I didn’t give a damn what verdict the families reached, and neither did Xan. We’d humored them long enough. With combat as our best guess, I drilled Quinn through her basics before handing her off to Brit for pit-fighting specifics.
Then came my two hours in The Pit, checking corners, testing shadows, committing every detail to memory. Xan’s booth hadn’t been touched, but I fixed the outline of his chair in my mind just in case.
A Westwater claimed they’d seen someone from my family, black uniform, maybe an enforcer, maybe one of my five. I called it a rumor, but the unease lingered. Yesterday, we braced for anything, and nothing came.
‘What combat could possibly prove free will?’I asked my lover.
‘I don’t know,’Xan admitted.‘Try not to overthink. No one wants her harmed. Well, her body, at least.’
I grunted, pushing forward.
My lover reached out with reports from our final sweep of The Mile’s tunnel system. Empty, but not untouched, gray camo scraps, abandoned pots, rubbish left in haste. Body snatchers had been there recently.
Under my suggestions, Xan tightened the border and doubled patrols. Teivel wasn’t going to fuck with mine.
The evening was upon us too quickly. I once again found myself slinking into the shadows as we entered The Pit. Instead of Quinn’s usual hodgepodge of clothing, Ravana had found her a defensive black leather suit with metal bracers and chain mail hanging off all her most vulnerable bits. Brit braided her hairinto loops that wound around her head, leaving the sparkling crystal looking like a crown at the top.
She looked like a warrior princess. My cock should’ve been steel. Instead, all I could think about was making her armor thicker. Despite my lover’s words, I didn’t share his faith in the Westwaters. We walked to the ramp to reach the cage, only to be directed to a waiting area.
Some of the stage cauldrons failed, delaying Quinn’s test. After a few minutes, she sat on the floor with a book. Everly and Brit whispered together. A few Westwaters offered her food and drink. I glared them off before she could answer.
Every instinct screamed trap.‘Xan?’I reached for him—silence.
Chapter 34
Alexander
Onemoment,Irodewith Cayden and my enforcers, the next, black. Strange voices muttered, a crow cawed. No hooves, no rhythm. I drew a breath and wheezed through lungs that weren’t mine.
I had to be at the edge of Alex’s range, unless he’d waited outside The Pit. Then this was a trap. I pried my eyes open and found myself sitting in a cart. A McDonald guard sat at my side with an ax lying across his lap, which matched a thin iron circle around his throat. The voices came from two more, one on the ground and the other the driver, wearing the gray camo of a body snatcher, both with the exact same thin iron circlet.
‘You stupid fool. You had no idea,’Alex whispered.
I didn’t respond. Quinn wasn’t in The Pit yet. I had time to fix this.
Yesterday, I’d ridden in braced for anything, mind stretched wide, shields layered thick, body strapped to my horse, determined to cage Alex until Quinn was out of sight.
But nothing had happened.
Today I’d slipped. Alex had me.
‘I do! A hundred and twenty-eight little toy soldiers, and you didn’t even see me do it.’Alex giggled, high and pleased with himself.
An army. I had to act.
I pushed against Alex’s control, but it felt like I’d been squeezed into a bottle. My breath wheezed in and out of Alex’s frail body. There had to be a way out. I closed my eyes and focused. The ancient mentalist had a lifetime more experience than I did, and he specialized in controlling others, but I had more power.
I imagined myself trapped inside a balloon. With enough air, the thin layer containing me would burst. My mental magic flowed, as did my resolve.
Cold snapped around my throat. A latch clicked. The world stilled along with my magic. Icy wind, I hadn’t noticed, ripped the heat from my thin sweaters. I reached up and touched the cold metal of a collar.
“Welcome to the party, Architect,” Teivel purred.
Every hair on my borrowed body rose. I opened my eyes to find him already sitting in the cart. My old body trembled. Powerless. Trapped. Could a collar pin me inside another man’s body?
‘This one does. I made it just for you. I can’t have the father of my grandbabies getting hurt now, can I?’
Unaware of Alex’s voice in my mind, Teivel pulled the cigarette from his mouth. “I have some plans for the evening, but they don’t include you.” He grinned. “I’ll give you the best seat in the house still.”
