The Inheritance Games, #4
The Brothers Hawthorne
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Contents
CHAPTER 41: JAMESON
Overview
Jameson endures a savage fight against Rohan and wins only by abandoning caution for a reckless, all-risk strategy. The victory is complicated by the revelation that Rohan could have continued but stayed down because the Proprietor silently ordered him to do so.
Jameson survives the ring, but the Proprietor and Rohan both disappear afterward, leaving the true purpose and consequences of the fight unresolved. Avery and Zella’s support underscores that Jameson’s win comes at a high physical and emotional cost.
Summary
Jameson faces Rohan in the Devil’s Mercy ring and immediately recognizes that the Factotum is unlike his previous opponent. Rohan shows no obvious weaknesses, no visible tension, and no gaps for Jameson to exploit, which makes Jameson anticipate both pain and exhilaration.
After nineteen brutal rounds, Jameson is badly injured: bloodied, bruised, and likely dealing with cracked ribs. Rohan throws Jameson onto the mat and tells Jameson to stay down, but Jameson refuses because Hawthornes do not quit. Jameson assesses the fight and realizes that Rohan is stronger, has greater reach, and fights with survival-level instincts that Jameson cannot outmatch through ordinary strategy.
Because fighting to survive would make Jameson lose, Jameson changes tactics and embraces reckless risk. Jameson charges straight into Rohan’s reach, uses an elbow strike as a distraction, and wraps his other arm around Rohan’s neck from behind. The move brings Rohan down, though Jameson can tell that Rohan is not truly finished.
Rohan appears ready to rise, but the Proprietor catches Rohan’s gaze from the crowd and silently orders Rohan to stay down. Rohan obeys, giving Jameson the apparent victory. Jameson leaves the ring barely able to stand, supported by Avery and Zella.
Avery worries about what Jameson’s brothers will think, especially after Avery assured Grayson and Nash that Jameson was fine. Jameson jokes through the pain, then searches for the Proprietor, but the Proprietor has disappeared. When Jameson looks back toward the ring, Rohan is gone as well.
Who Appears
- Jameson HawthorneFights Rohan through severe injuries and wins by choosing reckless risk over survival.
- RohanDevil’s Mercy Factotum; nearly unbeatable fighter who obeys the Proprietor’s order to stay down.
- The ProprietorSilently commands Rohan to concede, then disappears before Jameson can confront him.
- AverySupports Jameson after the fight and worries about his brothers’ reactions.
- ZellaHelps Avery hold up Jameson while joking about blood on her gown.