Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

The revelers, gamblers, and competitors had no idea what had just occurred in the holding cells. Too much was going on with the evening's events and spectacle for anyone, including the guards, to even think about the lone replacement female who had not made the cutoff time and been eliminated from the games. Eventually, they would think about her, especially those who had bet on her, but for now she was out of their thoughts.

And, as luck had it, she had been spirited away very quietly from their city without so much as raising a hint of an alarm, fleeing on foot with her unexpected rescuer. That meant that Ziana was the lone human left, and she was still on full display along with her partner.

"Smile," Dorrin urged through clenched teeth as he grinned at the onlookers while performing the various tasks required of the participants.

"I am smiling," Ziana shot back, her jaw growing sore from putting on a show.

"Do better. You look like you smelled something terrible," he replied. "Give a real smile. If the crowd loves you, it will be harder for the elites to pull tricks to force you from the games."

"But I thought they always cheated."

Flagro and his sister, Galla, were walking toward them, staring daggers at the pair, but Ziana doubted they could have heard them from that distance. Dorrin, however, seemed to feel differently about that matter.

"Do not say that out loud," he hissed, his eyes darting to the elite pair as they drew near. "But yes, they do. But the more popular teams are also the most scrutinized, and the further you make it into the games, the more money is riding on you, and believe me, the elites do not want to run afoul of the gamblers. High rollers can make even their lives difficult if they want to, both financially as well as by calling in a Dotharian overseer to review their actions."

"I thought this was already sanctioned by the Dotharians."

"The games? Yes, they are. But there is a rather large difference between Dotharian sanctioned and Dotharian overseen."

"So, you're saying we're in a gray area?"

"More or less. While we live under Dotharian law, no one wants to be under their scrutiny. They can be particularly strict about things. Take your runes, for example."

At that Galla, most definitely within earshot, decided to interject, a cruel laugh erupting from her lips even as she maintained her delighted smile for the fans. "We all know about her runes. Lesser markings, no doubt. And to think, her race doesn't even have them on her world. What a pathetic place it must be. Savage and uncivilized."

Her brother nodded his approval, laughing along with her insults. Worse, other elites were gathering. It was starting to look like an impromptu dog-pile on the new girl, though they all were smiling as if they were the nicest people one could imagine. That couldn't have been farther from the truth.

The two heirs to Lord Kuantos's empire joined them first, casual and on equal footing by their ease with the other elites. Aden was the man's name, while Trammia was his partner. Ziana had encountered them in training and knew their story. The blending of two houses, Trammia coming from the Dinotka elites and marrying into the Kuantos line, thus reinforcing both families' hold on their power for another generation.

"Are we discussing the commoner's runes?" Trammia asked with a gleeful grin. "Oh, how delightful. What are we talking about?"

"How her world must surely be a terrible, primitive place," Galla replied.

Ziana felt her anger flare, but Dorrin put his large hand on her shoulder, its hot weight reminding her to keep control. Eyes were on them, and they lacked the protections the elites enjoyed. She took a deep breath and steadied herself. She'd been amply warned on several occasions not to react. As Dorrin said, "If you do you will just make things more difficult for yourself, and that will then make things difficult for me by association, and that is not acceptable."

So Ziana took it. Took it, but she would not forget these taunts and slights.

Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But you bitches are going to get an earful, just you wait.

The pair from the Anjello family were heading to join them and Ziana felt her fists clenching as their laughs melded with the others'. It was going to be too much for her to endure. The urge to clap back was rising fast. Fortunately, Dorrin caught her reaction just as the next events were being announced.

Saved by the bell. Or, rather, the next challenge.

"It's been delightful chatting with you all," he said with sarcasm dripping from his lips, "but we must be off to our next event. Best of luck to you all. I'm sure you will excel, regardless of your shortcomings."

He took Ziana's arm and turned to leave the elites, their irritation growing to anger at his seemingly innocuous words.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Flagro growled, his carefully practiced smile faltering, an angry sneer showing through the cracks.

"Oh, what ever do you mean?" Dorrin replied, smiling like an innocent.

"You know what I mean. Are you accusing me of something, commoner ?"

"I would never dream of doing such a thing. Surely, you simply misunderstood me. A common shortcoming in some elevated positions, I've found."

"And now you insult me?"

"I have not insulted you, Flagro. Not unless your skin is even thinner than when we were boys."

Galla realized what was happening. Dorrin was baiting her brother into making a public outburst. One that might see their team lose points in their standing or worse, place them at a rear position for an upcoming event. Whatever the case, none were acceptable options.

"Brother, let it go," she said, firmly grabbing his arm and physically pulling him back. "We will handle this later."

Ziana didn't like the way she said that, but it wasn't something she'd worry about right now. Now she had other things to be concerned with. Like getting through the next several events in the evening's showcase. They weren't ones that might see them eliminated from the games, but a poor showing would nevertheless lower their ranking and force them to compete from a disadvantage in future rounds.

Fortunately, Dorrin wasn't about to push things any further. He'd gotten under Flagro's skin, and, for the moment, at least, that seemed to be enough.

"Come on, Ziana. These two seem to have things to talk about, and we have an event to participate in."

With that he turned and walked away, showing his back to the elites, a display he wouldn't have dared on any other day. But here in the games, the players were supposedly equals, at least so long as the games were underway, and the rules of social graces did not apply, though nearly all still abided by them as both a courtesy as well as a common sense means of avoiding falling on the wrong side of one of the families' wrath.

Dorrin didn't seem to care. What was done was done, and he clearly did not find any of the future leaders of the families to be worth another moment of his attention. And baiting Flagro could very well lead to the flustered man making a mistake.

Whatever his strategy, Ziana trusted it and hurried along with him, flashing her own victorious grin at Galla and the others as they trotted away.

Yes, Galla would come for her, there wasn't a doubt in her mind. But not tonight.

She looked at the walled-off area they were directed to for their next trial. While the spectators were watching from an elevated position where they could see what lay inside, the competitors were not so fortunate, and every challenge was to be a surprise. It made for a difficult time for those on the field of play, but it also kept things very interesting for the betting public.

"What is that?" Ziana asked as they entered a zig-zag gate that prevented anyone on the outside from seeing in. "Are those swinging logs?"

"Yes."

"On fire ?"

"Yes. Are you going to keep noting the obvious?"

"Uh, yeah, I am. Look at this place, it's insanity."

He did just that, taking in the myriad challenges awaiting them with glee.

"No," he replied, an amused little grin on his lips as though he was actually looking forward to this particular test. "Not insanity. This is the gauntlet ."

"It has a name? What am I saying? Of course it has a name. You people and your games," she grumbled as she looked at the rest of the compact but very dangerous agility course. "This is ridiculous, you know. People could get really hurt."

"It happens, yes. But stay close to me and we will make it through. This is very similar to prior iterations from other years. And it has less fire."

" This is less fire? How bad was it before?"

His grin faltered. "Let's just say that there were quite a few competitors who, despite not being eliminated during play, were nevertheless unable to continue in the games."

"Fan-fucking-tastic."

"Trust me and we will get through."

"Unharmed?"

He hesitated. "We have healing salves in our lodging should we require them. Now, let's get started. The clock began as soon as we entered the partition."

"Why didn't you say so?" she shot back as they quickly ran across a narrow beam then began scaling a swaying rope cargo net.

"Because this is not an elimination event, and you needed a moment to take it in and settle your mind. But the time for that is done. Now we run the course. And from now on, less talking, more running, clear?"

"Fine," she grumbled, keeping pace with him as they rolled over the top of the net and descended the back side.

They found themselves atop what looked like a regular wooden planked rope bridge. But there were no handholds on the sides, and the flaming logs? Yeah, they were swinging across it at uneven intervals. One wrong step and poof , you'd be charred by a burning hunk of wood, not to mention the bruising and potential for broken bones as you were tossed unceremoniously through the air.

"Uh, Dorrin?"

"You'll be fine. Do not hesitate, but match my stride exactly to keep the bridge's swinging to a minimum," he replied, moving ahead without pause.

Ziana didn't have much choice, the first of the burning logs whooshing past where she'd just been standing close enough for her to get a whiff of singed hair. She hurried her pace, closing their already small gap as they dodged and ducked, avoiding the logs as best they could.

Toward the middle the bridge became far more unstable, swaying and tilting in a way that made even regular walking a challenge. Ziana hesitated, trying to regain her balance, when the next log swung her way.

She wasn't going to make it.

"Dorrin!" she called out, putting her hands up to brace for the impact.

The scorching heat seared her palms and forearms as she did her best to deflect the log, the obstacle rolling painfully across her back then continuing its arc. Dorrin grabbed her hard and pulled her close, stepping back and steadying her out of the log's return path.

"Look at me," he commanded.

She was dizzy from the pain but the strength of his voice and power in his gaze made her obey on pure instinct alone.

"You can do this. Pain is temporary. Acknowledge it, and move on. Now stay close."

He released her and continued, but now he looked back frequently, staring hard, his intensity making her focus as well. Her hands hurt. Her arms and back. But she followed his lead and forced herself to press on. She almost didn't realize they were moving on to the next part of the challenge until the cold water hit her body, making her burnt skin scream out from the jolting temperature change. It would help the burn, but that didn't mean it wouldn't hurt.

Climbing from the pool, Dorrin turned and reached down, pulling her up in a single motion, her body sliding against his as he lowered her. Jangled bundle of nerves that she was at the moment, Ziana still couldn't help but enjoy the sensation of her hard nipples gliding across his broad chest, the material of their clothing stuck to their wet bodies. More than that, the length of his marvelous, girthy cock ran along her body as well as he put her down, and not even the cold water had been able to make it any less impressive.

The slumbering beast between his legs twitched once before he stepped back from her. Then, without another moment of hesitation, he turned and headed off, the tug on Ziana's wrist reminding her that yes, there was still more to come. And so, they continued on with the course.

They swam, ran, crawled, and climbed, showcasing their agility to the delight of the crowd even as Ziana felt her sweat sting as it trickled into her new wounds. Then, when they finally reached the end, they were unceremoniously ushered on to the next event without so much as a medical station to tend to her burns.

"Just get through this," Dorrin said, beaming and waving to the crowd despite what she knew was thinly veiled disdain for the weak human woman he'd been saddled with. "And for heaven's sake, smile!"