“Still too many tricks,” he growled.
She wiped the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand, grinning.“And you still fall for them.”
Dalkhan prowled along the edge of the pit, pride radiating from every line of his body as his fighters tore each other apart, hands clasped behind his back and head held high.
Theo’s low whistle pierced through the tension.“Belshin’s stronger than I thought.”
“They both are,” I said, unable to look away as they circled each other like wolves.
Belshin lunged forward, grabbing her by the wrist and slamming her into the ground.She groaned, her body going limp for only a moment.
He leaned over her, one hand braced beside her head.“Yield.”
She spat dirt form her mouth.“Make me.”
Her body began to shimmer and bend, edges blurring and in a burst of light, she was gone, only to appear crouched behind him with one dagger pressed to his neck.The blade bit just deep enough to draw a thin line of blood.
“Yield,” she echoed, voice smug.
He huffed a laugh, shoulders shaking as he tilted his head.The blade pressed deeper, trickling more blood down his neck.
His hands remained loose at his sides, completely relaxed.
“Fine.”
Jasila let her guard down for all of two seconds before Belshin hit her with a surge of air, flipping her forward over his shoulder.He caught her mid-fall only to slam her back into the dirt, cracking the earth beneath her.
She wheezed, limbs splayed wide,laughing.The sound was broken and breathless, but it was filled with wild joy.
“I hate you,” she panted.
He leaned down, his hair falling forward as he offered her his hand and lifted her to her feet.Both of them were utterly wrecked—bleeding and covered in dirt and sweat—but were both grinning like maniacs.
Dalkhan stepped forward and clapped once, slow and amused.The sound cracked across the pit and the crowd exploded into chaos, hands slamming against stone, chanting their names until the air vibrated.
Dalkhan moved between them, gripping Belshin’s wrist and shooting it skyward.“Your victor!”he declared, his voice booming across the arena to the roaring masses.
The crowd went wild—cheering and whistling and stamping their feet until I thought the balcony might collapse.Belshin dipped his head in gracious acknowledgement, smile still stretched across his bloodied face as he basked in the adoration.
The crowds on the balcony thinned, people retreating through separate archways like ghosts dissolving into shadow.Some disappeared right before my eyes.
“Well?”Mira asked, rotating to face me.“Was I right, or was Iright?”
I pushed off the railing with both hands, finally able to tear my eyes away from Dalkhan.
He was still in the pit, talking with Jasila and Belshin.
“You were right,” I admitted.“That was… fuck.That was incredible.”
Theo was trying to recreate some of the moves we’d witnessed on a very unwilling Tavrik, his hands moving in exaggerated arcs through the air while making ridiculous swooshing sounds.Tavrik stood rigid as stone with his jaw clenched, looking like he was about to toss him over the balcony.
“So, where do we g—”
My words were cut short when Iznia’s sneering face emerged through the remaining people.Her steps were purposeful and aggressive as she seared a path straight to me.
I couldn’t catch a break.
“Enjoyed watching your betters fight, little mortal?”Each word dripped with venom, her head angled down so she could stare at me through her lashes like I was something she’d scrape off her shoe.
