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ZURI POV"What do you think," Baalee asks while examining my face in the mirror The worry in her facial features is clear. My dislike for yesterday's dress hurt her and today she is extremely hopeful I will approve of my outfit."It is better than yesterday. I wish it covered more of my chest and shoulders, but it is very nice. I especially like the color," I say with a large smile and her face seems to crack open.All the worry leaves her blue face and her pointy fangs come into full view as she beams at me."Excellent. I want you to feel confident and beautiful as you watch the champions compete," Baalee says as she begins to straighten my tulle skirt.I nod and watch her in the mirror. My mind drifts off as I stare and the thought that kept me up last night returns.I have been upset ever since the announcements yesterday. I missed who Cull will be fighting today and it is making me nervous. What if he got paired against a massive Bronkark? What if he looses and he doesn't get to
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ZURI POVAs we enter the loud arena the Kea leading us relaxes. It doesn't seem like our presence has been missed. I glance down at the field and I spot two champions from Cok poised and ready to fight. "Zuri, trade me," Krystal whispers suddenly as we approach our seats. I nod and give her a small smile. Zor didn't make yesterday comfortable for Krystal and I immediately realize she is trying to avoid another awkward moment with the hellish Makskin. As we take our seats, I refocus on the fighters, and as I study them, I realize one of them is a Cok that danced with Xiu. I didn't catch his name but I remember his face. "Do they look bigger today," Krystal whispers as she leans toward Fiadh, and I look the fighters over again to realize she is right. Their muscles seem to have expanded. The air around them is tense with the anticipation of violence and it makes me feel a little uneasy. The crowd suddenly goes silent for a second before a low growl begins to build throughout the s
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CULL POV Moore's eyes flick toward the Gold status Commander again and I feel a twinge of pity for him. It was purely bad luck for him to be paired against the Hassin this round. Not only is Burk a Commander, but his battle sense is well-known among all of us. Captain Nole of Bronkark and Lieutenant Modok of Gaimo are also formidable soldiers from his battalion. Fighting any of them would be difficult. "He seems calm," Moore grumbles in a low voice and I look at Burk. His shoulders are completely relaxed and his facial features are smooth. "I have great respect for him and his comrades... I know he is lethal, but he could at least look a little worried," Moore says as he folds his arms across his chest. I nod. "As far as I know he never shows much emotion," I say to ease Moore. The Gaimo clicks his tongue once and finally peels his eyes off of Burk. "I probably only have a 20% chance of winning this match. He has an advantage in reach and speed. He might be a Hassin, but I h
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Zuri povAs a glowing Champion from Glortinon and a Frole enters the field a small gasp escapes Fiadh's mouth. Krystal and I both look in her direction to find her looking nervous. She has her skirt clenched in her tiny hands and I wish again that I was sitting next to her."Are you okay," Krystal whispers, and Fiadh swallows before peeling her eyes off the battlefield."I like him. The Glortinon, I mean...I am scared the Frole will hurt him," she answers quietly, and I look back out at the champions.The Glortinon looks nice. His hair is blonde and he has a good four inches on the dangerous looking Frole."Have faith in your champion, Fiadh. He seems strong and confident, and even if he doesn't win...I am sure your feelings for him won't change, right? So that means no matter what, you know who you want. The Kea technology can heal just about anything. He will be fine. They are soldiers," Krystal says softly to ease Fiadh and I can't help but nod along with her words.Jia nods too fro
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ZURI POV I smooth my dress and smile as we pass the thousands of people to our front-row seats. Baalee and I both like this dress on me. I feel especially pretty. I can only hope Cull likes it when he sees it. As we sit down in our familiar seats I sigh. The two-day-long fighting between champions is finally over. Now comes the fights between the winning champions and the beasts. I feel less worried about these fights because Baalee said they should be easier for the champions to win. "We are down to the top twenty-seven champions. Our three-way champion winner Captain Bolis of Vaal has chosen to fight a Bunte. Will the other 26 champions line up, please," the announcer says, and the winners walk out onto the field. The crowd goes crazy and many people begin to wave colored banners that match the home planet of their favorite champions. The champions keep their faces neutral, but I can tell they are proud to have reached this point. "You will place your index finger on the scre
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ZURI POV"Oh my God," Krystal whispers she sees a Mangog for the first time."How is he so calm," she whispers and I shrug while watching the red beast."I don't know. This one is the second one out there, and this one is bigger than the first. The other champion ran around the mangog until he found an opening to slice its throat," I explain, and Krystal shudders.Commander Burk begins to approach the creature with his arms and face completely relaxed. The Mangog doesn't even turn around. Its eyes just look from side to side. It seems lost.When the Commander gets about five feet from the beast's back, he stops and holds still. He doesn't even look as if he is breathing. The Mangog immediately turns around, but the Hassin doesn't move. He remains completely motionless. The Mangog stomps his feet and roars loudly as if frustrated. He seems to know there is an enemy and he wants to fight it.Suddenly the beast swings his arm close to Burk's head, but Burk doesn't react. He seems to have
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ZURI POV The last of the beast fights were quite boring. I didn't have anyone special to watch and it was clear the champions knew how to handle each kind of beast in the tournament. I am honestly glad it's over. Now we can focus on the important part, getting our mate."The Final day of the Harvest has arrived. All champions that fought a beast have moved on. All may challenge one another to prove they deserve the top spot. The last man standing goes first as the Winning champion. The order after his pick will be based on the fastest beast kill time. Then we move on to the champions from days three and four who lost. The longer they lasted in their battle against the top contenders, the higher their ranking. May the strongest win," the announcer says, and the crowd explodes with excitement. The sound is so loud Fiadh places her hands over her ears. The males run out of their holding area in a line while waving out at the crowd happily. When I see Cull my stomach fills with butte
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ZURI POV"The time has finally come. Commander Garlof as the winner of the Harvest, you can select your mate first. Will the fifty-five females from all over the Galaxy, please come forward," the announcer says, and I take a deep breath. I am so nervous. It's just like walking out in front of the crowd for the first time again. All eyes will be on us, but this time, in the end, we leave with the male we will spend our life with. I won't be returning to my room to talk with Fiadh or Baalee. I will be someone's mate. We all begin to walk and our ballgowns sway with each step. I try to keep my eyes on Krystal's brown hair, but the difference in the arena drags my attention away. The battle-worn field we have seen every day is different. Now there is an even black floor covering the massive open space. The only remaining grass is roped off in the middle and looks untouched. "Would you look at those dresses? Don't they look beautiful," the kea asks the crowd, and the crowd erupts into c
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