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“I’m not going to go quietly into Tartarus,” he grunted, swinging his sword toward my neck.

I parried, meeting it with my blade and sending it skittering to the side as it was flung from his grip. I lashed out with a foot, kicking him backward until he landed on the sand with a thump. Staring up at me as I stepped over him, he shook his head in a plea. He only needed to best one of us.

It wouldn’t be me.

I slid my sword into his gut, watching as his blood bubbled to the surface and flowed over his armor. Pulling back, I walked to the sidelines to wait for the next paired-off Gods to finish their current battle.

At the very least, I would survive. I wasn’t the weakest and wouldn’t be the sacrifice to pay for the centuries of missing Tithes—even if guilt settled over me as I watchedEryx get to his feet. His wound healed over slowly with the absence of iron weapons in the arena.

Still, he clutched his bleeding stomach and made his way to the other side. I would continue to fight the next victor, proving myself as the strongest of the Gods if I was the last one standing. I didn’t need them all to know of the strength within me or the ways I could fight. I didn’t need to show off, usually preferring to stick to the shadows I called home and not draw attention to myself.

But with Estrella’s watchful gaze upon me, that male part of me needed to prove to her that she’d been mated to the strongest of us. No matter what Mab believed about Estrella as far as her heritage went—whether she truly believed her to be one of the missing Primordials—she hadn’t allowed my mate to take part in the fights.

Part of me regretted that, having very much looked forward to watching her make quick work of the lower Gods and Goddesses who would have a superiority complex against her until she proved herself asmore.

The other part of me was grateful she wouldn’t have to out herself just yet. While they knew of her magic and resourcefulness, most didn’t know of her skill with a blade.

I’d like to keep it that way for as long as possible.

When the truth of her power came into the light, many would seek to use her to their advantage in the same way Mab wanted. I’d die before I ever allowed her to be put in another cage—especially knowing that this one was entirely my fault.

Tiam stepped away from Ilaria where he’d left her bleeding on the sand, stepping over to me. The King of the Spring Court met me in the spaceEryx and I had vacated, his sword hoisted into his hands and prepared for the fight ahead.

I. Would. Not. Lose.

And when the battles were over, I would lay my sword at my mate’s feet and make sure they all knew exactly who I would serve the moment we freed ourselves.

37

Estrella

Nila leaned into my side, helping to support my head when it felt too heavy. I couldn’t take my eyes off the four figures who still battled within the arena. On one side, Ilaria, the Goddess of Love, fought with Eryx, who Nila claimed was the God of Sleep. The crowd of Sidhe watching quieted as Eryx blew a puff of yellow dust into her face, her body immediately sagging as she wiped it away. She forced her eyes open, though her sword hung limply at her side.

“Sleep dust,” Nila murmured, grasping my hand in hers. Whoever won would survive, while whoever lost…

Would be dead the next day.

Body parts littered the sands where the Gods had cut one another down. Rotting even after they’d regrown the missing limbs. The smell was of them as the first stages of rot set in beneath the blazing sun was… unfortunate.

Surely, they could have been used to feed the gnomes.

I swallowed, leaning my head onto Nila’s shoulder. Mab watched from her seat a few places down from where I sat in the front row. Her face twisted into disgust as I leaned on my handmaiden. Mab showed no signs of being as tired as I was from the activities the night before, my body suffering for having been the conduit for all that energy.

“You never told me what happened in that Cove,” Nila whispered, and I could hear the amusement in her voice.

It was no secret that I felt every bit of soreness within my body, that I didn’t want to sit. She’d witnessed it when Caldris had carried my limp body back to my room, lowering me into the bath she’d quickly prepared. I’d hissed when the hot water scalded every tender part of my body, cursing that kinky fucking tree to Helheim and back.

Even after my bath that morning, I could still feel the evidence of my mate slipping free from my body every so often—as it did when I laughed at Nila’s words.

“Let’s not talk about it.”

Caldris smirked as he and Kahlo circled each other at the opposite end of the arena. The two of them were bloodied, the result of small wounds that had already healed from their previous battles. My mate’s eyes came to rest on me as if he could scent himself from across the arena, and his knowing gaze trailed down my body, distracting him from the battle at hand.

There was very little at stake for Caldris in proving himself to be the strongest of the Gods, yet he turned to face the God of Beasts when he snarled.

The other God said something, his face twisting in rage as Caldris laughed at him.

“He can’t even pay attention to me, because he’s still got his mind between his mate’s thighs!” Kahlo yelled to the crowd.