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My skin was cold. The blood splashed over me was starting to dry, the metallic scent of it heavy in my nostrils. I didn’t have to look at Kael and Ysara again, but I did. Just to be certain. Their eyes were already starting to fog over with the veil of death. I was glad they were already dead.

But Thessa was alive.

I clutched my staff as I returned to her. She stirred, shifting slowly back to her human form. Dropping the staff, I checked her scalp. There was a nasty bump on the back of her head, but her pupils were fine, and it didn’t seem as though her injury from the elf attack had reopened. When she saw Ysaraand Greyson, she let out a wail and pressed both her hands to her mouth.

“We have to get going,” Greyson urged.

Painfully, I pushed myself to my feet. “We bury them first.”

“Elara…” Greyson strode over to me and gripped my shoulders. “Only a potent magic would allow werewolves to walk around in daylight. We have to get out of here before he sends more creatures after us.”

Luken. He said I better survive. Apparently, he decided he had give us too easy of a time. How could it be entertaining for the vampires to watch us breeze through without trouble? He had to kill them, to make sure I knew he wasn’t going to show them any mercy. Punishment. I was a fool to question. Ever since that first night when he told me he was glad I was alive, I’d overestimated my worth.

Thessa or Darcie. I could save one of them.

Not both.

Not myself.

I’ll be your slave, Luken. But only if you give me one thing in return.

The air left my lungs in a whoosh. “It won’t be entertaining for them if none of us survive, or if the final battle in the colosseum is obvious from the start. We bury them, Greyson.”

Greyson strode forward and put his hands on my shoulders. He opened his mouth, but whatever he saw in my face brought him up short. His dark eyes widened, then his hands dropped to his sides. Finally, he spoke. “It’s not your fault, Elara. It’s his. He’s the one you should blame.”

Oh, I did. I blamed Luken for all of it. I didn’t need to be told.

We worked quietly and slowly, all three of us in too much pain to do much. We used sticks to scrape a shallow grave into the earth, where we laid Kael and Ysara together. They looked mismatched; he was a hulking orc, and she was small in her wolf form. But they’d want to be buried together. They found comfort together in life, so why should we put them alone in the cold grave?

Once the grave was covered in what stones we could find, we stood in silence. Up until now, we’d had a charmed experience. Now, the weight of reality settled on my shoulders. But with their deaths, it finally felt like my mind was clear. There was no trusting Luken. And the next time I drove a knife into his back, I wouldn’t miss his heart.

Greyson’s warm snaked around my shoulder, warm and comforting. I leaned into him despite myself. Exhaustedly, I wondered how much of a ‘fuck you’ it would be to Luken if I did decide to just throw it all away and give the elf my virginity.

We’d have to leave Thessa alone and unguarded.No, I wasn’t going to do that. If only because I didn’t want her to be alone and frightened in her final moments.

What will it be in the colosseum?

“It’s not your fault,” Greyson whispered in my ear. He rubbed his nose against my cheek. “But at least now we don’t have to fight them in the colosseum. He won’t have the pleasure of watching you beg for their lives, too.”

Was that supposed to be comforting?

I pulled away from him, unsettled by his choice of words. “We should get going. I want this whole fucking experience done already.”

Thessa nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands. I reached out to her, and she leaned into me, reminding me of when Darcie leaned into me on the docks when her best friend was lost at sea. Her body had felt small and fragile, just like Thessa’s.

I can’t save both. So which one do I choose?

Chapter 19

We were all walking slowly as we came to the edge of the forest. It transitioned abruptly into a manicured lawn stretching to the huge, round stadium that was the colosseum. This one was built in exactly the same style as the one in the capital city. My shoulders hunched. Why did they have us come here, rather than take us back to the city?

Could it be possible that two games were being played this year? Was my team led here on purpose, and was there a second team that would fight to the death in the city? I wouldn’t put it past Luken to have such trickery up his sleeve.

“Here we are,” Thessa said dully. She clutched her stomach as she stared at it, her expression utterly numb. “I suppose I should have been smarter than to think there was ever going to be an escape.”

Dozens of fancy cars lined up outside the colosseum. I briefly thought about suggesting that we go and wreck as many of them as we could before the vampires caught us, but the thought disappeared swiftly. Marissa, flanked by two huge vampires that had once been orcs, approached us. Her silver eyes were cool. She wore a sleek black power suit that enhanced her hourglass shape.

“We’re waiting for you,” she said coolly. “I must say, I’ve enjoyed watching your battles as they were presented. It’s unusual for our champions to be so boring in their day-to-day, though. Not much backstabbing among you lot... which I suppose will make it even more thrilling to see you turn on each other now.”