Maria rolled her shoulders and took a deep breath, steeling herself for the exertion she was about to begin. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Good,” he said, offering her his hand. “Then come with me if you want to live free.”
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.
“Iamsmiling,” Ziana shot back, her jaw growing sore from putting on a show.
“Do better. You look like you smelled something terrible,” he replied. “Give arealsmile. If the crowd loves you, it will be harder for the elites to pull tricks to force you from the games.”
“But I thought theyalwayscheated.”
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 nextevent. 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?”
