16. Kren

The guy was almost impossible to hit. He moved faster than anyone I'd ever met in the pit.

I swung a fist at him but by the time my fist reached him, lagging as if it the slow-motion switch were stuck, he'd dodged and smacked me in the face two, three, sometimes four times.

He wasn't a big hitter. That was my only saving grace. If he had been, there was no way I could have beaten him.

Unable to strike him, I decided to let him tire himself out. Moving at that kind of speed must take an enormous amount of energy.

I raised my shield and gripped my sword firmly so he couldn't take it from me.

He was armed with a pair of blades that struck at me like a python. He drew blood from my cheek, neck, and forearms.

I could have used my ability but I held back. I didn't like to rely on it like a crutch the way other fighters did.

I ducked behind my shield as the knives stabbed at me again.

Clang, clang, clang!

I backed away and swung my sword around. It was more to keep my opponent moving than an attempt to slash him.

I felt the blade bite into something that gave way beneath it. It couldn't be a sword or his light armor as it made no noise.

I pulled my sword back and identified the blood along its razor-sharp edge.

Yes! I'd hit him.

I rolled up onto my feet and caught sight of him to one side, holding his bleeding ankle with one hand and his blades in the other.

His face was contorted with pain. I approached him slowly and cautiously. I'd been in too many fights to think the battle might already be over.

Fighters would use any trick at their disposal when they thought they knew they were on the brink of losing.

"Yield," I said.

The fighter shook his head.

"I can't. I have to keep going."

"Yield or you will die."

"You're Kren. You never kill unless you need to."

"So, this time I might need to. Yield."

He screwed up his face and began to laugh.

"Not until you face the Fury!"

I had been right to be cautious. He leaped at me and his knives clang clang clanged against my shield. I barely managed to avoid the worst of the blows.

The blades were suddenly everywhere and I received another cut to my arm—my wrist this time, and another to my shin. The shield wasn't long enough to protect me head to foot.

He couldn't keep attacking like this. He'd been tired when he began the assault. By now, he must be exhausted.

Another slash to my shin. And another to my forearms. These wounds were deep and almost cut to the bone.

He couldn't keep attacking. And I couldn't keep taking the abuse.

I focused my mind and accessed the light in the center of my chest. It flashed in my mind's eye and suddenly, the blows weren't raining down so fast.

I peered over my shield. My opponent's face was screwed up in rage as he brought his arm around and hacked at me again.

Now he was the one moving in slow motion. I'd taken his strength and used it against him.

His blade struck my shield and bounced off as his other arm came in to deliver the next blow.

I witnessed what it was like to have the creature's ability to see the world through his eyes.

To him, the world was slow and lethargic and unexciting.

I blocked his second blow and decided to end the fight right now.

I dropped my sword. I snapped my arm forward and wrapped my hand around his neck. I tensed my arm and lifted him off the floor a full foot.

His eyes widened in shock. I guessed it was because no one had ever moved faster than he could before. He swung with his blades but I easily avoided them.

I did him a favor and threw him bodily into the opposite wall. He smashed into it, dazed for a moment. He struggled to get to his feet.

"I wouldn't get up if I were you," I said.

He collapsed. Either of his own volition or because he just couldn't hold himself up any longer, I couldn't tell.

The battle was over.

The klaxon sounded and I was ushered to the exit.

I didn't expectto see Ivy when I reached the Prize Pool, so I wasn't disappointed she wasn't there.

The other girls presented themselves anyway. None looked particularly interested in me. Why would they? They knew my heart already belonged to another.

Lily approached and tried to interest me in her "wares."

"Ivy isn't with us right now. But perhaps you would like to peruse our other girls?"

"No thanks."

Lily stepped in the way, blocking me from leaving.

"No. I must insist."

"And I insist, I'm not interested."

I moved to step around Lily but she was there in an instant. She moved quickly and it surprised me. She could have done very well in the pits. She sidled up close and said:

"Even if you don't… take action with the girls, there are other things they can… do for you," she said, and her eyes twinkled. "Like informative conversation."

In all my years of fighting in the pits, I had never heard a madam—this one or any other—suggest there was anything the girls could do but the one thing they'd been abducted to perform.

There was something in the way she smiled at me, the way her eyes drifted over my shoulder to the girls, that she was trying to tell me more than she was allowed to say.

Besides, what harm could it do to listen to one of the girls? It wasn't like I had to do anything with her. If I misunderstood Lily's meaning that there was something of interest the girls could tell me, I could send her on her way back to the Pool. So, I nodded.

"Which girl do you suggest?"

"Might I suggest Harper? She's an excellent conversationalist."

Ah. The friend with the terrible perfume. Yes. I remembered her.

"Well, Harper, Lily tells me there's something you're interested in telling me. What is it?"

Harper glanced at the other girls lined up beside her. She was nervous. But of what?

"She's very… shy," Lily said. "Perhaps you would like to speak with her in private?"

Whatever it was they had to tell me, it was clear no one present but Lily and Harper knew about it.

I ran my eye over Harper. She was small, even shorter than Ivy, and had tanned skin and welcoming eyes. She wasn't strong but I sensed she could be quick. A poison inscribed on the edge of a knife could be more deadly than any unique ability.

What reason would she have of making an attempt on my life? I wondered. Because I had turned her down so many times over the years and chosen her friend as a mate?

Possibly. Feuds had started for a lot less.

I would have to take the risk if I wanted to learn what she had to say.

I nodded and motioned for Harper to join me. We approached the tunnel leading to the cells. The guards fell in behind us.

I was itching to ask her what it was she wanted to tell me but the guards were too close and could overhear her easily. We walked in silence down the gangways.

Harper got a few acknowledging waves and nods of respect from the prisoners we passed.

Respect? In this place?

I guess everyone had their skills. Sex was clearly one of hers.

We reached my cell and she stepped inside without waiting for me to invite her. I entered and the guards left.

"Wow," Harper said, peering at my cell. "You have your own bathroom and kitchen?"

I had been the champion the entire time she had… worked at the prison. She wouldn't have seen a champion's quarters without me claiming her.

"Would you like some water?" I said.

"Yes. Please."

I filled her a glass. She looked at me over it as she drank it all down in one thirsty gulp. She rolled the glass between her hands.

"More?" I said.

She shook her head.

"You must really miss Ivy. You usually choose her every day."

"Lily said you wanted to tell me something. What is it?"

Harper glanced at the door and then back at me.

"You love her, don't you?"

"What does that have to do with you?"

"Nothing. I just… never thought it was possible between the Prizes and fighters before. There's always lust, plenty of lust. I've got lust coming out of my ears. But never love. What is it about her that you love so much?"

Were my earlier fears true? Did she hold it against me that I never looked at her once and always chose Ivy?

"What do you have to tell me?" I said.

Harper looked me over again and nodded.

"You love her. I can tell. And she loves you. That's why I'm here to tell you what I know. If anyone found out I said anything…"

She shivered at what that outcome would lead to.

"What is it?" I said, my curiosity growing.

"It's Ivy. She's… been up to something. I don't know all the details and I don't know exactly what… But she's been seeing the Supervisor. Not in the way she's been seeing you. It's different. Like they have some kind of secret or something. She never tells me about it but I can tell she's always thinking about it. I'm not sure it's good."

Okay, so that wasn't what I expected her to say. I really had no idea what it was going to be, but this?

"Are you sure about this? How do you know she's been seeing the Supervisor?"

"Because every day after she sees you, she goes up to his lab. She's there for about half an hour and then comes to us. I've tried asking her about it but sometimes talking about things can be dangerous. Like I'm talking to you now."

I placed my hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye.

"You don't have to be afraid. I'm not going to tell anyone anything you tell me."

She smiled and it really was a beautiful thing.

"Okay."

She threw herself down on the bed and told me everything she knew. It became clear she didn't know a lot but enough to make me suspicious. I knew what the Supervisor was like. I'd grown up with him.

It was the final piece of information that caught my attention.

"Then this morning, she didn't come back," Harper said.

"What do you mean? She went to see the Supervisor and then didn't come out again?"

Harper nodded.

"Did any of the girls see her come out?" I said.

"No. Neither did Lily. And she's very careful with her girls. Even if she pretends like she doesn't care."

"Did Lily speak to anyone about her going missing?"

"She didn't need to. A guard came and spoke to her, telling her Ivy wouldn't be returning."

"And that was it? No more explanation than that?"

Harper shook her head.

What did that mean? That Ivy was still in there somewhere? Or that the Supervisor had done something to her?

My mind whirled and my stomach twisted at the idea.

There was little the Supervisor wouldn't do when push came to shove.

It gave me pause for thought. I'd made a deal with the Supervisor for him to let me have Ivy.

But what if he really did have power over what happened to her? What if he never intended on speaking with the warden? He'd never needed to discuss anything with him before. And what if he was preparing to trap me as he had with Ivy?

"What are you going to do?" Harper said.

It was a great question. I wasn't sure.

Just then, the door made a bleep noise it always did when the guards stood on the other side.

The door slid open revealing a guard outside. He didn't enter. They never did unless necessary.

"The Supervisor is ready for your meeting," the guard said.

The Supervisor might be ready. But I wasn't.

"Is it okay if I stay here for a while?" Harper said. "I'd really like a night off."

"Sure," I said mindlessly. "Help yourself."

Harper clapped her hands excitedly and got comfortable on the bed. She deserved something for risking her life.

I stepped through the door and headed out to meet the Supervisor, the guard on my heels.