Chapter 12

Cragnorr

A fter the others fall asleep that night, I stay awake with the bars of my cage biting into my back. The scrape of the metal makes me remember I’m still alive, that I have choices, that I have power.

I wonder what’s happening to Mia up there, under the King’s thumb, and hope against hope that he hasn’t hurt her. I think of her sweet, small body resting in my arms, and my bastard of a dick lifts its head up. Now that the idea of sliding myself into her has been put in my mind, I can’t unlearn it. My blood pulses as I think of how she might feel inside that cavern between her thighs.

My body is too hot and my mind is too preoccupied for sleep. I’m filled with just as much anxiety as lust, and it’s all painfully confusing. I try to sort through it, to put these images of Mia’s round breasts and curved hips out of my head, but they keep returning. So I turn my back to the others, untie my pants, bring out my warm cock, and squeeze it hard thinking of her.

My human. My everything. What I wouldn’t give to be with her again, to listen to her soft sighs as she sleeps, to taste her beautiful cunt. I’d bring her in close and nuzzle her hair, inhaling her perfect smell, keeping her safe from everything in the world that might try to hurt her.

I stroke myself harder and harder, keeping as silent as I can, imagining how she tastes. I wonder if my cock would even fit if I put it there. Just thinking about this, imagining her underneath me, I erupt—but I make sure to spill outside of the cage.

What if I was too big for her? I look down at my limp cock, furrowing my brow. Maybe I’m not meant to have her, and that’s why I’m here in this dungeon. Maybe this is all a punishment for thinking I’m worthy of Mia’s body and heart.

Am I an idiot for believing that I could be hers? That the world would allow us to be together?

Thoroughly exhausted, I slide down onto the floor and don’t even dream.

The next morning, the guards bring us food—and I’m rather surprised to find a massive platter in front of me, heaped with sausage and bread, cooked greens and fruit, and even what looks like a piece of pie. Every single head in the room turns.

“What the fuck?” demands Bino. “This asshole won’t even fight and he’s getting treated like royalty?”

Fex shakes his head with a sigh. “It’s a last meal,” he explains to me. “The King expects you to die today, but he wants you to put on a good show first. The food is so you have plenty of energy out there to put up a fight.”

Oh. That, unfortunately, makes a lot of sense. I wonder what he has planned. If I can survive whatever that bastard throws at me today, perhaps replenishing my food stores could help. They left me unchained last night out of forgetfulness. The bars of my cage are strong, but I might be stronger if I were sufficiently fed.

A few hours later, the guards come for me. They clip a chain to my collar and shackle me, then lead me to the big wooden door that opens into the arena. I try to breathe, because there’s no way for me to know what waits on the other side. My best option is to calm myself and be prepared for anything.

Boom! They kick down the door and lead me out into the pit. My bindings are removed, and then I’m alone. I glance around, waiting for someone else to arrive, but there’s no one except me here.

My eyes jump up to the raised platform, and I spot Mia immediately.

Not only is she not tied up, but she’s sitting in the king’s lap as if she has always been there.

It can’t be. Not my Mia. My eyes focus and unfocus again as I watch her seated up there, scooping a berry off a platter and feeding it right into his mouth. My heart thuds hard and fast, as if it’s about to burst out of my chest.

Even worse, she looks... different. She’s dressed in clothing that highlights her figure—a scrap of fabric covered in shiny silver scales barely holds her breasts in place, and her long, dark hair is clean and shining. More silver fabric covers her cunt, but little else.

That can’t be her, my human girl, crawling all over some monster. My breathing speeds up as I watch, as I take in the way she feeds another berry into that disgusting man’s mouth. She’s smiling .

That is what drives a knife deep into my gut. Is she truly happier there, with him?

She has food, clothing, and likely a warm place to sleep. It’s far more than I could ever offer her, in here or outside. Of course she would be brighter, more alive, with proper care.

Perhaps all my worst imaginings were wrong. Perhaps this place is better for her. What if that foul human cares for her, and she cares for him in return?

Has she forgotten me so easily?

I knew a human would be a better match for her, that she would be safer among her own kind. The mere thought crushes me, grinding me into dust. What we shared was special, but not forever. It was a brief glimpse into a life I could never have, that I’ve known from the beginning was never meant for me.

Then I hear it—a growl, deep and rumbling. My eyes are drawn to the other wooden door on the opposite end of the arena. The growl erupts in a roar, and the wood shakes as something behind it tries to get out.

Whatever is back there is big, and it’s dangerous.

The door is kicked down, and then my opponent is revealed: a massive lion, but it’s unlike any of the mountain lions I’ve seen, standing nearly twice as tall with light stripes down its sides, and a strange mane down its back. It must be some sort of hybrid—and it’s truly a monster.

The lion-creature steps out into the arena, already enraged by whatever they were doing to it behind the door. I have a vision of those huge, scythe-like claws cutting my flesh into ribbons.

The crowd goes absolutely wild, cheering and screaming. The lion is further irritated by this, and swings its head before charging me.

In its fury, it rushes me blindly, and I manage to side-step the swipe of its gargantuan paw. But my eyes are drawn again to where Mia sits atop the king’s lap, his arms casually curled around her.

Surely I’m seeing things. This isn’t real. This can’t truly be my Mia. She would never give herself over to him, would she? There must be a reason behind this, behind why everything has changed overnight.

Another horrible roar reminds me where I am, and I barely dodge another swipe. I have to be here, and focus on the now if I’m going to make it through this fight. Then I will find out the truth.

My avoidance tactics are making the lion-hybrid even angrier. It rises up onto two legs and lunges at me, swinging its huge paws in wide arcs, one after another. I duck, then side-step, and duck again. I have to put some distance between us, because eventually one will hit.

But on my next step, I don’t leap back far enough to get out of the way. I take a massive blow to the chest, the lion’s claws digging into my flesh and tearing some out as it withdraws. I stumble, gasping as I try to bring breath back into my lungs. This time when the lion roars, it’s so close that spittle showers my face.

Good. It’s just close enough.

I curl my hand into a fist and punch as hard as I can, throwing my entire body weight behind it. I sock the huge animal square in the head, and it howls. For a moment, the lion is distracted by my attack, and I use the opportunity to run. I need a better plan than punching lions in the head.

When I reach the other side of the pit, my eyes travel up again to Mia. She’s leaned back, whispering something in the king’s ear. My entire body heats, filling up my head with a new, painful feeling, something I’ve never encountered before.

Jealousy, hatred for this man whose hands are all over her.

Was I wrong all along about us and what we mean to each other?

Mia

I’m so close to getting him to listen. All I want is for Zake to give Cragnorr a sword, or an axe—anything he can use to defend himself. Narria has dressed me in the prettiest, skimpiest clothes she could find to give me as good of a chance as possible of seducing Zake into saving Cragnorr’s life.

“The lion has such sharp claws,” I whisper in his ear. “The ogre should have something sharp, too. It will be a much better fight.” Since I was cleaned up and presented to him by Narria this morning, the king has taken a much deeper interest in me. He told me that if I sat in his lap, I could watch the match without ropes holding me down.

If I have to strangle him with my bare hands, I will. But a sharp object would be a lot easier. I just have to find the right opportunity. Maybe I’ll be killed or hanged or something worse when I figure out a way to kill Zake, but I have no choice.

None of this will end until he’s gone.

“But your ogre has a brain,” Zake points out. “The lion is just an animal. Surely he can best it with those big fists of his.”

I shake my head and feed the King another berry, glancing back at the fight whenever possible. Cragnorr is on the run, and my heart is racing in my chest even as I try to play calm and coy in Zake’s lap.

“You want to create a butcher, don’t you?” I ask. “Cragnorr could be your prize fighter. Put the taste of blood in his mouth by letting him kill the lion with a sword, and he’ll be changed.”

The king chews, thinking this over.

“Fine,” he says at last. He sets me down on the ground, and I’m grateful for this moment of respite. I’ve felt like throwing up all over him since we arrived and he put his hands on me. Even worse was feeling his cock under his pants as I sat on his lap.

Zake removes a hand axe from his hip, then rises to his feet and holds it high up over his head. “A gift!” he calls out to Cragnorr. He reels his arm back, then throws it down into the ring. The axe buries itself in the dirt a few yards away. “From your whore!”

Cragnorr’s eyes leap up to the platform, and he scowls deeply. I’ve never seen such rage in his eyes, and it cuts into a part of my heart I didn’t know I had.

I know I’ve hurt him today, probably irreparably. But it’s what I had to do to keep him alive.

And yet, he doesn’t go for the axe. He circles the lion as it spins around again and charges toward him. At this point he’s going to run out of energy, and then the lion will land another hit that could be lethal. Already Cragnorr is bleeding from the chest where it got through his defenses—but still, he doesn’t pick up the axe.

Why? Why won’t he protect himself?

It goes on like this, with Cragnorr and the lion circling one another, and Cragnorr dodging every one of its attacks. Zake grows more and more tense underneath me. He’s angry that Cragnorr hasn’t taken his offering, and that bodes poorly for both of us.

Once more the lion swipes at my ogre, and once more he steps out of the way. People are booing and jeering, and they even start throwing food into the arena.

“I’m done with this.” Zake abruptly stands up, sending me sprawling. He waves at Narria and Gru, who both stand nearby. “Put her in.”

Narria blinks as I get back to my feet. “Her, Your Majesty?” she asks, eyes darting over to me and back. “With the liger?”

“It’s obvious, fools,” he growls as Gru grabs my wrists. There’s no point trying to get away from him, not now. Cragnorr has sealed my fate. “The ogre only cares about her. He won’t fight unless I make him .”

Zake whistles, earning the attention of the crowd. But I already know what he’s going to say.

He’s going to force Cragnorr to fight, with me as the bait.

“Let’s raise the stakes, shall we?” he calls out. The crowd murmurs, listening. Gru drags me to my feet and leads me to a platform that hangs over the arena. I dig in my heels and yank backward .

“No!” I can’t go out like this, not before I take Zake with me. Down there, in the pit, I can’t possibly help Cragnorr. I’ll only get in the way. “Don’t do this. I can ask him to fight and he will. I promise!”

Zake yawns dramatically, and urges Gru onward. I find Narria’s gaze as I go, but she just shakes her head sadly. Gru and two others grab me by the arms and shove me forward, over the edge of the pit.

“And now,” Zake calls out as I fall, “the damsel in distress arrives!”