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"And the arena fighting is all naked?"
"And in mud." He hitched his pants in that way all men did when in the presence of a woman they were attracted to. "Very exciting."
"I bet," I said dryly.
We moved into another corridor, and from down the far end came raised voices. One of them was Berna's.
"Your quarters," he said. "You can pick who you wish to share with. We don't care."
"Cool."
"Dinner is at seven in the main dining room and is not optional. Other meals are." He stopped near the first door. "You are free to explore or use any of the facilities before and after the dinner show. Myself or one of the other guards will be here to escort you to the dining room at six forty-five. Don't be late."
"Or what?"
He gave me another nasty grin again, and I seriously had to resist the urge to smack it from his thin lips. "We'll dock your pay or punish you in other ways."
"What other ways?"
"You'll see an example tonight, over dinner." Anticipation gleamed in his eyes, giving me the bad feeling that it was something normal, sane people wouldn't like.
I nodded. After another look at my breasts, he spun around and left. I followed the sound of Berna's voice, passing several rooms that were already full, and stopped in the last doorway.
The bear-shifter stood in the middle of the room, her large paws on her larger hips, and her short dark hair fairly bristling with anger.
Nerida, the fox lady, stood in front of her, defiance written all over her red features. She was game, I had to give her that. Berna was twice her height and four times her girth.
"I got here first," she said. "The window is mine."
"I need fresh air or I snore. Believe me, if you cherish sleep, you would not want me snoring."
All this angst and noise over a damn window? "Really ladies, this is easily settled."
Berna gave me a dark glance as I walked in. "We don't want thieves in this room."
"The thief doesn't steal from friends, and there are no other beds left anyway, so tough." I walked across to the bed in question and stripped off my coat. "To settle the argument, I'll take it."
Nerida glanced up at Berna, then the two of them stepped forward as one. Something about that itched at my senses. There was just a little too much precision in the way they did that - like it was a move they'd practiced more than once. Maybe Nerida was also a wrestler.
And maybe something else was going on.
Dia had mentioned that someone in this group wasn't who they pretended to be. Maybe there was more than just one pretender.
And why would they fake a fight? To make it seem they weren't friendly to watching eyes, perhaps? Now, why would they want something like that?
"I'm at least three times your girth, wolf, and probably twice as strong. I could thump you into the floor without even thinking."
"You could try," I said mildly. "I doubt you'd succeed."
She bristled. "That a challenge?"
I shrugged, and kicked off my shoes. Feigning disinterest when every sense I had was tuned on the both of them, waiting for a move. Any move. "Take it any damn way you please."
I half-turned, and that's when the fox sprung. I dropped, moving under her leap, then grabbed her and whirled her quickly around before letting go. I had no time to see if she'd hit the bed I'd been aiming for, because the air screamed with the warning of an approaching blow. I surged upright and caught Berna's fist in a two-handed grip. Held it and stopped it, even if the force of her blow sent Shockwaves up my arms and rattled my teeth.
"Looks don't always indicate strength," I said softly, as surprise flitted through her brown eyes. "Do not try and attack me like that again." I looked at Nerida, who'd landed beside the bed rather than on it and was currently rubbing her hip. "Either of you."
I pushed Berna backward and released her, then got back to the business of stripping off. "Do you know what's happened to our bags?"
