Read Online The Unclaimed (University of the Gods Trilogy Book 1) by Alexandra Stephens - Free Book Online Page B

When Cassandra wanted to pair up with Hector, she was stopped by Ajax.
    “No, not you”, he growled. “I have something else in mind for you. You think you can take part in the challenges? You have no money, no proper weapons and you have nothing that sets you apart from the other badly trained, awkward Unclaimed fighters I see failing here every year. So how dare you sign up for the challenges, Unclaimed?”
    He spat out the last word like the insult it was supposed to be. Cassandra, who was used to verbal abuse, didn’t answer to that.
    “You think you can survive next week?” Ajax hissed and then threw a sword on the floor in front of her. “Pick it up. Get a shield. You are with me today. We’ll see how long you’ll last.”
    “My name is Cassandra”, Cassandra said through gritted teeth, ignoring the sword lying in the sand in front of her.
    “By the end of this day, you won’t be able to remember your name”, Ajax hissed. “Now do as I said. Unclaimed.”
    Cassandra looked at the sword and then at Ajax. The muscles on his arms were bigger than both her thighs together. She wouldn’t stand a chance, not like that.
    “Can I take another weapon?” Cassandra asked and Ajax started laughing.
    “Take whatever you want,” he said and then went on to the sandy part of the training arena, shouting orders at those already training, not even bothering to get warmed up.
    Cassandra went to the weapons stand for the Unclaimed and picked up a knife and weighed it in her hands.
    “What are you doing?” Ben said, suddenly turning up beside her. “Do you really think you stand a chance against him like that? He is much stronger and much more experienced. Tell him that this isn’t fair and he needs to stop this.”
    Cassandra ignored him. She quickly surveyed the rest of the knives and in the end, she decided on a heavy wooden training knife and the biggest shield she could find. The shield was almost too heavy for her to carry but that was kind of the point.
    Ajax laughed when he saw her standing before him, wooden knife in hand, a shield almost as tall as her leaning against her thighs.
    “Ready?” he said, taunting her with his laugh and mock-raising his sword.
    Without answering, Cassandra threw the knife straight at his nose. Had it been a real one, he would be dead now. Instead, his nose was broken.
    “All it takes is to survive, right?” Cassandra murmured and took instant cover.
    Ajax screamed with rage. Cowering under the shield, she did her best to shield herself against the mad blows Ajax dealt her. Even after the first one, Cassandra knew she wouldn’t be able to keep this up for long. It already felt like he was pounding straight through the shield and it was only a matter of time before he would do it for real. Suddenly the shield was ripped from her hands and Cassandra, scrambling away from Ajax, found him following her with a raised sword and she knew that it didn’t matter that it was only a training sword.
    It was Hippolyta who rescued her. With surprising force for a woman so small, she threw herself sideways at Ajax and then redirected the strength of his movements to her advantage. Despite the fact that Ajax was twice as big as her, Hippolyta had no trouble disarming him. Cassandra made a mental note to ask her how she had done that sometime. For now she was just glad that she had survived.
    The arm with which she had been holding the shield, felt numb and when she touched her ears, she felt warm blood coming out of them. Ben was kneeling beside her, saying something she couldn’t quite hear but by the look on his face he was angry with her. Ajax, who was holding on to his nose which was swelling rapidly, looked beyond furious but when their gazes met, he nodded. Then he turned away from her.
    Her ears made a popping sound and suddenly she was able to hear again.
    “That was the stupidest thing I have ever seen anyone do”, Ben hissed and handed her a piece of cloth so that she could