“You fucking bitch!” The officer tried to fling her off, but Elena held tight. He backpedaled and slammed into the wall, crushing her against it.
Elena choked, the air rushing out of her chest. Her hold slackened, and she slid down. He rammed the butt of the gun into her face. Pain exploded in her cheek and neck. Elena tasted blood as she bit into the soft skin of her mouth. Stars, searing and bright before her eyes. The officer swung, but she caught his blow this time, arms straining. He growled, bearing down, his sweat dripping onto her. This close, she could see the whites of his eyes, smell the stink of his fetid breath. His gun inched closer, and she felt her muscles scream, white-hot agony pulsing in her cheek, her jaw.
Suddenly, a hiss filled the air. She recognized it a beat before the slingsword blade slid cleanly through the Jantari’s chest, the tip stopping inches from her own. The officer gasped, in panic, shock. Blood dribbled from his lips, onto her face, her chin. Elena gagged. She finally shoved him off and sat up, gasping.
Akino stood in the doorway with a slingsword. The other officers were dead, including one of their own, Nurra. Maya held her bleeding hand to her chest while Tanmay wrapped an arm around Ajira’s shaking shoulders.
Red, everywhere. In the blood pooling across the floor; in the sensors floating before them, the two dots bright and crimson like pomegranate seeds.
Elena rose unsteadily to her feet. She had the urge to strip off her clothes, to clean all the blood and grime from her skin. The rush of battle, now that it was over, had left her cold and somewhat sick.
Akino reeled back the blade with a wet plop. He wiped the sword, then held out the hilt to Elena.
“For you.”
Carefully, she accepted the blade. And then she swallowed her disgust. They still had a ship to take, a king who needed to be brought to heel. She pointed to the two blinking dots of the bounders.
“Take me to them.”
CHAPTER 49
JAYA
If the gamemaster loses control, then the field becomes a bloodbath.
—fromThe Gamemaster Manual
The sensors flared to life as they cleared the mists of the pit and saw the killdoms racing through the night.
Jaya swallowed her victorious cry, saying only, “I told you so.”
Rhumia scowled. “Lucky guess.”
She rushed to the comms panel as Daz ordered his men to man their stations, arm their long-range pulsers. The bridge was a flurry of activity, and despite the danger lurking beyond, she could not help but feel a thrill of exhilaration, the anxious, breathless excitement that came before a game, when the field was set, the fighters ready to charge.
“Akaros, are you in position?” she said.
“We are,” he replied through the comms. “Do we know which one is Maya’s killdom?”
At his question, her excitement tamped down a degree. She scrambled through the comms units, heart climbing up her throat, but—no. Therewas no signal from Maya. “Something’s gone wrong.”
Rhumia heard. “This has been a suicide mission from the start—”
“Enough.” Daz watched the second killdom, theRelentless Destiny, as it sailed out with theLord of Sea, no doubt meaning to pincer them. “We go for both.”
“But Maya is on one of those ships,” Jaya said. “She’s been gathering intelligence on the Jantari navy movements. If she’s harmed, we would lose all that data.”
“Tough,” Rhumia said.
Jaya turned to her, a curse on her tongue, but Daz held up his hand. “Didn’t I sayenough? If you two continue to argue, I will relieve both of you of your duties.”
Jaya wrenched her mouth shut, though she itched to drive her stylus through Rhumia’s smirk. If only they were in the field. She would have had control, a gameplan—harmony.
“We’re moving in,” Akaros said. “TheRelentless Destinyis mine.”
“Left full rudder to ninety,” Daz called.
Afira turned the model, and the ship groaned, slicing through the waves as they turned sharply. Akaros moved off their port stern, cutting out to the west to draw out theRelentless.
