The undercity was full of deception and corruption, the Lords making money from those weaker than them. Slavery, fights, drugs and sex work, it didn’t matter what it was or whether it was legal, if it made money the Lords controlled it.
Kace ignored the glares from the other fighters, some he recognised and others he didn’t. There was a reason he went by a different name in the cages, separating his life from the dregs of the undercity. Not that he had much of a life outside of it, the Guardians working more in the shadows. Except Riley, who through his father was familiar to the Lords. Mason Storm had once owned and ran half of the city, only to be just as crooked as everyone else in the room.
He had bought Kace from the Pits when he was eleven, and including his son had cursed seven children to a fallen angel. Mason may have pulled him from the Pits, but he hadn’t saved him.
If Riley hadn’t already killed his Father, Kace would have.
A man stood outside the bathroom, as tall as Kace with thick arms and even thicker legs. He frowned as Kace approached, eyes glowing over the sunglasses he had perched on his nose.
The door to the bathrooms swung open with no resistance, whispers drifting from the women’s at the end of the hall.
Sythe stood beside Eva, her shoulders hunched forward as she pressed her palms down onto the wide central marble sink. His brother turned, lips pressed together.
“Get the fuck out.” Kace kicked the closest cubicle, the door swinging open to reveal no one inside. “Sythe, I said get out.”
“There’s no one here, arsehole,” Sythe snarled. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
Kace kicked the second cubicle, and then the third until he was happy they were alone. The room was larger than he expected, with three toilets and three sinks overlooked by huge gold edged mirrors. A chaise lounge sat in the corner beside a short wooden table, a crystal vase full of flowers and a box of tissues positioned on top.
“I’m not leaving you in here with her when you’re like…”
“It’s okay,” Eva whispered, her hand reaching up to touch Sythe. “Please.”
Sythe looked between them, a frown pinching his brows. “Just shout if you need help.” He shot Kace a dark look as he grabbed the metal tray that still held several glasses of champagne, the door swinging closed behind him.
Kace fought the urge to beat the shit out of his own brother, and the thought cooled his anger to a simmer.
What the fuck was wrong with him?
Sending a quick mental command for Sythe to block the door and to distract the guard he turned to the woman who had the ability to ruin everything.
“You can’t be here,” he said, jaw rigid. “Why the fuck are you here?”
Eva hadn’t moved from the sink, her eyes tracking him in the mirror’s reflection.
“Is it true that if I was claimed as a fledgling, that I have no control over my life? That if I run, legally I would be taken straight back to him?”
“Did Augustine change you?” Kace was proud his words didn’t come out an unintelligible snarl. Point to him.
Eva’s shoulders tightened. “No.”
Kace stepped closer, meeting her eyes in the mirror. “Then what the fuck happened?”
“What happened is I have shit taste in men.” Before he could reply she spun, pressing her back against the sharp marble edge of the sink. “So you’re a fighter?” She chuckled, the sound hollow as her eyes flicked up. “A fighter called Red, how original.”
“I wasn’t nicknamed Red because of my hair,” he growled. “It’s because I make my opponents bleed.”
Her lip twisted. “You’re just like them.”
He placed his palms beside her hips, crowding her without touching. It forced her to lean back, back arched. “I’m nothing like them.”
“Says the man who entered an arena where death is the only reward. Tell me,Red,why areyouhere?”
“I need to find a kid who’s been tricked by the fucking Vipers,” he snapped back. “And you have no idea what I’ll risk to save him,” he said, voice dropping to a whisper, his lips moving closer to her ear. “Or what I’ll do.”
Eva’s breath hitched, pupils widening until her entire whites were obsidian. Kace waited to see a blush darken her skin, was disappointed when her complexion remained the same.
“When did you last feed?”
