More roaring sounded.
Everyone there just wanted to see me and my opponent bleed.
The spotlight slid across the room.
Though I never allowed myself to connect or feel for my opponents in any way, I always made eye contact. Let them see that I didn't fear them. Let them know that I was going to take them down.
The spotlight landed on the set of doors my opponent would be walking through. There was a large gap in the crowd, where there should've been people standing and watching.
That was a little off. Usually, it was less dramatic. My opponent would be announced as they reached the edge of the cage, on the opposite side from where I stood.
Gasps went through the room as the doors opened, fully visible across the empty space that created a path for my opponent to reach the cage.
When my gaze collided with my competitor's, I went still.
"Coming all the way from Fae Row, we have the Demon King's challenger: The Queen of Death herself. She'd like everyone to open their phones and take a moment to read the statement she put out a few minutes ago."
The stadium went silent.
I didn't look away from Merrily.
My female, who always kept her body covered from head to toe because of her magic.
The waves that fell below the middle of her throat were messier than usual, and she wore nothing but a black sports bra and a pair of tight, women's fighting shorts.
Her hundreds of scars and bargain marks were all on display. I wanted to fucking kill everyone in the stadium when I realized they were all seeing and recording an image of Merrily on display like this
Mine.
She was fuckingmine.
My shadows danced lightly over her skin, barely there at all. Most of my magic had returned to me after Leon's bite, so there wasn't much of a barrier between her and the shitty price of her power.
It took longer than I wanted it to for my magic to gather around her, growing thicker. Her chin lifted and her shoulders relaxed as the shadows did their job, easing her overwhelm.
"I'll read the statement too, just for the hell of it," the announcer added, and cleared her throat. "The fae royals would like to make it clear thatGrayson Darke's throne will remain his own until they say otherwise. Anyone who wants to challenge him for it will be fighting his mate, Merrily Fall, instead. She will defeat him to earn her place as the throne's defender tonight."
After a few moments of silence, a man hollered. Loudly.
My attention jerked to the side, and I found Darius pumping his fist in the air. Rae was beside him looking extremely annoyed, side-eyeing the fae king like she was seriously considering murdering him for drawing attention toward her.
She probably was.
Everyone was looking at him, though, and his enthusiasm spread like a wildfire. The crowd went from one person cheering to everyone full-on roaring.
I threw more of my shadows at Merrily in an attempt to blockherfrom being overwhelmed by the noise.
She crossed the room, and someone opened the cage door for her. A man.
She met his eyes for a moment, and his gaze dipped to her tits.
I ripped my own door open and strode through the cage. Toward the man who had made it fucking obvious he was checking out my female.
Merrily met me in the doorway, her hands landing on my chest and pushing me backward.
I didn't move.
The glare I pinned the male with had him lifting his hands in surrender. My shadows gathered around both me and Merrily, whipping and raging.
