“To the crab races.”
“Crab races, eh?” I chuckled. “It's been a while since I've seen one of those.”
“Then you've been to one already?”
“Many years ago, and it was just a small one in my old village. My parents took me.”
“Ah.” Vax smirked. “Then you haven't been to a true crab race. I'm glad to be the first to take you.”
“That good, huh?”
“They are very entertaining.”
“Hopefully, not as entertaining as the dancers last night.”
Vaxarion burst out laughing again. “I doubt it, but we'll have a private box in case such a need arises.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
“Very entertaining?” I asked and looked at Vax with wide eyes.
“Is this not what you expected?” Vax lifted a brow. “You said you'd been to one before.”
We were seated on padded thrones near the golden railing of the King's balcony box. It overlooked the arena where the races took place. In short, they were the best seats in the place. And the place was huge. An amphitheater capable of holding hundreds, if not thousands, it was packed to the top tiers for the crab race. The underwater folk, including many Sea Dragons, cheered and waved wildly as crabs ran the tracks.
“Yeah, it was a track maybe ten feet long and crabs no bigger than my hands. There were low walls to keep them in their lanes, and their handlers prodded them on the back to keep them going. It was nothing like this.”
I got up and leaned on the railing to watch the contestants scurry by. Three seconds at most and then they were past. Crabs could move quickly, but it helped that these were fucking monsters. The crabs, if you could even categorize all the shelled sea life down there as crabs, had pincers the size of a ship's anchor and protrusions sticking out of their shells that resembled horns. And they were massive. Large enough that if they were hollowed out, they could be used as carriages. Theycame in a variety of shapes, some oblong, some more square, and some were indescribable nebulous combinations. As if these crustaceans weren't deadly enough, metal tips had been fitted over their horns, and serrations added to their claws. Why? Because this wasn't a peaceful race.
There were no walls between the racing crabs. Just one broad lane. They were simply set loose to scamper. And that meant a big cluster fuck of crabs running along the sandy track, bashing into each other to get to the end first. They didn't seem to know that there was no end. The track was an oval.
I winced as a bright crimson crab cracked the shell of a mottled blue crab. “Where did they get these crabs?”
Vax came up beside me. “They tend to stay in deep sea ravines. Their owners catch them and bring them here to race.”
“Wow. And how do they train them to run?”
“They get taught that at the end of the race, they're fed.”
“So, they're running to eat?” I looked at him.
“That's right.”
“Do they starve them before the race?”
“I'm not sure. But I would imagine it would help.”
“That's kind of cruel.”
Vax lifted a brow. “Do you think so?”
“Look at them.” I waved at the running crabs who bashed each other out of the way to get ahead. “I've always heard the Sea Dragon cities were places of art and culture. Refinement.Peaceful sanctuaries. Not this.” I looked around at the vicious crowd. “They're bloodthirsty.”
“There's no blood shed here, Zix.”
“Only a few shells broken.” I looked at him. “And what does that matter when they're just a bunch of crabs, huh?”
“You're truly upset,” Vax said in surprise.
