“Come challenge me, Ichor to Ichor!” Uzair struck his chest, teeth flashing red as he grinned.
“Mind games?” Tallon asked, voice almost bored.
“Tallon, reserve yourself,” Egath hissed.
A mistake. The bastard prince was a spoiled brat who balked at every order. He did not take instruction well. He glared at the ambassador, pride blazing hot. Then his hand clamped around my arm and hauled me upright.
I snarled and fought him, thrashing. “Let go of me!”
He pivoted to face me. His hands slid to my cheeks, thumbs pressing into my jaw. I recoiled, but his grip tightened, fingers digging into bone.
“No.” His smile sharpened.
He dragged me after Uzair toward the wrestling circle, Egath trailing behind.
The crowd buzzed, energy crackling. Apparently, Tallon using his power was a rare phenomenon, and rarity bred hunger. He sat me down, then covered my hand with his. Heat bled through his palm. Uzair’s brown eyes gleamed as another man lowered himself at his side.
Then I saw it—what marked them apart.
Scars.
Uzair’s throat lay smooth and unmarked. But the man beside him wore a necklace of pale crescents. White half-moons dotted his skin from collarbone to jaw. He might have been smiling, but he bore the proof of teeth.
He was one they fed on.
Tallon drew a dagger. Steel whispered free of its sheath.
He didn’t have fangs.
Uzair seized the scarred man by the hair and shoulder, jerking back to expose his throat. His teeth sank into that familiar patch of skin. Crimson pooled at the corner of his mouth before he pulled hard, swallowing long, heaving gulps.
My body jerked with a gag. The world tilted.
The scarred man’s gaze found mine. His head tipped to the side, almost inverted, lips parted in a strange, slack smile.
Tallon rolled my wrist in his grasp, and I tried to pull free. I had to try. I would not offer myself without resistance.
“Tallon, don’t.” The plea scraped raw from my throat. I hated this paralysis, this inability to do anything. I stood no chance. No one here would intervene.
“Egath, please.” I leaned away from Tallon and into him instead.
“Relax. I’ve got you,” he murmured, just low enough to reach my ear.
A shudder passed through me as Tallon dragged the blade across my skin. Pain flared, bright and thin. Scarlet welled before spilling over, sliding toward my elbow in a warm line.
He lifted my arm. His tongue traced the path of blood upward, rough and dry, like a cat’s. When his mouth closed over my wrist, dull teeth pressed and bruised. I yelped and twisted, but Egath’s arms cinched tight around my ribs, pinning me.
Uzair laughed into his victim’s throat, gaze locked with Tallon’s.
Tallon’s smile curved as he drew from me again, swallowing. My stomach roiled, threatening to heave. Yet I couldn’t look away. Once their eyes met, both went still. Two predators measuring distance before the strike.
A hush rippled outward. Bodies climbed over benches for a better view. Wood creaked under weight. Breath held.
The only movement came from Tallon’s throat as he suckled at my wrist like an infant at a breast.
My head spun. The torches smeared into streaks of gold. He was taking too much.
I tugged weakly at my arm. “Stop. Tallon,please.”
