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Antonio exhaled sharply, causing the other man to flinch. “Just how brave are you feeling, Jack? I’m not the one you’ll have to deal with. They want to see more blood and they’ll accept yours.”
That seemed to crumble the referee into submission. Gritting his teeth, Jack reluctantly backed away and simply waited for the two medics to get Diego onto the stretcher. He reached for the walkie hanging at his hip, no doubt intending to call for the next fighter to make their way toward the ring. His entire body stiffened when the demon’s hand lashed out.
“Oh, no.” Antonio’s lips curled into an icy smirk. “I’m not going to waste my evening with the rest of the lineup. I want someone fucking worth my time.” He released the referee, turning to retrieve the microphone while the medics retreated with an unconscious fighter on their stretcher. “I don’t think that fight lasted quite long enough for the rest of you. I’m actually feeling quite insulted that Sol would put me up against such virgin blood. You all wanted blood…and this fucker went down far too quickly. Did he not?”
The crowd was immediately in an uproar, no doubt eager to agree. Hell, they even seemed excited to tap into that endless rage pulsing within his veins.
“I think we all deserve a better fight… So why don’t we bring up some blood that is actually worth spilling?” Antonio angled his body, his brown eyes finding their way toward our direction. His smirk grew as he pointed at the prince. “Let’s see how our own future king can hold his own in the ring! No backup. No fucking bodyguards. Just you and me, asshole!”
The noise level within the crowd immediately shifted. While those further away were more than willing to vocalize their absolute delight that such a challenge had even come up, those closer to our seats were afraid to utter a sound.
Movement came from behind the cage. It didn’t take long for another tall male to emerge, except this one wasn’t dressed up to fight. Judging by the sleek suit and the annoyance painted on his face, it couldn’t be anyone else except for Sol. He jammed a finger in Antonio’s direction while he roared in their native tongue. His deep blue eyes were swirling with the same rage that seemed to be haunting the prince.
Antonio swept his hands out, turning to face his boss with a casual smirk. “What? You wanted a show tonight, boss man! I’m giving you one.”
Sol lashed out, seizing the wired caged walls with a livid snarl. “You’re pushing your luck! I gave you a chance to go for the title. Now you want to fuck all that up by challenging someone that’s not even on the fucking roster? We have one for a goddamn reason!”
“Oh, please.” The demon drifted closer to the cage wall, keeping the microphone trapped in his hand. “A little ole belt like that isn’t going to appease someone like me. You’re just afraid that I’ll smash his head into the ground and leave our race without a future king.” His upper lip curled as he pulled away from the wall. “Don’t the rest of you want to see if he’s worthy to rule over us?”
It became obvious just how many demons had crammed into the room to witness the fights just by how much their roars echoed around us. Most of them were on their feet with utter delight painted on their faces while the remaining races seemed unsure about the challenge itself.
It was clear where Sol stood on the matter with the fact he continued to scream at Antonio to back down or risk losing the possibility of becoming the next defending champion. Yet, the endless rage that helped him remain firm on his own standing started to falter when most of the room had succumbed to a clear chant.
“Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!”
Sol’s blue eyes drifted toward us, a grim expression escaping across his face.
“What do you say, old friend?” Antonio swung around to smirk at the prince. “Think you can prove you’re really worthy to take that fucking golden throne of yours? Show us how worthy you really are!”
“He’s fucking crazy,” I rasped.
A violent shift ripped through the endless crowd when Asher finally eased out of his chair, rising to his full height as he shed his suit jacket. “The Costa bloodline isn’t known for anything else,” he growled. “It seems to run in the family.”
It took everything I had to suppress the shock tearing through me once I realized the prince was relenting to the powerful demand continuing behind us. Dread coursed through my veins at the idea of him stepping into the caged ring with someone who was ready to draw blood. With such a cowardly referee, there wasn’t anyone who would be willing to put a stop to the fight should things go too far. Perhaps what shocked me more was the fact that I could spot the same wild flame dancing within my demon’s golden eyes.
These two had a personal score to settle and neither one of them were willing to back down.
Sucking in a ragged breath, I reached out to take his jacket from him. “Please be careful,” I pleaded softly.
The edges of his lips twitched. “Oh, pet… We still have an outing to finish.”
Despite his underlying reassurance that all would be well, I couldn’t ignore the knot in my stomach growing painfully tight as he strolled toward the ring. It was agonizing to watch him roll up his sleeves so casually.
Antonio’s nostrils flared as he watched the prince approach without a care in the world. He didn’t make an attempt to hold onto the microphone, releasing it so that those up in the staff booth could finally retract it.
For a brief moment, Asher’s golden eyes locked with Sol’s and a silent conversation seemed to pass between them. When he severed eye contact, Sol tore away from the cage with a snarl. He made a beeline toward me, taking the prince’s seat without hesitation. “I should have known better than to give the son of a bitch a chance at the title. He’s too much of a wild card to play by the goddamn rules.”
I nibbled on my lower lip, casting a weary glance at the fuming demon beside me. “There’s history between them, isn’t there?”
His blue eyes flickered toward me. “Judging by the bond you two seem to carry now, I’m sure you’ve noticed how Asher runs things. He prefers to keep a small group close to him…help him oversee the expanding empire. The demon lords are vital to his rule. Not only must they trust him with their lives, but he is required to do the same. No other system will work. It is the precise reason why he has been able to expand on an empire when his father was never able to.”
Drawing in a slow breath in a desperate attempt to keep my frantic nerves under control, I shifted my attention back toward the ring. Asher looked so out of place with him still dressed in his expensive clothes while Antonio was almost naked. If it wasn’t for the same rage pulsing through both of them, I wouldn’t find it believable that this was going to happen. “I don’t…”
“It’s a crime to attempt to harm a demon lord. That even carries on to those that work beneath them.”
The agonizing memories that I had been forced to share with Calianna tore through my head until I could almost see her slicing into Xaide all over again. Just seeing the rage swirling within Asher’s eyes when I revealed everything that I had seen… There wasn’t a word that existed that could express that deep of a rage.
Now that I looked at both of these men, that same rage was tearing through him all over again.
