He smiled with a mouthful of chipped teeth. “I don’t often trial new competitors, but when I heard it was you, I just couldn’t help myself.”
The matchkeeper raised the flag. “On the ready!”
Marius lowered himself into a fighting stance. It was too late to change his mind now. Across from him, Dax lowered himself too, his dark copper wings hulking over his shoulders. His talons were as big as Marius’s head.
The flag dropped. “Fight!”
Before Marius could throw his first punch, Dax dropped, grabbed his ankle, and flung him over his head like a rag doll, slamming him into the pebble floor. The crowd went wild. Were they setting off fireworks in Dax’s honor? No… No… Those were stars. Marius shook his head.
“Seven… six… five…”
He leaped to his feet, this time keeping some space between them as he healed and tried to think of what to do. Dax laughed. “Come here, little Marius. Let me give you a hug.” The dragon opened his arms as the observers laughed. A hug from Dax would mean two broken wings for sure.
What would Harlow do? Dax was bigger, but then, he’d been bigger than Harlow when she’d beaten him. Size wasn’t everything.
Mind your balance. Stay on your toes. Use your wings. Stay low. Her voice echoed in his head.
Dax’s fist shot out and Marius bent back, slipped to the outside, and yanked the guy’s wrist. Dax went rolling out of the ring. A few people clapped. The oversized brute bounded to his feet and crossed back into the ring before the matchkeeper could even start counting.
Marius circled. That’s when he noticed the bastard. Adradys sat in the stands in that ridiculous suit of his, next to a man who must be his assistant because he was writing down everything Adradys said. Visions of the doormaker forcing a kiss on Harlow filled his head. Marius narrowed his eyes as fury coursed through his veins.
Dax’s fist soared toward his temple. Marius dodged, but the blow nipped his jaw. Sparks exploded behind his eyes. The pain did nothing to distract from the rage welling in Marius. When his mate had rejected that bastard, Adradys had retaliated. He remembered the threats thrown at them as he left with her. And now Adradys smiled as if watching Marius get creamed by Dax would be the best thing to happen to him today. Well, Marius had other plans.
He rushed Dax, fists flying as fast as he could move. Dax blocked every blow, but Marius landed a knee in his side. Hooking the talons of his wings into Dax’s, he planted a foot in his opponent’s groin and used his wings for leverage. Like a slingshot, he drew back, coupled his two fists between them, and plowed up and under the guy’s face. Blood sprayed. Dax tumbled. Pain exploded in his fists.
He unhooked his wings and delivered a kick to Dax’s shin before dancing out of reach, shaking out his hands. Nothing broken. They were already healing.
Wiping blood from his face, Dax rebounded, but he was far less steady on his feet. A section of his jaw puckered. Marius realized his blow had broken the bone. That would heal, but it would take time. Which meant he had a window of opportunity to leverage the injury to his advantage.
Dax was fast, even with his above-average size. There was a reason he was ranked as high as he was. What Marius needed was to tempt him to attack before he was ready.
He crouched into a fighting stance, then intentionally shifted his weight ever so slightly to the left. It was easy enough to imitate the limp that had plagued him up until his training with Harlow. Take the bait. He willed the other man to attack.
Marius had to suppress a grin as Dax charged. With a flap of his wings, he shot straight up and delivered a kick that focused every ounce of his weight directly on the man’s jaw. A sickening crack sounded as his toes jabbed through bone and into soft tissue. Dax went down, cradling the pieces of his face together, and taking Marius’s foot with him.
Ooomph. Marius landed flat on his back, all the air exiting his lungs in a rush. Fuck. He had to stand for the count. Scrambling to his feet, he balanced as his head swam and pain throbbed in his torso.
“Three, two, one!” The buzzer sounded. The matchkeeper, a squat dragon with orange wings, stepped off the platform and attempted to raise Marius’s hand, which ended up around the height of his shoulder given the man’s lesser stature. “Winner,” he declared. He slapped a piece of parchment against his chest. “Congratulations, Marius! You qualify for the champion league!”
Beaming, he’d started to leave the arena when he glanced in Adradys’s direction. The man was frowning like someone had pissed in his porridge. More than just disappointment in a pit match dwelt in those eyes. Adradys looked like a man playing chess who’d just realized there was an extra piece on the board he hadn’t accounted for. Marius flashed him a shallow but smug smile and bowed contemptuously.
“Get over it, fucker. There’s a new player in town, and he’s already captured your queen.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
As thankful as Harlow was for the work, time seemed to stop when the Silver Sunset was slow. She leaned against the bar and thought about Marius. How close was he to a solution to his violent nightmares? She wasn’t sure she could go another day without seeing him, but she hadn’t received a message from him since that morning. She’d thought she could give him time, but her body disagreed. All night she’d tossed and turned, resorting to pleasuring herself to try to find some relief. It only made her want him more.
And when she’d finally drifted into slumber, her dreams were full of him. His crooked smile, the twinkle in his silver eyes, the way his wings flexed when he came. She wanted him on his back. She wanted him chained to the bed. Chains. He couldn’t hurt her if he was in them. Maybe if she proposed the idea…
The door opened and there he was. She blinked twice. Was he a daydream? No, still there. She pushed off the bar, her smile widening until her cheeks hurt. And then she was in the air, her legs wrapped around his hips and her arms clinging to his neck. Had she moved to him or the other way around? Oh, what did it matter? He was here and they were kissing. Goddess, she’d missed this.
“Hey!” Roosevelt bellowed from behind the bar. “By the Mountain. This is a public place!”
Marius looked around her shoulder at her boss. “Can I borrow your office? We need to talk.”
Roosevelt rubbed the back of his neck. “Talk. Right. You’re killing me, Marius! Fine. Go. She’s got a fifteen-minute break, but I swear if you break anything, you’re paying double.”
Marius gave him a nod and a wink and started walking toward the back room. She remained clinging to him like a breastplate.
