Joy.
I felt joy that couldn’t be contained. I threw my head back to give voice to my laughter and glee. A childhood dream come true. That was everything I had imagined it would be and more. Dolls really didn’t explode that way.
The purple’s blood burned at my skin, and I released my magus magic on reflex, surprised when the divination cooled my skin.
“If you could see me now, Grandmother.” I chuckled.
I walked inside the checkpoint.
Only then did some of the glee siphon away to remind me of the cold fear that had driven me to battle in the first place.I’d survived. I’d made it through the second round. A tremor rippled through me, and the tremor wasn’t just sheer, desperate relief that I would live to see my son for another week.
It was weakness too.
I’d killed nine strong opponents and then expended power to incapacitate the strongest red too. AndthenI’d portaled inside a purple to explode her everywhere. On top of creating my decoy, and a couple of portals, and a few power-infused sprints…
I’d overspent my power.
Oyx Wehy!
The crowd roared my name. So they should. I’d given them a great show. And now I didn’t have enough power left to portal to the fortress.
“Fuck my life,” I said, scanning the checkpoint filled with other yellows, oranges, purples, and blues. One red remained who hadn’t mobbed with the others. Surprising.
The yellow scale jogged into the checkpoint behind me, and I found enough energy for a weary chuckle. That guy was the luckiest demon in existence.
I wiped sweat or blood from my face and blew out a breath. No way was I returning to the Pinnacle in this state.
That left one option.
Which—wow—I’d never considered that side of the game before. A player couldn’t give their all in the arena because they had to live through another week in the Pinnacle, too, if they couldn’t portal.
I jumped up and hooked my hands on the bottom tier of crowd seating. The demons there screamed in delight, reaching to touch me.
“Oyx Wehy!”
I ignored them to bound up to the next tier.
Then the next.
This arena was steep, and I was not in great shape. I couldn’t show any trace of weakness, and there was only one other demon who would also hide my weakness.
I hooked my hand on the balustrade of the royal viewing box and swung myself up. I didn’t spare the royals in the viewing box more than a cursory glance.
I rose from my crouch to face the crowd, who shouted and stomped at my daring. My back was to the demon king, who sat in his usual throne directly behind me.
I shot the tiniest tendril of power left to me into my voice. “Oyx Wehy!”
Silence fell over the crowd like a blanket. Had they ever heard me speak? Perhaps not.
The arena rumbled and swayed as they renewed their screams and shrieks and leaping.
Hell yes. Carmine’s subjects were mine.
I turned and jumped down, then crossed to where Carmine was sprawled on his throne. His sprawl was a lie he wished others to believe. Hissprawllikely covered everything he had feared while watching me fight. But like me, the demon king was covering his weakness as though his life depended on it. Because for a demon, lifediddepend on the illusion of power.
I leaned on the armrests of his throne and let my hair swing forward to block his mother and sister’s view of my face. Carmine’s gray eyes locked on mine, and I let my exhaustion show.
His jaw tightened, and he took my hand before rising.I’ll help you.
