“Why?” I crossed my arms.
Silence was his only reply. He wound and wound the fabric, flexing his fingers to test the movement. Something or someone had gotten under his skin. I hadn’t seen him like this before, riled into a daze of focused rage. A lethal predator, even in his human form.
“Should I worry?” My tone was flat and unimpressed, knowing nothing I could say would deter him.
“For him,” he replied dryly.
I had to say I appreciated his confidence. “Is this something you do often?” I hoped it was, so I would worry less.
“Never.”
Great.“Why today? Is this because of me?”
“No.” He paused. “Maybe.” With swinging arms, he stretched his muscles.
“Be a little more vague, that’d be great,” I said, sarcasm dripping from my statement.
He dropped his arms to his sides, staring at me. “When I was getting you the tonic, I found out about some things that have been happening in this camp. Vile things. I didn’t know about them, didn’t care to pay attention, but then you came and…”
My arms slowly fell.
“I see things differently now and I can’t do nothing anymore.”
I rose from the bed, stepping up to him, reaching out to cup his perfectly sculpted face. “I’m not going to stop you, just…be careful. Please,” I begged. As of late, I understood better than ever the call to do the right thing. He saw fit to have this fight, whatever the reason.
His rough, wrapped hands covered mine, and he said with a small smile, “I will be. I have too much to lose.”
A crowd gathered, larger than the one I’d garnered. People all around me spoke of “the tiger” stepping into the ring. Dae had gained a reputation; tough, formidable, capable. Though, he hadn’t gained that attention through challenges, which I learned you could extend to anyone, anytime. An outlet for the vicious energy too many of them stored up here, hidden away from the rest of the world. Or, I supposed, to test the new magics they acquired—no, stole.
Dae insisted I remain cloaked in the audience, even under the cover of night. I kept trying to position myself front and center, but bodies shoved from all around, and I consistently had to swim upstream through the current of onlookers to keep him in view.
Someone called the start of the match, and the roaring crowd drowned out everything else. Dae and a man with a completely shaved head began circling. My heart jabbed my ribs just as sharply as the elbows and hips that constantly bumped into me.
His opponent launched, but Dae perfectly timed how he pivoted out of the way. For how built his body was, he was light and quick on his feet. There was a grace to his movements. Unlike me, his focus wasn’t on constantly avoiding any hits. He grabbed the back of the man’s shirt and threw him to the ground.The man hit the dirt, a plume wafting into the torch lit air. He rolled but quickly regained his footing.
Dae’s eyes held undiluted hatred for the man, and I still didn’t know why. Even as his opponent would smirk and toss out insults, at least from what I could tell by his gestures, Dae remained focused. The man faked rushing before he actually did, throwing his arms around Dae’s waist.
His feet essentially ran in place, kicking up more dirt and dust trying to gain some leverage against the lean muscled wall he clung to. Effortlessly, Dae wrapped his own arms around the man’s midsection, hoisting him off the ground and flipping him over his back.
The crowd’s applause could have stretched all the way to Hava City. After a moment to recover from being slammed against the ground, the man rose, a new rage bleeding from his stare. Dae circled the perimeter, wiping his nose, waiting for his opponent. Metal glinted for the briefest of moments before the bald weasel pulled it from the belt hidden beneath his shirt.
I screamed Dae’s name, but the sound was eaten by the uproarious ruckus. Dread knotted my stomach, cutting off all circulation to my lungs. By the blessing of some god, Dae registered the weapon before the man swiped erratically through the air, slicing what would have been Dae’s torso had he not jumped back.
Dae spun, his foot kicking the dagger from the man’s wrist. Another twist had his foot cracking the man’s jaw, sending him tumbling, blood spraying the dirt in sloppy strings. Dae moved, not giving him time to recover. A sickening dull crack broke through the cheering. Dae had snapped the man’s neck so hard his head bobbled in an unnatural direction after he released it. The man stilled, the roar of the audience following soon after.
Dae’s chest heaved, still straddling the man laying face down on the ground. Winnings and losses were exchanged amongthe audience, bets placed on the outcome. No one cried out for injustice or for punishment. Once the festivities concluded, people merely dispersed.
I watched as Dae remained in the circle, finally rising to his feet. Before I considered taking a step toward him, shouts rang out from somewhere in the camp.
“Fire! Fire!”
The remaining few scattered.
“Dae,” I said, drawing his attention. There was a haunting vacancy in his eyes, and I couldn’t do anything for him, not in the open. So I nodded, angling toward his tent and took myself there. I waited the few seconds it took for Dae to enter behind, then I threw myself on him, wrapping my arms around his neck and holding him close.
Despite his broad shoulders, the thick muscle spanning his body, he didn’t feel sturdy. There was a slight tremble in his frame. I recognized what a breakdown looked like. I only held him tighter. His arms timidly wrapped my waist, like he was unsure if the hands that’d just killed a man should touch me. When he finally allowed himself to rest against me, there was no pressure. It was a phantom of a hug, like maybe he hadn’t come back to himself yet.
“We’re here. I’ve got you. I’m here.” My voice cracked as it broke, tears streaming from my eyes. I remembered this feeling, how thoroughly empty I’d become after Alba. Empty, yet somehow filled with shame and remorse and uncertainty and doubt. Hollow, but drowning in a sea of despair.
