as Petra and Red Molly preside.
In the headliner, Charlie discovers Cla’s near-total side-blindness, outmaneuvers him, and kills him. Prisoners hail Charlie as prince, while Kellin vows the next round will force him to fight friends, pushing Charlie toward planning escape with Iota.
Summary
The first set goes out. Ammit returns with a cut and rebuffs Mesel; Murf comes back battered while Fremmy is dead. Jaya returns pale and admits she killed Hamey to stop his screams under Aaron’s deadline. She describes Elden Flight Killer’s grotesque visage and Petra’s fawning, and confirms Elden laughs at the bloodsport. Iota arrives victorious; Jackah is gone.
Iota reports Red Molly studying winners from the track and worries she is learning their moves. He hints at Cla’s weakness without stating it. Doc Freed staggers in, saved but shattered after beating Yanno. Through the third and fourth sets, Bult, Bendo, and Cammit win (Cammit spears Dommy mid-cough); Double, Stooks, and Quilly advance, Stooks badly slashed. Food arrives; Charlie rattles Cla with English taunts and remembers Iota’s cell fight, beginning to suspect Cla’s side-vision flaw.
Before the final bout, Kellin stages a kneel-before-the-king ritual. Elden, drooling and swollen under a shifting robe, calls the start while Petra and Red Molly look on. The weapons are arranged to favor Cla with closer spears. Charlie sprints for fighting sticks instead, confirms Cla’s poor peripheral vision, and uses speed and angles to disarm him, club his head, and choke him while riding his back. Near asphyxiated, Cla topples; Charlie recovers and, urged by the crowd to finish, spears Cla after Cla salutes him and says, my prince.
Elden absently praises the spectacle and departs in a palanquin. Red Molly hauls Charlie up, warns he will fight a friend next, and threatens mutilation for Petra’s collection. Kellin escorts Charlie back, gloating that future pairings will force him to kill friends. In the team room, the survivors kneel and hail Charlie as prince.
Returned to Deep Maleen, the prisoners are briefly allowed to mingle. Eris tends Doc Freed’s ravaged thigh and declares Gully’s caved-in skull fatal. Charlie sits with Iota and quietly proposes escape. Iota agrees to try but scoffs at including everyone, asking what Charlie thinks.
Who Appears
- Charlie Reade
Protagonist; discovers Cla’s blind spot, wins brutally, is hailed as prince, and broaches escape with Iota.
- Cla
Brutal favorite with near-zero peripheral vision; given spear advantage; choked and finished by Charlie.
- Jaya
Kills Hamey under threat; describes Elden and Petra; seeks Charlie’s help; comforts Eris.
- Hamey
Gentle, ailing man; stages resistance but dies by Jaya’s spear to stop his screaming.
- Iota (Eye)
Wins his match; notes Red Molly’s study; signals Cla’s blind spot; agrees to escape, not to save all.
- Doc Freed
Beats Yanno but is shattered; thigh ripped and face battered; tended by Eris; murmurs for his mother.
- Kellin (Lord High)
Master of ceremonies; rigs weapon layout; enforces kneeling; vows Charlie will fight friends next.
- Elden Flight Killer
Monstrous king; drools and bubbles; presides over the bouts, then is borne off in a palanquin.
- Petra
Elden’s consort; licks his drool; shrieks for finishes and blood; symbol of court depravity.
- Red Molly
Giant enforcer; studies fighters from the track; threatens to sever Charlie’s pizzle for Petra.
- Aaron
Night-soldier lieutenant; calls sets, polices conduct, and hustles fighters to the field.
- Eris
Wins her bout; nurses Doc and dying Gully; briefly embraces Jaya; grimly realistic.
- Stooks
Wins but suffers a deep cheek slash; mourns Fremmy; later kneels to Charlie.
- Murf
Beats Fremmy; injured shoulder and eye; remains combative among survivors.
- Cammit
Wins by spearing Dommy during a coughing fit; obeys orders to clean the room.
- Gully
Loses to Bernd; carried back unconscious with a crushed skull; expected to die.
- Pursey
Gray man; assists Doc Freed to the room and pushes the food cart; potential ally.