The deep red of the carpet coupled with the darker walls and gold framed paintings by artists I was sure the world had never heard of reminded me more of a speakeasy than a casino. There were marble busts of Fae creatures I’d never seen before. Along with a fountain that was random but somehow worked in the setting.
The clink of drinkware and murmur of conversation felt surreal after the deafening music we’d just left.
Fae mostly dominated the space but there were a few other species too. Among them a handful of vampires who paid a little too much interest to our passage.
“They’ve rolled out quite the welcome party,” Nathan quipped, studying the vampires.
Even with my other sight locked down tight, I could sense their age. Not a single one of them was less than three centuries. At least one held as much power as Nathan. Or close to it.
“Should we be worried?” I asked, only half meaning it.
If it came down to a fight, I’d put my money on Nathan. As dangerous and old as they were, it was easy to tell they weren’t trained in battle. The way they stood was all wrong.
This was an attempt at intimidation. A poor one.
Nathan strolled forward, chuckling. “Always, A. I thought I’d taught you that by now.”
He deliberately antagonized them by touching the brim of an invisible hat and nodding as we passed.
“Someday that arrogance is going to get you killed,” I muttered.
“Who says they haven’t tried already?”
I shook my head as we made our way toward the opposite side of the room where a crowd had gathered to watch something below. “Insufferable ass.”
The volume grew as we drew closer to the crowd. Jeering and cheering mixed with the meaty thwacks of something hitting flesh.
Nathan pushed through the crowd, the supernaturals moving aside with little prodding until we stood on the edge of an amphitheater similar to what you’d find at one of those mixed martial arts fights that were so popular. At the bottom was a pit where two Fae circled each other. A metal barrier covering the top.
I saw why a second later when a bird-like Fae with black wings tried to take flight to avoid his opponent. Hampered by the cage, he awkwardly flapped his wings twice before the lack of space forced him back to the ground where the other Fae was waiting.
The two tore into each other, blood flying as the supernaturals in the stands roared their approval.
Deborah hid her face against my shoulder as the second Fae slaughtered the bird. “Oh my God.”
Below, the winner held up the bird man’s wings in victory. His opponent lay on the ground. Likely dead judging by the amount of blood staining the sand around him.
Nathan nodded in approval at my lack of expression. “This is the world we sometimes have to move in.”
“Yes, it is,” I agreed.
There were times you had to do awful things to ensure your survival and that of those around you. Other times, that awful thing was having to look away from the horrible acts you saw being committed.
I forced myself to watch as the winner tossed aside the wings he’d torn from the loser before stalking through the exit that had just opened to his left.
The moment he was gone, lesser Fae swarmed the pit from tiny openings in the walls. Their shapes only vaguely humanoid as they fell on the loser’s body. The crowd’s cheering surged as they feasted, devouring the bird Fae until there was nothing left. Not even the blood that had soaked into the sand.
“There’s our group,” Nathan noted, spotting Liam and the rest. “Let’s head down.”
Deborah lifted her face from my shoulder to glare at the enforcer. “How can you act like nothing just happened? That was a living, breathing creature. And now he’s dead.”
“That’s quite the hypocrisy you’ve got going there.” Nathan’s gaze cooled as he regarded Deborah with a clinical detachment. “Word is Chadwick was one of the most hedonistic and cruel vampires in our territory. You can’t mean to claim that you never saw anything that tested that morality of yours.”
Deborah flushed at Nathan’s mocking smirk. The shame and guilt that warred for dominance on her face telling me there was a lot of truth to that statement.
I caught Deborah’s hand, squeezing it as a sign of support. It didn’t matter what she’d had to do or what she’d had to overlookto survive under that monster. She’d survived. That was what mattered.
Nathan sauntered toward the steps leading down into the amphitheater. “You’ll have to be smarter than this if you’re going to stay Aileen’s companion. Thomas won’t tolerate anyone around her that isn’t an asset. Pretentious hypocrites included.” Nathan’s fake smile left his eyes looking wintry. “Game faces on, ladies. We’re on display.”
