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A Monion male got closer to the stage, but he simply stared at her, star-struck. A Nazok female also got close, and I stiffened on instinct from it simply being a Nazok. But she, too, only screamed and jumped up and down excitedly.
So far, they were all behaving.
Serena came to the end of her song and the cheers and the screams crescendoed.
“We love you!”
“You’re incredible.”
“Come work for me!”
“I could really make you sing.”
That comment made my jaw twitch, and I tried to locate the presumptuous bastard in the crowd. But there were too many people screaming, and too many of them looking at her a bit too long.
Someone made to jump the stage. I was about to move to tackle them when Koda roughly shoved them back. I froze and mentally kicked myself.
Koda was a good man and a competent guard. I wouldn’t have assigned him to watch Serena if I didn’t think so. That also meant that he didn’t need me to do his job.
It didn’t stop me from checking in on Serena anyway. Logically, I knew she’d be fine, that I had other things to worry about. And yet this was the fourth time I made it a point to check up on her now.
I told myself it was to make sure she was safe. But even I wasn’t deluded enough not to know exactly why I was there. I wanted her, that was obvious. And the way she would flash me a cute little smile and sneak me a wave when noticing me backstage made me think she wanted me, too.
We were treading on dangerous ground. A performer like her needed to seem available to the public. The fantasy sold the tickets. But it also built up stalkers, and most importantly, got in my way. I wanted to scoop her up after the encore and whisk her away to my dressing room. I wanted to celebrate another stellar performance by giving her one of my own.
With an effort, I made myself turn away and walk out of the entertainment area.
She’ll be fine. You put Koda on her case and that’s as much as you can do, I remind myself. You have a match to focus on today.
I took in a deep breath and began to recenter myself. The championship began today, and I needed to put my attention there, not on the pretty singer.
I sensed someone walking up beside me and tensed until I realized it was just Draven. He gave me a wide grin and clapped me on the shoulder. “Big day today, huh?”
I gave him a smirk. “Not really. Not if you know you can beat any competition that comes your way into a pulp.”
Draven laughed. “Good, I’m glad to hear it. Come on, the guys and I thought we should celebrate your inevitable win.”
I snorted. “Please, you never assume anything. You and the others just want an excuse to drink.”
The other Vinduthi gave me a conspiratorial grin. “Perhaps.”
Half an hour later, we were at a hole-in-the-wall bar Thelev found in what he claimed was one of his ‘walks.’ Really, we all knew he probably had one of his informants there or someone owed him a favor. Who knows why he tried to hide it?
Regardless, everyone else insisted on paying so I didn’t really care how Thelev found it. Only a fool turns down free alcohol and food.
We all sat around, drinking, eating, and laughing. It felt a little like the old days when we used to serve together in the war. I may not have missed the fighting, but a part of me did miss the camaraderie. Many of my brothers-in-arms had mates now that they spent most of their time with.
But there was something about the mated ones that gave me pause. There was a lightness to them these days, a new kind of purpose in their eyes.
“You look a little lost in thought there.”
I turned to Laux, who gave me a chastising look.
“Don’t tell me your mind’s on work right now.” The pit boss elbowed me. “This is the time for you to relax and loosen up a little. The fight’s going to go your way, and your men will handle the crowd.”
Straightening, I shrugged. “It never hurts to be too careful. We had an incident with our new singer. I just want to make sure I’ve covered all my bases.”
“Ah, you mean Serena?” Ryrik asked. “I heard you put Koda on her tail. You shouldn’t have anything to worry about there.”
