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Kill.

Kill.

Finally, a whistle screeched, signaling the start. We squared up our bare chests and fists. This Kinetic appeared familiar, but I didn’t recognize him. He, however, looked horrified, judging by the paleness of his skin and widened eyes. He knew exactly who I was.

With his fists blocking his face in its defensive stance, he asked, “How?”

I shrugged. “I have my ways.” Then I jabbed him four quick times in his ribs, making him back up before I threw a kick to his thigh.

Matte grunted but soon recovered. He went on the offensive, striking for my jaw as a misdirection to land a blow in my gut, which he did. The air knocked from my lungs, but I smiled anyway.

Lunging at Matte, I jumped at an angle, dropping my shoulders to where my body inverted. Locking my ankles around his neck, I twisted, snatching him to the ground as I rotated and caught myself on my hands.

I quickly scrambled to pull him in an ironclad chokehold. He was pinned, almost to the point of passing out. But while I held him down and blocked his airflow from the side, I jammed my knee wherever it would strike. Just before he lost consciousness, I let him go and shot to my feet. Lightning-quick, I straddled his chest and began punching his face, feeling the darkness take the first real drop of blood to feed its frenzy.

I didn’t stop. Matte tried to fight back, but it was no use. I had him, and I was rabid. Each drop of blood made me want more, more, more.

Take. Take. Take. Fucking take it all!

I tried. I wanted to paint a beautiful scarlet picture of Kinetic death on this floor. I wanted him suffering. Whimpering. Screaming. It was music to my fucking ears. I needed…I needed…

I didn’t know how much time had passed as I wailed on the face of Matte’s corpse. I only came back to myself when I was hauled off his body. He was no longer recognizable. Mutilated.

And I smiled at the sight, feeling like a possessed madman. I could imagine how garish I appeared. My black hair clashed with the bright blood smearing my face and upper body. I absorbed the fervor, the rage, not one shred of guilt for the Kinetic death at my feet.

Contentment.

The darkness lifted enough to offer a slight reprieve. Although the hunger and rage still hung heavy over my soul, I could form deeper thoughts aside from the “Take. Take. Take” mantra. It’d never be fully satisfied, but at least it wasn’t suffocating me at this point.

Standing in the trading booths deeper within the compound, a woman with skin as pale as snow gazed up at me from the table she manned. Sensual hunger gleamed in her eyes as she roamed over my savage appearance. Sex was another form of currency in these parts. “Congrats. Wanna celebrate in a bit?” she asked before flashing a knowing smile.

I licked my lips and cocked my head to the side. “As tempting as the offer is, I need to be on my way.”

She visibly pouted and slumped in her seat. “Are you sure? We can make it quick…”

I leaned over and stroked the backs of my knuckles down the creamy skin of her cheek, “I can promise you, I wouldn’t be quick,” I whispered.

Her breath caught and her eyes glazed with desire, but I only offered her a small smile before pulling away. “I’m here to collect my reward for the win. And then I gotta go.” But not before I freed the Elemental that’d won earlier.

The woman seemed to shake herself from her lustful state and cleared her throat. “Right. What is it you want?”

“Cocaine and chloroform,” I said, thinking of the princess that would surely give me hell when I moved to take her.

Chapter 5

Gray

The ballroom doors swung open upon my arrival. The Royal Domain’s Supreme Trainer, Smokey Valor, greeted me at the threshold, standing rigid and astute. Beyond his stern exterior, I swore there was a hint of regret looming in the depths of his eyes. Hazel drifted close by, offering the comfort I needed to make it through the suffocating speech that I was forced to endure.

“Happy Birthday, Princess Gray,” Smokey said with a respectful bow. His smoke-gray hair was cropped short on the sides, and he was dressed in his guild finery that blocked his blue currents. I met his deep brown eyes that were continuously haunted by grief. He didn’t look a day over thirty-five.

I fought to breathe but I managed enough inhales to stay on my feet. A set of invisible chains squeezed my chest, growing tighter with each pair of eyes, threatening to shatter my bones.

Upon my entrance, silence swept across the elaborate ballroom. White marble walls shone with pristine beauty, and lavish crystal chandeliers draped high and low from an arched ceiling that depicted fresco paintings of reveling and feasting Kinetics.

A posh bar spanned an entire wall, beckoning me with an endless supply of moonshine. I planned to plant myself there for the night, eventually. The reprieve only alcohol could provide would be my saving grace.

The polished black floor glittered with a majestic radiance. Draped, floor-to-ceiling blue and gray tapestries depicting the Monroe royal crest were spaced with precision along the far wall, blocking the windows that overlooked the abandoned city. Baroque candelabras cast an eerie glow against the white walls that bled black veins.