I might have accepted this job in a freelance capacity, but that doesn’t mean I can’t kill two birds with one stone. Break Celine slowly—make a fortune while I’m at it—then kill her and move on. The liquor, the bed, the medical treatment, I’m protecting a short-term investment and that’s it.
The bets from her first fight brought in an astronomical sum of money. Enough to keep this place running for a year and satisfy the powers that be back on the mainland. We’ll meet our quota without issue.
My fellow veydran are thrilled. If only I cared.
The barbaric sounds trail off inside the cabin.
I should go in and remind them to fear me. Instead, I freeze like an imbecile, my fingers hovering over the keypad to the door. Bitter wind ruffles my cloak. What’s left of my hood grazes my cheek, but I barely feel it. How could I when the skin I wear doesn’t belong to me?
Inexplicably frustrated, I leave the cabin and the defiant redhead behind.
Destroy everything she’s built.
Yeah... it would have been better to kill her.
THIRTEEN
Monster Realm Survival Tip #46:
Chaos is carefully curated here.
CIPRIAN
On the morning of Celine’s next fight, Riven yanks the door open and wrinkles his Claymation nose like a rich lady’s pampered poodle let loose in a cow pasture by mistake.
“We want a shower,” I say.
“Incorrect,” he drawls. “Want indicates options: you bothneeda shower.”
Celine crosses her arms. “Whose fault is it that we don’t have that?”
“Win again, and maybe I’ll be generous.”
I wrap my arm around Celine and ignore my pounding heart. I’ve got to stay strong for her. She’s about to fight for Luca's, Alistair's, and Malach’s lives. She doesn’t need anything but rock-solid confidence from me.
Especially because the next part of my plan is going to piss her off.
“I want to fight with her,” I say, leveling the veydra with my most serious stare.
“No.”
They say it at the same time; Riven’s bored, lazy drawl overpowered by Celine’s angry shout. “I just got you back,” she says to me. “You aren’t going down there.”
I kiss her cheek. “I won’t get in your way. Let me help.”
Her forehead wrinkles, and her eyes sharpen. “If we both fight, we should each get to free someone,” she tells Riven.
He looks around as if he’s searching our cramped space for stowaways. “Are you hearing things, darling? I said no.”
“That’s too bad.” Celine pats me on the shoulder, her fingers stiff. “I tried.”
I roll my eyes. “You did not. You let him off easy.”
“I’m your captor, not your sycophant. Let’s go,” Riven snaps. “We don’t have all day.”
He steps aside, and the cold air slaps me in the face as I clear the threshold. “You should let the crowd decide,” I tell him. “It would be a good show.”
I don’t know this guy, but I need to figure out which buttons to press. Is he greedy? Hungry for power? If I know what motivates him, I can convince him that the only way he’ll get it is by giving me what I want.
