“I wonder if you are saying all this to save yourself?” He knits his eyebrows.
I open my mouth to speak.
He brings his other hand around my throat and squeezes. “Doesn’t matter. I quite like what this spectacle is becoming. It seems I should spare your life. If only for the pleasure of knowing that he will go to his death, knowing you are mine.”
A low cry rings out from the other side of the arena. I don’t dare look there.
Pain bleeds down the bond, and I gasp. It’s worse than I thought it would be. It’s as if he’s already giving up hope, and I don’t want that. No, I need to keep Dante engaged in this fight.
“Release me. Let me go to him. Let me speak with him and show him what he’s missing. It will only make the victory so much sweeter for you.”
His gaze narrows. Then he drops my hair and steps back. He nods to the soldiers who let me go.
My knees quake and I almost fall over. Pressing my feet into the ground, I right myself.
I swipe my hair away from my face, then cross the arena toward Dante.
He looks past me. “Get her out of here, Boris.” He squares his shoulders. “You want her, you can have her. Just don’t use her against me. This isn’t about her. This is about you and me. About how jealous you are of me. You’ve always envied me, Boris. And now instead of a one-on-one fight, you are using a woman to win your battle?”
Anger vibrates off him.
He staggers to his feet, then looks around the audience. “What say you, Fae of Singapore? Me and Boris, the colonel and the commander, go one-on-one just for your entertainment.”
The crowd goes quiet.
“A fight that you’ll be able to tell your grandkids about. A momentous occasion in the making.”
I am almost upon him now. He still doesn’t look at me, just trains his gaze on the audience.
“You want it, admit it. A battle of two of the most powerful Fae in this land. And unfolding right here and in front of you.”
A man in the middle of the audience springs up to his feet. “Yes.”
Another man cups his palms around his mouth. “Fight of the giants.”
“Fight.”
“Fight to the death.”
The cries pour over me.
I know what he’s doing. Taking the attention away from me.
He’s making sure the crowd fixates on our enemy. It’s the only way to trap the commander into fighting. But it will still be a one-sided fight. There’s no way Boris will uncollar Dante.
The breath catches in my lungs. Panic thrums my nerves. I will not show how scared I am just now. I cannot lose this.
The cries die down.
I continue to walk toward Dante. I cannot let go of my goal. Just once more to touch him, hold him, kiss him. I cannot take my gaze off him. Cannot stop everything inside me from wanting to be close to him. The hair on my nape rises.
The air around me thins.
The next second, a lasso of telekinetic energy descends around me. I fling out my arm; my fingertips graze Dante’s chest.
I strain against the energy holding me back, only for the lasso to tighten around my shoulders.
I stay where I am, panting. Sweat slicks my palms. My knees wobble. The fear is a living, breathing thing that burns my throat.
“Well, who am I to stand in the way of what the people want?” Boris’ voice swirls over the arena. “A fight is what you seek, and that’s what you’ll get.”
34
Dante
The commander’s words echo over the audience. Many jump to their feet, applause ringing out from all sides. So this is it, my fate is sealed. This is how I am going to die. Fighting with the man to whom I had sworn loyalty. In front of the woman I mated. The one who decided to go against me and take my enemy’s side.
She strains against the lasso of telekinetic energy holding her down, and I am almost glad she can’t get to me. If she’d touched me, I’d have lost all coherent thought. I’d have forgotten where I was. I’d have let my emotions sway me and have begged her to reconsider what she was doing.
It’s better this way.
Without her, my life is not worth living. Without her having acquiesced to the mating bond, my life force is already ebbing away.
If I fight Boris and manage to kill him, she will go free. She’ll be able to find a new life, another mate.
My guts heave. The thought of anyone else holding her, touching her, kissing her, the thought of her fingers trailing over anyone else’s skin…all of it makes my chest constrict. There is a roaring in my ears, and my breath comes in short puffs.
“Don’t do this, Dante.”
Her voice reaches me over the sounds from the crowd that resonates all around the space.
“Leave.” I fix my gaze over her head on my enemy. The one I must defeat.
“Dante, you know I had to do it, I had to appeal to his ego, it was the only way to distract him. To make him believe that I don’t feel anything for you.”
“You succeeded.” I twist my lips.
It’s all an act, but I can’t tell her that. I need Boris to believe that I have turned her away. That there is nothing more between us. It’s the only way to protect her.
The thoughts tumble around in my head. A part of me marvels at how much I’ve changed in the short time I’ve met her. From being concerned only about my mission, my loyalty to the Fae Elders, now all that matters is that she is safe.
Her shoulders slump.
My heart skitters. If only I could reassure her…but what do I say? That things will be fine when nothing will ever be the same again?
“I release you from the bond.”
“No.” Tears glitter in her eyes.
The lasso of telekinetic energy around her goes taut.
“Goodbye, Gia.”
I keep my voice distant.
The energy tugs her back. Her feet drag in the mud. Her gaze is still fixed on me, her hand stretched out as if to touch me. My heart feels like it’s going to break.
Boris hauls her to him, so she is flush against his chest. Anger beats at my temples. I welcome the ache, channel it, knowing I’ll need every bit of my emotion for this fight.
I curl my fists at my sides.
He snaps the lasso from over her shoulders. The energy dissipates. Then he shoves her at his soldier. “Take her to my quarters.”
He’s doing it just to make me angry. I know that. He’s baiting me, trying to make me lose my temper. Trying to make me lose control so I will make mistakes. “From the time you recruited me you’ve always liked to test me, haven’t you, Boris?”
I hadn’t meant to ask him that specific question just then, but I know it’s important to keep him engaged. I need to take his attention off my mate. But how? Two can play at this game. If he can bait me, I, too, can find a way to push him until he loses control.
“You think this time you will get the better of me?” I lean forward on the balls of my feet. “You are wrong. Even with me collared, my strength is greater than yours. I have always been a better fighter, Boris. It’s why you pushed me to take on the most challenging of missions. You were jealous of me.”
He moves his gaze from Gia to me.
“You heard me. You wanted my youth, my strength. The loyalty I inspired in my men. You wanted it all, didn’t you, Boris? “