Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

Reke

T he sound of the cell doors locking wakes me. I remain still. Nina’s back is pressed to my front, both our heads pillowed on Vennkor’s arm. His scarred brow is furrowed and a muscle in his cheek twitches as if he is dreaming. Nina’s breaths are deep and even, her body all softness and her skin scented of Vennkor and me.

Sometime after our game, Nina pulled on her cloth coverings, so now just her head, hands and feet are exposed. I examine the blunt nails she so often chews and the wrinkles on the back of her hand where her fingers bend. With my gaze, I trace the pale blue veins at her wrist and the golden band crowning her thumb.

I follow the line of her arm up to her throat to where red dots mark one side of her neck where the tips of my claws punctured her skin. She did not shy away from me. She did not avoid my gaze; instead, she pushed into my hold and fisted my cock.

The internal itchiness returns, and I lazily rub my tail between my legs, the head of my stiffening cock beginning to extend beyond my slit. I do not understand Vennkor, whose cock and sac are always exposed and who must wear breeches if he wishes to keep them hidden from prying eyes.

My eyes pry now, over the firm muscles of his stomach and thighs. His scent has changed. Still a creature of prey, I think as I breathe deeply, but now I can smell an undertone of Nina on his skin and something else … Something that reminds me of rutting.

As though he can sense me watching, his eyes flutter open. He rubs his face with his free hand, brushing sleep from his eyes.

“Reke.” His greeting is a whisper, an acknowledgement that my Mate still sleeps within the circle of his arm.

I sit up, crossing my legs and wrapping my tail around an ankle. What had Nina called him? Akh. “Venn.”

He raises his head to look at me, but he cannot straighten without disturbing Nina.

“What happened last night?” he asks quietly.

“We rutted with Nina.” I tip my head to one side. Does he not remember? Or perhaps he did not understand. I had not rutted before, but I know exactly what we did.

“Yes.” Briefly, he closes his eyes. When he looks at me again, I think I can see worry in his expression, but that cannot be right because Vennkor never displays his emotions. I lean a fraction nearer, looking closer.

“I mean—” He clears his throat. “We were both there. We— You shared.”

“Yes.” I narrow my eyes. He is telling me what we both already know to be true. “Nina requested I let you play. ”

“But you did not have to agree.”

“No.” I suppose not. “Although I found your involvement to be … ” I search for the right word, sorting through the extensive vocabulary the Hov have supplied me with. “Useful.” I nod decisively. Yes, useful .

“I see.” Vennkor accepts my answer, lowering his head back to the floor and turning his attention to Nina. I watch her too, never growing tired with my examination of each of her unique details—the three gray hairs at her right temple, the dots that decorate her nose, the slight indentation above the center of her top lip.

Her eyes flutter open, and she yawns, displaying blunt teeth and a pink tongue.

“Good morning.” A wince. “God, I’m sore.”

“Did I hurt you?” Vennkor lifts her into a seated position and snatches his hands back as if touching her has stung him. I press a finger to the back of her hand, but Nina does not sting me.

“No, you really didn’t. I loved last night.” She stretches her arms over her head, leaning first one way and then another, working the stiffness from her muscles. “Did you know that sex releases dopamine and endorphins and oxytocin that helps make you feel happy? At least, it does in Humans.”

“I am happy,” I tell her, mimicking her movements and stretching my arms overhead.

She cups my face in both her hands. I think she is going to try pressing her lips to mine again, so I wiggle against her hold until she releases me with a giggle.

Vennkor immediately leans in, and she sinks against him. Their mouths grind against each other in imitation of rutting, and I poke Nina’s arm, attempting to recapture her attention.

“The greatest revenge is happiness.” Nina straightens. “I just remembered Grandma used to say that to me when I was growing up. I think it must be true … ” Her voice fades into silence as she catches sight of something behind me.

I follow the direction of her gaze. A Hov guard has entered the hypogeum, leading two Arrok males. I crouch. Behind me, I hear Vennkor and Nina stand, followed by the whisper of fabric as Vennkor dresses.

I eye the Arrok. They are of a similar height and build to Vennkor, with arms almost as thick as Nina’s waist. Their golden skin looks nearly bronze in the semi-light. They each have two tusks too large to be contained by their mouths. The simple black bands tattooed around each of their right arms mark them as a fighting pair, as do the large axes they have strapped to their backs, the handles intricately carved, the blades bare of all decoration. In fact, they are so similar in appearance that it is only their eyes and their scent that set them apart. One has gold pupils; the others are a pale yellow. One smells musty; the other is staler, like air that has been recycled too many times.

“We should’ve escaped when we had the chance,” Nina whispers.

“We did not have the chance,” Vennkor replies just as quietly. “There was no way to escape.”

“No, there wasn’t. You’re right.”

As the Hov and the Arrok pair mount the steps to the viewing platform, the guard extends a green arm, gesturing toward Nina, Vennkor and I under our spotlight .

“I suspect I now know why we have been allowed time together,” Vennkor mutters.

I nod.

This is not the first time career gladiators have come to meet me before they fight me, wagering not only their fortune but their lives. When they fight, they are guaranteed to draw a large crowd of Arena patrons.

Combine their fame with my own and with Nina’s debut and it will be the most infamous (and the most profitable) fight the Hov have engineered in many years. Vennkor’s presence too will draw attention, for the simple fact that I have never been paired with a gladiator I have not killed.

I hunt alone. Except for Nina.

I would do anything for Nina.

The golden-eyed Arrok is holding a bundle of cloth. When he raises it to his nose to sniff, Nina slides her way to the front of our cell, coming to stand beside me.

“Hey, that’s my sweater.” She points at the Arrok. “You can’t keep that.”

He looks her over, his lecherous gaze roaming her body, and tosses it at her. Of course, the sweater hits the invisible barrier. With a sizzle, smoke rises from the scorched fabric as it falls to the edge of the viewing platform.

He smirks.

She scowls.

“I will rip out their throats for you,” I offer.

“Oh.” She pats my arm. “Thanks.”

“They are mated?” the yellow-eyed Arrok asks. He, I suspect, is the alpha of their pairing. He has barely glanced at Vennkor. Rather, his attention is on me .

The Hov gestures at the three of us again. “They have not killed each other.”

“No,” the alpha responds. “What is so special about her?”

“She is the only one of her kind to ever have been brought to the Arena.” The Hov’s answer is insulting in its simplicity. There are so many reasons for Nina’s specialness. That these Arrok must ask proves they do not understand what they are seeing.

“I’m right here.” Nina indicates herself. “I can hear what you’re saying.”

Vennkor rests a hand on her shoulder, his shoulders stiff with tension.

“We will fight Reke and the other one.” The alpha nods. “We will win, and you will gift us the Female as our prize.”

“I beg your pardon?” Nina’s anger smells bitter, and it coats my tongue.

I wrinkle my nose. I dislike it.

Alternatively, her anger piques the Arroks’ interest further, and they watch her with unguarded expressions of hunger and ownership.

My tail whips back and forth. They were clever to keep their distance. Had they stood on the walkway in front of this cell, I would already have snapped their necks. In their individual forms, as they currently are, they pose no threat.

“What will your insurance be?” the Hov asks.

“Our ship and this.” The alpha removes a pouch from his belt and hands it to the guard.

The Hov glances inside and nods. “Deal.”

“No deal.” Nina crosses her forearms in front of her chest. “No deal, assholes.” Her face is red, and her unfathomable eyes glisten with moisture. “Hey, come back. We don’t have a fucking deal.”

The door to the hypogeum clicks closed behind them. All the other cells rotate, lifting gladiators into place. Overhead comes the familiar muffled sounds of patrons finding their seats.

Another day has begun.

Nina is completely still. “I thought I was here as a gladiator, and that was bad enough. Now I’m just some prize to be gifted to the winners.”

I look to Vennkor.

He wraps his arms around her, drawing Nina to his chest. For a heartbeat, she resists. Then she sinks against him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

“I want to go home.” Her whispered confession is for our hearing only, mine and Vennkor’s.

“You do not need to worry, Nina.” I tuck a strand of her soft hair behind one of her petite ears. “We will not let the Arrok pair take you from us.” I would rather tear the world apart than be parted from my Mate.

“I know.” Her shoulders drop, and she hides her face against Vennkor, muffling her next words: “But that isn’t the point. This isn’t how the world is supposed to work. You shouldn’t have to kill anyone, Reke.”

“I do not understand.”

But she must not hear me, for she sniffs and remains otherwise silent.