My love. It wasn’t “I love you,” but it was close.
Whatever fun, carefree, and sexy thing Luka and I had going, it had grown much deeper, more permanent. Neither of us would come out of this unscathed at this point, and I was okay with that. Such was the gamble with any relationship.
But this one felt like the stakes were just a bit higher.
“I made you and I can end you. Don’t forget that,” Morgana suddenly bellowed across the mat, and the crowd went crazy.
“You’re lucky I can’t kill you,” Luka spat back.
“Well, well, the trash talking has begun. Let’s get this started, shall we?” the announcer asked the crowd. They stomped their feet and shouted until their voices were hoarse.
One of the elder vampires stood and a meek looking vampire scurried over to him with a microphone. A hush fell over the crowd.
The elder male was wearing a long, red, crushed velvet cloak and looked familiar, but I couldn’t place him. He wasn’t a Drake, but he was important.
“Drucilla Drake was a steadfast and fearsome leader, and she will be missed, but she led us into a war that will take some time to recover from.”
Oh, that was kind of a burn. Demi looked at me as if to confirm I had heard that and interpreted it the same, and I gave her a curt nod.
“It will be nice to have a fresh sense of leadership!” His voice was smooth, direct, and to the point. He was totally on Luka’s side.
I grinned as the assembled crowd clapped. Sage reached out and grasped Demi’s hand; Liv grabbed mine and we all held our breaths.
“Winner takes the crown,” the elder vampire bellowed. “Now fight!”
The final word had barely left his lips when Luka was a blur on the mat. He tore across the space, weapons raised. Morgana planted her feet, squatting into a defensive position. She hissed, white knuckling the axe and sword in her iron grip. Right before Luka reached her, Morgana made an X with her weapons and Luka crashed into her, sending her flying backward. She crashed into the mats and I noticed a thin bead of blood dotted her arm, but nothing more. Quickly, she popped right back up. They traded blow for blow, weapons clacking with such force I feared they would snap in half.
It felt like I didn’t breathe for a full two minutes, I just froze and watched the impressive display of power before me. Every time Luka would throw a blow, Morgana would block it with a weapon and counterattack. I was pretty sure I was breaking Liv’s hand with how hard I was holding it. I was just starting to wonder if either would actually win this, when Luka came down hard on Morgana’s axe handle and severed the metal head clean off. It fell to the floor with a clunk and the crowd went wild. Using that distraction, Luka smashed his forehead into Morgana’s nose. The crack of bone shattering rang throughout the space and the assembled crowd amplified their screams of maniacal joy.
My gaze flicked to the bleachers, where Cassara bopped in her chair with excitement, and I wondered how much of it was for Luka’s success, or her chance to become queen.
In a blur of movement, Morgana used the close proximity to take the shorn-off wooden axe handle and slam it right into Luka’s ribcage. A yelp ripped from my throat, terror rushing through me as Luka nearly flew backward and out of harm’s way. The wooden handle protruded from his side, and anxiety firmly clutched me in its grips. Sage reached out to Liv and clutched her hand so that we were all forming some kind of anxiety prayer ring for Luka as we watched the fight unfold.
Luka grasped the handle of the wooden stick, yanking it out cleanly as Morgana chose that moment to advance again.
My gaze flicked to the side to see Demi drop Sage’s hand and place her fingers on the edge of her cuffs, ready to flip them off and intervene. Those cuffs kept her powers at bay, but also kept the vampires from smelling whatever she was.
A split shifter, Sage had called her? I didn’t know the details, but I knew if she pulled those cuffs off, we would have a big problem. Every vampire in the room would smell her fancy blood and it would be hell to get out of here after that. The guards at the door made sure we had no weapons, so fighting our way out was the last resort.
“Give him a chance,” I told her and she froze, looking sideways at me. “Trust me.”
She didn’t feel the absolute power and rage coming off of Luka like I did. He had Morgana right where he wanted her. I sensed not even an ounce of fear or resignation.
Our gazes went back to the mat as we watched Luka stand tall in proud defiance. He let Morgana come to him, unmoving, unflinching as she let out a battle roar, raising her sword.
What was he doing!? He wasn’t even raising his weapons. Had he lost his mind? I wanted to say something mentally, but I didn’t want to distract him, so I just gripped Liv’s and Sage’s hands until I was sure I might be breaking them. A millisecond before Morgana reached him, Luka crouched and then leaped into the air like a freaking ninja. Morgana passed through empty space as he sailed over her head, spinning in midair. With her back to him, Luka reached out and drove the stake right into the side ofherribcage. Matching his wound. It wasn’t enough to kill her, which was apparently against the rules, but he’d made his point. He could have had he wanted to.
The crowd went insane. It was both a good hit and also a show of defiance that he’d marked her equally to him. I burst to my feet screaming and clapping as a demonic look of fury washed over Morgana’s face.
She ignored the stake lodged in her side and swung blindly, clipping Luka’s forearm, causing him to drop his sword. Fresh crimson spattered the mat and he winced, retreating backward.
“I taught you everything you know!” she roared as she stalked after him. “Don’t think I don’t know all your tricks.”
Luka sneered at her, pulling his lips back to display his canines. “The only thing you taught me is what it’s like to be raised by a coldheartedbitch.”
A hushed silence fell over the crowd as we witnessed this personal moment. Morgana raised him?
Holy crap.
