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‘Tomorrow.’
Killen paused for a beat. ‘May I come with you?’
She pushed away from his chest and gazed up, tagging the concern in his eyes. ‘If you want to. I won’t need a sitter, though.’
He ignored her soft gibe and brushed her hair from her temple to stroke a finger down her jawline. ‘You’ll have a friend. Sure you’ll be OK?’
She gave him a tiny nod. ‘I’ll be killin’ it as always.’
He smiled at her bravado and the wicked gleam in her eye.
‘The fact is,’ she went on, tongue in cheek. ‘When I ice my opponent tomorrow, I’ll be a freakish milestone as he’s one of the most infamous kavalier badasses. I’ll also be misbehaving and hitting Kalila’s bank, given how much she’s wagered against him.’
‘So you’re going to be that bad Shotelai bitch who makes history?’
‘Now you’re getting the hang of me, Kíríga. I’m her worst nightmare stood over her neck.’
Chapter 22
Kaniz and K?stian were deep in warm-ups with the rest of Kesia’s fight crew when Sana’a ghosted into the Sab?r Arena early the following day.
‘Where the hell have you been?’ the ringmaster growled, striding toward her, dawn’s light playing on his affronted krest. ‘It’s fokkin’ fight day.’
‘I was away on a personal errand,’ she said. ‘Something important came up. Didn’t Kaniz tell you?’
K?stian shot the k?thi master a look to corroborate Sana’a’s words, but the Katánian woman disregarded him.
‘Who’s your gnarly companion?’ Kaniz asked instead, jerking her chin at Killen, cloaked, hooded and looming behind Sana’a. Leaning in with a twist of her lips, she muttered, ‘Lover or a fighter? ’
Sana’a ignored the dig. ‘He’s a friend. He’s come to watch, he’s a fan.’
‘Not standard protocol,’ the k?thi master murmured.
Sana’a nodded. ‘I know, but he won’t cause trouble. He’s only here for moral support during the fight, given how important it is.’
Kaniz and K?stian exchanged a look.
Sana’a sensed their discomfort until a burst of energy came from the man glowering beside her.
‘He can stay,’ K?stian conceded, his mouth gaping with surprise at himself, ‘if that’s what it takes to get you ready for tonight.’
‘It’ll help,’ Sana’a muttered, shooting Killen a sharp, searching glance.
He shrugged, but she glimpsed a hint of a smile on his lips like he’d coerced the ringmaster to do his will.
Fokk him and his freakish flashlight.
He raised a brow as if he’d heard her.
Even more confused, K?stian swivelled his head between Killen and Sana’a for a beat.
Unable to penetrate their inscrutable expressions, he sucked his teeth long and slow as he strode away.
‘Warm up,’ Kaniz sighed. ‘This is going to be a shit stack of a fight. Even K?stian has his feathers in a flutter about it.’
Killen gave Sana’a a chin nod and moved towards the bleachers. Where a few crew members, trainers, and team medics sat a little far from them.
He extracted a small bundle from his cloak.
