Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Reke

I stare unblinkingly at the Hov. They are crowded together in groups, some on the raised platform at the center of the hypogeum. Others are standing nearer our cell, although they are not so close that I could reach them were I to fit my arm between two bars.

Behind me, Nina shifts from foot to foot. Shadows cling to the hollows under her eyes, and her usually soft hair hangs limp on either side of her face. Two spots of bright color sit high on her cheeks, and when she catches me watching her over my shoulder, she breaks eye contact to instead press her hand to Vennkor's forehead, checking … I do not know what.

The urge to entwine myself around her is a physical force, but I do not step closer, accosted as I am by another feeling. It is one I have never felt, and I shift my shoulders, trying to fit more comfortably inside my body.

The unwanted sensation only intensifies as I sight the sweat coating Vennkor's skin and the deep pain lines etched into his face.

Prowling from one side of the cell to the other keeps me in motion, and I run my tail along the bars, tempting the Hov to unlock the door again. I would kill them all, merely to remove the memory of my teeth cutting into Vennkor's throat.

I have killed more times than I have bothered to keep track, forgetting the faces of my victims even before I have stepped out of the Arena battlefield. Now, though, I cannot stop myself from looking down at Vennkor with each lap of the cell I stalk.

Mayhaps there is a piece of me lying on the floor with him. After all, our intermingled blood is, at this moment, being pumped through his veins.

"Reke." Nina's voice sounds unnaturally loud, breaking the silence of my thoughts.

A growl rumbles up my throat. I bare my teeth, displaying them to our watching Hov, to the cameras and to the other gladiators, still trapped in the cells.

Everyone is watching me. The smell of their combined fear is so strong that it sickens me.

I should not care about Vennkor.

Nina is my Mate. Nina is my everything. Nina is the only one I care about.