They carried on like that for the rest of the day, and by the time they wrapped things up for dinner, eating heartily before taking a pre-slumber walk to help them digest, it was clear that Ziana’s body wasveryhappy with the new pigment connecting her to all of her new runes properly for the first time. It was such a dramatic shift that she even wondered if they might have won a few other events if the Chancellor hadn’t cheated by shortchanging her from the start.
“It doesn’t matter. We look forward and focus our energies there,” Dorrin told her. “You are a formidable woman even without the runes. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
“Aww, thanks, Dorrin.”
“I mean it. I have never met a woman quite like you, Ziana, and while I was reluctant at first, I must admit, I am ashamed of my earlier behavior and hope you can forgive me.”
“Of course I do.”
“Thank you. You’ve opened my eyes, and seeing you excel has made me reassess my biases.”
“That, and the sex is incredibly hot,” she added, cupping his crotch casually as she moved past him in such a way no one could see.
She grinned. Watching him blush as his trousers tightened considerably was a lot of fun.
“Speaking of which, I can think of a far more entertaining way to work off dinner than walking.”
“Oh?” he replied, his cock pulsing, barely constrained by the fabric.
“Oh, yeah. What do you say? Shall we?”
He smiled bright with such an intensely sexy gaze that she damn near felt weak at the knees at the thought of just what he was going to do to her. “Indeed, we shall.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The following few days the teams finally set back to work, engaging in a series of obstacle courses, modestly dangerous mazes, and some low-key puzzle solving yet again. It was rather out of the ordinary, downshifting things like that when they’d normally be increasing in difficulty, but when Dorrin caught brief sight of the elites running through the events, separated from the commoners, he realized that while Quilla was in fine form, Lonks appeared to be limping a bit.
“Ah, the elites have intervened to allow them an additional few days to recover,” Dorrin noted. “They seem to have found a way to meddle without being called out for it.”
Ziana actually didn’t mind. The relatively easy days were allowing her to get more in tune with her body’s new abilities. It also meant she and her lover had much more energy to spare for other activities in their off hours. And it was timeverywell spent.
“How long do you think they’ll do that?” she asked. “Stretch things out, I mean.”
“The gamblers likely will not mind, so it can go for perhaps a few more days. But those who are here to simply observethe games and not gamble will become bored. Audiences can be fickle things, and to go from high stakes events in which we have been ramping up intensity to these filler challenges, while understandable for a day or two, will quickly lead to rumblings of discontent.”
“So we enjoy the respite while we can, basically.”
“That’s the idea. And while it was certainly not their intention, this has provided ample opportunity for you to ramp up your performance without giving away the reason for your increased abilities. I feel that too sudden a shift would raise suspicion, and while what the Chancellor did with your Infala was a violation of Dotharian law, when they feel threatened the elites have been known to ensure things happen on the field of play.”
“But you said our growing popularity would help.”
“And it does. And you’ve seen how we have quietly climbed in the rankings. And now we know why Lonks and Quilla have fallen lower. It is uncommon for elites to be in the lower tiers on the rankings boards, but if Lonks is truly injured, it will hamper them significantly, and in ways their parents and patrons cannot shield them from much longer.
Ziana felt a little surge of hope well up in her chest. A feeling of excitement at the possibility that they could, just maybe, find a way to not just rank highly but actually win. And as her very freedom depended on it, that was something she wanted with more than a passing interest.
“They weren’t cuffed together anymore,” she commented as they caught sight of the elites as they rotated obstacle courses.
“It is about that time, yes. The top ranked players, and the elites regardless of ranking, will be unbound from here on out. Beyond that, it is a question of performance and rankings.”
“So, we’ll be unchained soon too?”
“We should have been already, given our current position.”
Ziana sighed. “Let me guess. I pissed off Galla’s family, so the Chancellor saw to it we’d stay locked up despite the rules.”
“An astute observation, but actually, this time it is simply because you are a replacement competitor and slated for servitude. The incentive to attempt to flee is greater for replacements, so they typically do not unbind them until much later in the games.”
“Wonderful.”
