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There were already a few fae in the stands, and they wished me luck when they saw us. I waved a little but couldn’t manage a smile.
“You’ve never fought before,”she reminded me.“All of us have bad feelings about new things.”
I sighed softly.“Laeli and Kaelle’s magic is unpredictable.”
“So is yours.”
“Not in the same way theirs is, though.”
“Believe in yourself,”she said simply.“And know that if anything goes wrong, we will get you out quickly.”
“You and who else? Kierden obviously doesn’t care that my life’s going to be at risk.”
“Have you seen the other women with their swords? They’re just as bad as you. No one accidentally dies in a fight.”
I didn’t think that was true. Maybe none of the fae, who were all badass fighters with centuries of experience, diedaccidentallyin a fight. But a couple of human women with uncontrollable magic and no experience? We were a very different story.
What guarantee was there that Kaelle wouldn’t accidentally throw a gust of wind that impaled me with her sword? What guarantee was there that Laeli wouldn’t get stressed and catch on fire, then lightmeon fire?
“I hope you’re right,”I said to Bright, as she slipped into the room behind Death.
Kierden and I were the first ones there, so he went over and picked the first sword off a rack near the wall for me.
Bright licked my knee and prowled over to the corner of the room, where she plopped down on her belly and set her head on her paws so she could watch me.
Eisley arrived just after us, carrying three sets of clothing hidden by thick bags and wearing a massive grin. I heard metal clanging inside the clothing bags and fought a groan.
“I don’t like that face,” I warned her, waving my finger toward her expression. “You look downright wicked.”
She laughed. Honestly, it was almost a cackle. “You’re going to hate it.”
I groaned.
Vayme and Kaelle arrived then, distracting me from Eisley, her evil smile, and whatever she had in those clothing bags. Ravv and Laeli were just behind them, and I could hear the crowd outside getting louder.
My nerves churned my stomach, but I tried hard to ignore them. After a few weeks of regular meals, I had filled out a lot more. My stomach was starting to get a little softer and my thighs were filling out a bit, although I could still see my ribs when I looked at myself in the mirror. If I ate more, I could have filled out faster, but Kierden’s playfulness about how often I ate meant I was careful not to act as hungry as I was.
Unlike me, Laeli and Kaelle were gaining weight and growing curves rapidly. I’d noticed Vayme silently loading Kaelle’s plate with his own food on multiple occasions and Laeli stealing food from Ravv’s, who usually looked grumpy about it. I didn’t think Kierden had noticed it; I knew him well enough to be nearly confident that he would have fed me more than I could ever eat if he knew why I was so hungry.
“You can’t look partial to any of the women. As far as anyone knows, you only captured them for this and have no real connection to them,” Eisley told the kings, waving them out of the room. The kings glowered and glared at her but all made their way out. Their companions stayed in the room: Death, Gleam (Ravv’s bonded idorr), and Strong (Vayme’s bonded xuno).
Kaelle and Laeli hadn’t bonded with any animals yet, but the other kings’ companions were a lot more protective of them than Death was of me. He was mostly focused on trying to convince Bright to be his mate, which I thought was kind of adorable.
And though Death wasn’t protective of me, he was always affectionate, brushing up against my side and licking me whenever he passed me. He’d even started taking Bright’s place between me and Kierden at night.
When the kings were gone, Eisley said cheerfully, “I brought your outfits for the fight. I’m sure it won’t be super exciting, considering how terrible you all are, so the outfits are meant to distract everyone with your soft, bouncy bodies.”
Compared to Laeli’s and Kaelle’s, my body wasn’t soft or bouncy, but I understood the concept. If I’d been eating five huge meals a day like they were, I would’ve grown just as fast.
I didn’t think that had occurred to Eisley any more than it had occurred to Kierden, though. She would’ve done something about it if it had. She just didn’t understand humans well.
And yeah… Kierden was going to befuriousif he found out that my town had starved me. I didn’t plan on him finding out, though.
At least, I didn’t plan on it until Eisley unzipped the bag.
I groaned at the sight of the outfit. I couldn’t even call it a dress. It was just a pair of fancy scanties. The top portion was made with thin strips of metal that curved and would barely cover my nipples. The bottom portion had three strips—one over each hip, and one that would cover my lower bits, for the most part.
“Oh, that’s terrible,” Laeli said with a grin. “The kings are going to loseit.”
