He freezes for a second then claps. “That’s what I am talking about. A good fight to the end. Only I can’t get my hands dirty, you understand.” He holds up his palms.
My gaze falls to those lit-up fingertips of his. They glow blue with a yellow light surrounding the core.
“Just a precaution.” He rocks on his heels, his eyes gleaming. “Just need to be careful around that boyfriend of yours.”
“He’s not my boyfriend, you fucker.” I lean my head back.
“Oh?” He tilts his head. His eyebrows rise in a look of polite questioning.
I curl my fingers into fists at my sides. “He’s my mate.” I swing my fist up and into his chin.
His head snaps back. Spit flies from his mouth.
I move in with a punch to the right. His shoulders twist back, and he roars in pain.
I know I am not strong enough to defeat him. Not here, and not in front of his home crowd. But I’ve had enough of his sneering voice, his superior gaze, his high-pitched, holier-than-thou voice. Anger churns my gut. I taste bile on my tongue and swallow it down.
I raise my fist, only for him to swerve. My hit grazes his side. Then he raises his fingers, and the tips glow. The light flares and smashes into me. I feel my body arc back through the air, then hit the ground with a thump. Spots flash in front of my eyes. My insides jolt.
My right leg screams in protest; every part of me seems to hurt. I try to breathe, and it feels like my lungs are on fire.
Sweat slithers down my back.
“Don’t hurt her, damn you. I’ll have your head for this, motherfucker.” I sense Dante charge forward, only for the commander to raise his hand.
A bolt of light slams into Dante; the bonds holding him spark. Then his body crashes to the ground.
The arena itself seems to shake.
Around me, the crowd rises to their feet.
“Kill her.” A man’s voice from the audience echoes around me.
“Kill the human.”
“Show her what it means to trespass with the Fae.”
Legs stride into my line of sight. The commander bends down and holds out his hand to me.
My gaze falls on his palm, then I raise my head to look at his face. “You think I am going to trust you after all that?” I set my jaw.
“Fine.” He straightens, then nods to his men hovering nearby. “Lift her up.”
Two of them stomp toward me. They each grab an arm then heave me to my feet. The suddenness of their action jolts me. My muscles scream in protest, and I groan.
“Let her go.” Dante’s voice is low and rough. Pain drips from the tone.
His anguish floods the mating bond. My skin crawls with pain. I try to pulse reassurances at him through the connection, but I find I can barely move my head.
“And all this just to hold down a puny human.” I cough and taste blood inside my mouth.
The men don’t move. They haul me forward and turn to the commander.
“Well, I suppose you do have a point?” Boris then turns back to the audience. “What do you think, Fae of Singapore?” He taps his feet on the ground. “Should we let her go? Should we release her so we can allow these lovers to fight for their lives? Or…” He pauses, swivels his, gaze making eye contact with different people in the crowd. “Should I kill the soldier who has turned against his own people and keep this human as spoils of war?” He holds out his arms as if taking the audience into his confidence. Oh! He’s good.
The commander is a tyrant and a showman. Clearly, he fancies himself as being able to provide entertainment for these people.
“Speak.” He projects his voice, so it thunders around the arena.
If I had been in the crowd, I’d be rapt with attention, too. I’d believe every word he says. Fear twists my guts. We’ll never escape him. Never be able to evade the wrath of the masses.
“Free them, let them fight the soldiers,” a man’s cry rings out.
“Yes, fight to the death,” another woman’s voice hollers.
“Fight.”
“Death.”
The audience slams their feet on the ground. The pounding fills the space.
Dust rises in the air.
More screams sound.
The scent of anger, their need to hurt, all of it hangs heavy around me, pressing in on my shoulders.
My stomach churns.
Sickness rises. I’d heard of the Fae being bloodthirsty, but the reality is far worse. These people are incited, they will not listen to anything. They only want to taste violence, revel in bloodshed, for revenge of a senseless kind.
The kind that the bureau has fought against for a long time. It’s one of the reasons I joined the organization. Hoping to find a better way of life. To bring peace to different species. Perhaps. That’s the reason I’d been brought here. To bring peace to the Fae as well.
The thoughts buzz around in my head.
“Once more you haven’t failed me.” Boris walks to the edge of the arena.
The people in the front reach out to touch him as if he’s some kind of rock star. That’s what this entire exercise is to him. A way to feed his own ego. He wants to be a savior, to be celebrated for his bravery. Men like him only have big egos. That’s their weakness. I know now what I have to do.
“You are so brave, Boris.” I raise my chin. “I realize I made a mistake.”
Boris turns around. “Well, this is a first. A human owning up to her errors.” He folds his arms over his chest.
“I didn’t realize the real power here is you. If I’d known that I would have waited and not made up my mind in such a hurry.”
Dante stiffens. He’s still on his knees from where he’d fallen before. He raises his head, and I sense his gaze bore into me. My throat closes. Everything in me wants to turn to him, to see his face, to feel his skin, to reach out to him and… I pull myself back. I force the emotions that are headed for our connection to clamp back down.
Boris stomps across the arena to stand in front of me. “I don’t fall for such ploys, human.”
“No ploy.” I tilt my head and run my tongue over my lips.
Boris’ gaze falls to my mouth. His pupils dilate.
I thrust my chest out, and his gaze latches onto my breasts. Every part of my skin cringes. It feels like there is something crawling over my skin. My stomach lurches and I bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from being sick. I force myself to stay standing, to meet his gaze.
Boris turns to look at Dante from the corner of his eyes. Then he closes the distance between us, grabs my hair, and yanks it back.
I groan. Pain slides down my neck. My back arches. My heart hammers. Everything inside me wants to curl up and die. But I cannot. I need to play out my hand. Need to find a way to keep him occupied and then hope Dante takes the hint. He has to surprise Boris and use the element of shock to overpower him.
Assuming he doesn’t kill me at the end of all this. The anger bounces off Dante in waves. It slams into my chest, pushing down with such force, I can't breathe.
“So, the human reveals her true colors finally.” Boris leans in close, close enough for his breath to sear my cheek.
Bile rushes to my throat. I swallow it down. Force myself to meet his gaze.
“It’s all because of your charisma, your personality, Boris." I jerk my chin toward Dante. "He pales in comparison to you."