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  Nic stepped back and put two shaking hands through his dark hair. He looked more disheveled than normal, more rogue as if the were a ticking time bomb. “Nothing matters to me more than the safety of all of us. My instincts are telling me to leave if we want to get out of this unscathed.”

  Christian held his hand up. “Alright, alright, let’s all calm down. Let’s put it to a vote. Who wants to leave?” He and Nicolai raised their hands. Connor looked from them to Stephan and I, bouncing back and forth between us. He gave me an exasperated look, but kept his hand down. Christian’s voice turned hard. “Who wants to stay?” Mine and Stephan’s hands along with Connor’s slipped into the air.

  Nic glared at Connor, and Connor shrugged. “We’re all not on the same page, and that’s not how we do things. We can talk again after Zeke’s fight.”

  “And if he loses and all hell breaks loose right there in front of us?”

  “We can talk very quickly afterward. We are vampires after all.” Nic didn’t find his quip in the least bit funny, but Connor charged on anyway. “Maybe we could even convince Mother to come with us if Zeke loses.”

  “When you say convince…?”

  “I mean we just take her,” he said, his voice even.

  “I think Gregor would agree with you on that,” I told them, remembering our conversation from earlier.

  “So, we’re agreed then?” Stephan asked. “We’ll talk after the fight?”

  “It may be a short talk,” Nic warned, his eyes darkening.

  I could only imagine what that meant. Perhaps it involved several knocks over the heads and shoulder carries as he dragged all of us out of there. The image might’ve made me laugh if it wasn’t for the predicament we were in. Every step from here on out would be crucial.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Getting away from the princes to go down to the training rooms to “help” Zeke was virtually impossible. I ended up telling them I felt it only right I go down there because I’d done it for all the other fights. I didn’t want it to look suspicious if I didn’t show myself. That excuse didn’t convince Nic. He knew I didn’t like Zeke. But, he also knew how much what Samuel had said to me before his fight had hit home, so I was given a little leeway because of that. Instead of not showing up at all, they all came with me. I still had time to think about how I was going to get alone with Zeke, which wouldn’t be a small feat considering there were people around all the time.

  For instance, when we came into the training room, Gregor stood there along with T.J. and Soren. Gregor gave his customary speech, thanking Zeke for fighting for his clan. When he passed me, he looked me straight in the eye. Christian ended up following him out of the room so at least that was one less prince to worry about worming away from. As soon as he cleared the doorway, however, my heart sunk. I hadn’t gotten a chance to kiss him or hug him before what I was about to do. I told Stephan I loved him, and it was my goal to get a moment with each of the princes, but the way things were going, it might not be possible. My heart broke in that instant before I hardened it, steeling myself to stay the course I’d already started. I couldn’t think that this might be the last time I would see them. I had to stay positive and believe that there were still plenty of opportunities for me to tell them all I needed to. This wasn’t the last chance, this was just the first step in our very long, very happy future with one another. Besides, if I went around telling them how much I loved them, they’d see right through me.

  Nerves tangled in my stomach as I watched Soren talk to Zeke. I inched closer, taking his words all in. Clive was tricky. He didn’t do what you expected. Well, that was a relief because I was doing something I didn’t expect either. We’d probably fit really well with one another. Bounce around. Don’t stay cemented to one spot. Play it wiry. Don’t give him tells, he’ll read you like a picture book.

  Soren caught me listening. The corner of his lip quirked up. I couldn’t shake the feeling that perhaps he, out of everyone here, knew what I was going to do. It seemed strange that he would, but he also seemed to know that I was supposed to be out there instead of Zeke. I wondered which one of them told him. I shook my head, it didn’t matter.

  I started bouncing around from foot to foot. Soren immediately called me over. “Ariana, why don’t you warm up with Zeke? Let’s get those butterflies out of the stomach, huh?” He winked at me when I passed him, and my stomach lurched. I patted my pocket and moved the vial off to the side. I hoped that no matter how physical it got, the medicine didn’t break in my pocket. That would be pretty hard to explain to everybody.

  Zeke and I went through a short calisthenics warm-up to get the juices flowing, then we went through a series of moves. We started with takedowns, then quickly moved to upper body strikes, lower body strikes, and finished with weapons. I stretched my arms out off to the side as Soren excused himself. I watched him leave, and the nerves were like mini imposters in my body. Time was running short. Soren went out to do his usual survey of the arena to see which vampire warrior was making his way out. He hadn’t been wrong yet, so there was no reason to think Clive wasn’t going to be the one to fight. But even if he wasn’t the one coming out, it didn’t matter. The wrong one was coming out for our side, too. Just no one knew it but me yet.

  Nicolai moved forward, his chin tucked close to his chest as he made his way toward me, making him seem more menacing than he really was. “You ready to head out there?”

  I shook my head.

  He gave me a curious look. “Why?”

  “They might need me for some more training before we head out there.”

  Nic rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know why you’re trying your damndest to help this kid. Don’t get me wrong, I want him to win, but hasn’t he done enough to you? He seems to despise everything about you, and yet, here you are.”

  I shrugged. “It’s not about me right now. Or you. Or him. It’s about what’s best for the clan and that’s for Zeke to have everything he needs in order to win this fight. I’m sticking around because I would hope if I were in his position, even those who didn’t like me would still cheer me on. We can’t forget that he’s the one sacrificing his life out there.”

  I took a deep breath as my stomach roiled. What I said was based on a lie, but it was complete truth. The person fighting did deserve my best wishes at this moment. It wasn’t me versus him, although I was sure he wouldn’t feel the same when he woke up from getting knocked out, but what was a girl to do?

  A little voice in my head said, ‘Maybe let Zeke fight like everyone thought was going to happen…’

  I punched that thought in the face and stuck with my plan.

  This wasn’t about Zeke and I, or thinking that I was the best person for the job. It was about fulfilling a little piece of me and making sure I’d done everything I could to help us win. It was like how Stephan felt earlier. He didn’t want to leave because he knew he wasn’t done being of service. That was exactly it for me too. This was me being of service. All I knew was, I’d better win or there would be a lot of angry clan members. There would be a lot of ‘what if’s’.

  It was time for me to fight for who and what I loved. There was no better time than this. That love would give me strength, the knowledge, the will to fight through whatever Clive threw at me. This fight would encapsulate everything I couldn’t do when my mom’s life hung in the balance. I’d been too small, too scared. Not anymore. Not for me.

  A sure step walked through the entryway. We all looked up to find Soren standing there, his arms crossed over his chest. “It’s time.” He said it at Zeke, but as the thought settled in on everyone else, he peered over at me. A rush of cold washed over me as all the reasons I shouldn’t do this popped into my head right after the other. With each thought though, I squashed it down. I didn’t want to live my life being afraid, and that was just the fear rearing its ugly head time and time again.

  Nic reached for my elbow, but I pulled it just out of his grasp. “Do you guys
mind if I have a moment with Zeke before he heads out there?” I smiled, my lips quivering the whole time, so I dropped it and went for a casual stance.

  Nic’s eyes narrowed. “What are you doing?” he whispered.

  I shrugged. “Last minute business.”

  Soren stepped up. “Come on. Let’s get this over with. Give them time to talk. We’ll be right out there.” He started ushering the princes out the door. Stephan went willingly. His too trusting soul not even worried that I would be doing anything brash. Connor gave me a smile even though he didn’t look as sure about the whole thing. It was Nicolai that was going to give the most trouble.

  “I’ll wait with you,” he said.

  My stomach lurched. I hated lying to him. “It’s going to be fine,” I said, smiling at him. “I just want to talk to him about something.”

  “And you’re choosing now to do it?”

  Panic crept up my neck, leaving a wake of fire. He was starting a scene now, and all my alarm bells were going off. He was suspicious. “Yes,” I said, eying him. “Maybe you could just wait right outside?”

  This made Nic pause. I could see through his eyes that he was trying to make sense of what I was doing. Telling him he could wait outside threw him off because he would still be right there ready to stop me from doing anything irrational.

  I pushed harder. “Really, I don’t mind.”

  He shook his head and turned. No doubt cursing how he was never going to understand women. When he turned, I gave Soren a look, and he nodded once. Soon, it was just Zeke and I. When I finally turned around to face him, he was leering at me. “I hope you’re not choosing now to confess your undying love to me because I can tell you right now the feeling isn’t mutual.”

  I rolled my eyes. As if I would ever think about him when I had four of the best men alive. He had to be kidding me. “Nope.”

  “Then what is it, Stuart? I’ve got a fight to win.” He bent over to pick up the wooden stake he placed on the bench and winced.

  I moved closer. “What is it?”

  “Nothing,” he said. He stood up quickly and slid the stake into his weapons belt.

  His reaction didn’t sit well with me though. “Are you hurt?”

  He snatched another stake off the bench and barreled toward me, only stopping with his nose a few inches from mine. “I told you I’m fine, now just tell me what you went through all this trouble to say to me so I can get out there and do what they chose me to do.”

  I stepped back. I hadn’t even gotten the syringe ready yet. Already I could tell that I hadn’t thought this plan through well enough. “Nothing,” I said, acting unfazed. “Absolutely nothing.”

  Zeke shook his head and walked away. I fumbled for the vial, picking it out of my pocket, and tore the cap off the syringe before pushing it through the hole and drawing the liquid up out of the bottle.

  “I’ve never understood everyone’s fascination with you,” Zeke said as he walked toward the hall. “We’re all guards. We’re all out there putting our lives on the line. You’re nothing special.”

  “Never said I disagreed with that,” I told him, inching closer.

  He stopped and threw his head back into a laugh before turning. “Give me a break. You’re just another—”

  I quickly jabbed at his arm, piercing his skin, then pushed the syringe down. His eyes widened. He tried to push me away, but the medicine was already taking effect. He tilted to one side. “If I were a better person, I wouldn’t take as much pleasure in this, but I’m not. Good night, Zeke.”

  He swayed even more, and I took him by the forearms and maneuvered him toward the bench. He fell the rest of the way down. I positioned him just over the seat so he landed there, his head smashing against the wall at his back.

  I dropped the syringe and ran a hand over my forehead. Holy shit. I’d just done it. There was no turning back now. Zeke was out of commission and they needed a fighter. All I had to do was get past Nicolai.

  I walked toward the entrance to the training room. Soren and I hadn’t arranged anything ahead of time so I was going to have to wing it. “Now!”

  I ran from the room, my feet pounding against the stone floor. From the corner of my eye, I saw Soren loop his arms around Nic’s as he went to grab for me. He grazed my arm, but I was free. I knew I had to keep running and not look back because if Nicolai got out of Soren’s grip, he was coming after me and he was so much faster than I was.

  I turned the corner of the hallway that led outdoors. The crowd was in a frenzy. People watched the exit from the estate intently as they waited for the second warrior, but it was like watching a car wreck. Those were just extraneous details. My mind was on the goal in front of me and that was getting to the center of that arena before anyone stopped me. It would take dumb luck to do it, but I just had to.

  I pushed harder, digging the toes of my shoes into the ground as I ran. “Ariana!”, a voice screamed, but I went harder. Just before the entrance to the arena, fingers darted in front of me. I spun just out of reach and then continued, my foot landing solidly on the grassy arena floor.

  The noise fell away. All the excitement I’d just left in my wake faded to black as my legs took me to stand in front of Clive.

  There was just one thing standing between me and victory: his life.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The first thing I noticed about Clive was his smirk. His lips curled up, flashing those dagger-like teeth. There must have been a scene happening behind me because he looked over my shoulder, smiled, and then got into fighting position. I couldn’t think about what was going on back there right now. My task was in front of me. Everything Soren had said about Clive washed over me and I moved into left lead, the opposite of what I normally stood in. It was an awkward position for me, but I tried to make it seem as natural as possible. We circled one another, and I never took my eyes off his centerline, the line that could be drawn right from nose to navel. With that focus, I should be able to see anything coming at me.

  It was a good thing, too, because he immediately threw a left hook. I wasn’t fast enough to dodge it, but I was just quick enough to put my hand out to block it. Pain ricocheted through my forearm. On the outside, though, I was a mask of calm. I’d had just as many training sessions as the rest of our fighters had. If anything, I’d been doing more offensive training than the others because we’d worked a lot of defensive strategies training for Dumont’s Clan.

  I stuck my hand out to judge range and then pulled it back in. It was clear I was going to have to get in on this guy. He had longer arms than me. Or, I could just sit back and wait him out.

  I reached into the waistband of my pants and pulled out a stake. I’d made sure to have my usual ones on me all day so I didn’t look like I was suiting up to go do anything I wasn’t supposed to be doing. Clive eyed it and grinned before taking another swipe at me. I blocked him again, taking the brunt of the pain on my forearm. I tried to come around and dive in at him, but he stepped quickly back and out of range again.

  “Not bad, girl,” Clive said. “You’re not terrible.”

  I looked up at him as if to say ‘seriously?’.

  He made a few quick feet patterns and then shook his hands out. He wasn’t fooling me though. I could see him eyeing the way I carried myself the whole time. He shrugged. “I’m just trying to say that I’m going to feel bad when I kill you.”

  I shrugged right back at him. “Don’t. I won’t.”

  He threw his hand out there again, but this time instead of stopping him with my forearm, I caught him with the edge of the stake, more of a defensive move than offensive. It worked. He yanked it back, a trail of blood just starting to seep out.

  “And here I thought the Ravana Clan was supposed to be nicer than Dumont’s. Isn’t that why you guys are all self-righteous?”

  I peeked over to the side as if I was looking over at Dumont. “You better start fighting and stop talking because someone’s getting really pissy. He probably di
dn’t think I’d last this long. You might get your wrist slapped, or hung.”

  Clive’s face fell, his mask of friendly banter right along with it. He came at me with several blows—poisonous claws extended—that I blocked or had just the slightest touch of stinging grazes. At the last one, I trapped his hand, slapped it out of the way, and thrust the stake forward. I pierced the skin on his shoulder, but just barely. Enough so that he bled again, but not enough to say that I’d actually truly hurt him.

  We spun in a circle. The crowd became nosier, making it almost impossible to block out. Both of us had a lot weighing on us. If Clive won, he’d be bringing home the victory for his clan. If we won, I was ensuring our safety for at least another day until Gregor could fight.

  Clive lunged at me and I fell back, kicking out with my right leg, sending him sprawling through the air. I immediately lifted myself from the grass and spun. He landed in a crouch, a devilish smile on his face before stalking right back up to me. The last few feet he traversed in several seconds as he kicked into his vampire speed. I stepped out of the way and brought my knee up, but he was too quick. He picked my leg up, taking my base out from under me until I was flat on my back and staring up at him as he stood over me. He threw my foot to the side and tried to stomp on my face, but I rolled, then kicked out, connecting with his ankle and knocking him off balance while I got to my feet.

  The longer this was taking, the more serious Clive looked. What started as just a Sunday stroll for him was turning out to be more than what he bargained for. I could imagine what he thought of me when I first walked into the arena. One, I was a girl. Two, I wasn’t overly tall or overly muscular. I wasn’t intimidating in any way, and even though the Ravanas wouldn’t send someone out who couldn’t handle themselves, I had no doubt he was only counting down the seconds until he got whatever prize he was promised from Dumont after killing me.