My head hung low, hair blocking the view of almost everything except the approaching platform.Fucking wonderful. The Overseer would make a speech before he sacrificed me to whichever broken beast he’d chosen for today’s fight.
“Stand up,” a guard snarled, slamming his fist between my shoulder blades.
I tried. Gods, I tried. But my body was a map of bruises, my vision stuttered at the edges, black creeping in, and my pulse beat painfully slow. Somewhere deep inside me, embers smoldered, waiting for the moment I became too weak to hold them back.
After two pathetic attempts, I managed to get my feet under me.
Scanned the crowd. Picked Nico out of the sea of faces and… there… Gabriel, almost unrecognizable, his face pounded into dog meat. Fuck.What had they been thinking?
The Overseer ruled from the platform like a king in a slaughterhouse. Ancient, broad-shouldered, pale hair pulled back tight, his eyes bright with a delighted cruelty that never dimmed. He wore black gauntlets—as if he needed to keep the filth off his hands.
He spread his arms, “The morning’s entertainment has arrived.”
The crowd answered with a roar.
I tasted copper as I swayed on my feet, trying to keep my bad leg beneath me. I focused on the Overseer’s exposed neck, on the pulsing line where flesh gave way to artery, picturing my teeth there, ripping out his fucking throat.
Then the guards dragged someone else out onto the floor of the Pit.
My blood went cold.
Emberline’s boots dragged furrows through the sand as they hauled her forward like a sack of grain. Her braid had come loose in spots, dark strands sticking to her bruised face, and a sweep of anger stole my every thought.
Fire simmered at my core, and it was tempting, so fucking tempting to give myself over to the demon and lethim slaughter everyone in sight. But there was no way to keep my wife safe once I lost control.
Her chin was coated in dried, cracked blood, one side of her face swollen, a deep gash on one cheekbone.
I couldn’t even hear the crowd—only the sound of my own jagged breathing.
My hands clenched hard, the cuffs cutting deeper. I pulled toward her, and the guards tightened the chains, jerking me back until my shoulders nearly popped free. But pain was good. Pain kept me focused.
Emberline hit the sandy floor of the fight ring with a dull thud, and for a heartbeat, she stayed there, head bowed, like this place had stolen all the air from her lungs.
Then her dark eyes met mine.
And the horror that hit me was worse than any blade—because she wasn’t afraid.
She wasfurious.
The Overseer leaned close, his voice a gloating purr meant only for my ear. “Your little bird is about to get her wings clipped.” He grinned, baring a set of vicious fangs. “And then she’ll be mine. If you’re good, I might even let you watch me fuck her.”
Something inside me snapped. The weakness burned away, replaced by a white, screaming clarity. I didn’t think.
I just moved.
I surged forward, dragging the guards across the platform, and drove my forehead into his.
The crack echoed across the stadium.
Pain exploded in my skull—hot and bright—but the Overseer staggered back with a curse, his hand flying to his face. Blood poured between his fingers, and the crowd gasped before a sea of guards tackled me from all sides, forcing me down.
The Overseer’s eyes flashed. Not in anger—but in delight.
He mopped at his brow, then beckoned the guards. “Bring him out. Let’s see how well our little aristocrat can fight.” He bent down so only I could hear. “Don’t worry, I already told him not to fuck up that pretty face.” Cunning and delight warred on his face before he added, “At least, not any more than I already have. I do wonder if her cunt tastes as sweet as her blood?”
“Don’t you fucking dare,” I rasped, my voice shredded. “Don’t touch her.”
He smiled like he’d been waiting for me to say it. “Touch her?” He laughed. “Dominico, you misunderstand. She’s alreadymine. This is nothing but a final lesson for you. To prove you cannot protect her. That in this place, I am a god, and you arenothing.”
