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“Ouch,” I say. “I’m calling that one the thigh prison.”

“Armbar,” Innes corrects, without looking away.

Sasha frantically taps Niamh’s leg, and it’s all over in the first round.

“Yes!” Emmy jumps up and down. “She won!”

“That was slick,” Innes says, impressed. “She made it look easy.”

The referee raises Niamh’s hand, and we all cheer again.

“YOU’RE AMAZING!” Emmy yells, and despite the racket of the arena, I swear she’s loud enough that Niamh must have heard.

“I’m going to go backstage again and see her,” Emmy says after Niamh has left the cage. “I’ll catch up with you later, Briony. Fingers crossed your neighbour wins as easily as Niamh did. Later, Innes.” She squeezes my arm and hurries off.

The screen cuts to an image of Ryan staring into the camera alongside the words MAIN EVENT—STILL TO COME.

“There he is,” Innes says helpfully, as though I might have failed to notice my half-naked neighbour on a screen that size.

“Mm-hmm,” I say.

It’s just a teaser. There are still two more fights to go before Ryan’s.

The arena is getting louder. More people are on their feet now, drinks held aloft, voices carrying across the stands. There’s a buzz running through the place that wasn’t there earlier, as though everyone knows what we’re building towards.

There’s another technical knockout, then a submission, and then it’s time for the main event.

This time, the lights drop lower, the music hits harder, and the screens blaze with Kovac’s name. He comes out, looking even bigger walking through the crowd than he did at the weigh-in. After going through the checks, he climbs into the cage and paces it, rolling his shoulders.

On my phone, I thought he looked mildly terrifying. I’m now officially revising that assessment to extremely terrifying.

The lights drop again, and bagpipes blare through the speakers. A chant spreads across the arena. “Axe King! Axe King!” Innes joins in, grinning.

Ryan comes out in a black hoodie, the hood pulled up. On the screen, his face is utterly still. He doesn’t smile at the crowd or seem to notice the hands eagerly reaching out towards him.

But then, a few strides from the cage, Ryan lifts his head and looks towards our section. He finds Innes and gives him a quick nod.

I’m impressed. He remembered. He said he’d look out for Innes, and he actually did.

Then his eyes shift. To me.

Oh.

I lift my hand in a small, awkward wave.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

RYAN

The bagpipes start, and the crowd goes fucking mental.

I can’t see them yet. I’m standing in the mouth of the tunnel with my hood up, staring at a black curtain. I can hear them all right, though.

Davie’s hands land on my shoulders and squeeze. “You’ve got this, son,” he says in my ear. “You’re the better fighter. Go prove it.”

One of the event staff pulls the curtain aside, and I walk out. White light pours down from the rig overhead. A cameraman walks backwards in front of me, the lens trained on my face. The noise sorts itself into words.

“Axe King! Axe King! Axe King!”