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I waited for the blow that would knock out Jalik once and for all. Or for the Zequinid to wear him out.
But Jalik never slowed, never faltered, and certainly never looked like he doubted he would win. That dashing smirk of his and the way he held himself exuded confidence. Not cockiness. He knew who he was and what he was capable of, and he knew that he was better.
Heat coursed through me that had nothing to do with the mass of bodies around me. Something about that unwavering confidence and that sureness in his skills as a fighter made my heart race.
It also didn’t hurt that he was shirtless and that through the fight, a layer of sweat now made his body glisten. Every one of his muscles was now impossible to ignore.
I’d known he was attractive before this fight, but seeing him now, I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Like a moth drawn to a flame. A swaggering, lethal, Vinduthi flame.
I suddenly realized that I’d been biting my lip and fixed my face into a neutral expression. Quickly, I checked to see if Koda had noticed, but he didn’t even spare me a glance. I frowned and wondered if I should be grateful he wasn’t paying attention, or angry he was ignoring the person he was supposed to be protecting.
There was a roar of pain from the ring, and my gaze snapped back to the fight. The Zequinid gave Jalik a rage-filled glare, and I noticed that he was not quite as steady as before.
Jalik seemed to know it, too, because suddenly he moved even faster than he did before. He didn’t bother with dancing around his opponent this time or letting him charge. No, this time Jalik was going for the kill.
He delivered blow after blow to the Zequinid, each one making his opponent more and more unstable. The Zequinid tried desperately to regain his balance, to get back into the fight, but Jalik was clearly having none of it.
Jalik delivered a solid blow to his opponent’s face, and the Zequinid crumpled. The Vinduthi put a foot down on his fallen opponent almost lazily, like he knew he wouldn’t be getting up.
The announcer counted down from ten and sure enough, the Zequinid never so much as stirred.
A bell rang, and the announcer spoke enthusiastically. “Our winner of the first round of the championship today, our very own, Jalik!”
The announcer raised Jalik’s hand high in the air. The Vinduthi in question just kept that cocksure smirk of his and held his chin high.
The crowd roared with cheers and boos. Suddenly, they all surged forward, trying to get to the ring. From the corner of my eye, I saw Koda getting ready to go charge with them. I snagged his shirt sleeve before he even took a step forward.
“Where are you going?” I asked sternly.
Realization seemed to hit him that he was technically still on duty. “I was just going to go congratulate the boss. Come on, why don’t we go see him together?”
For a moment, I was tempted. He did an incredible job, and Koda wanted to see him. But every time I spoke to the man, I felt like all my senses went out the door. I felt every bit the silly human everyone always saw me as.
I shook my head. “No. Please, you said we’d come to watch the fight and that was it.”
Koda wilted a little. “Fine, let’s get you back.”
As we fought through the crowd, pushing and being jolted at every step, a bit of relief seeped through me. Finally, we were out of the crowd and somewhere hopefully safer.
I turned to thank Koda for letting us leave and noticed he wasn’t next to me anymore. Freezing in place, I frantically looked around for him. Panic settled in me like a brick when I realized he was nowhere to be seen.
For a moment, I wondered if he’d abandoned me, but as I was jostled through the rowdy crowd, I realized we’d probably been separated.
“Koda. Koda!” I called out. Desperately, I searched for any sign of him.
Suddenly, there was a gasp not too far from me. My gaze jumped toward the source, and I saw a Monion woman looking right back at me, her eyes sparkling.
“You’re the singer. Serena!” she said, making her way towards me.
Almost instinctively, I took a step back. I wanted to deny it. To say that she was mistaken or had me confused with someone else.
“It is her,” another voice said, and I whipped around to see someone else coming towards me.
And then more. Then a dozen people suddenly swarmed me, calling out to me. Some of them were telling me how much they loved my voice, others wanted me to sign things, and still others just leered at me.
My heart beat so fast inside my chest that I was surprised it didn’t explode. Any one of these people could be the creep leaving messages in my dressing room. Any one of them could grab me and take me away and it would be too late for anyone to do anything about it.
My hand made a fist.
