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Both of them have red-rimmed eyes as they step out into the center of the pit. The lights around us dim, highlighting the fight that’s about to occur. The circle each other, each one scanning the other for weaknesses.

The crowd tenses, hungry for the violence that fuels our society. Males in the front row grow tired of the boys not throwing punches, so they begin to beat their chests in time. Chanting a fight song passed down through millennia and calling for violence.

My stomach churns. They did the same thing when I fought my brother. I had him pinned but didn’t want to finish him. It took him saying the world would never become better than this if he had his way. That he’d fight to keep the barbaric rite exactly how it is. I used to think he was being honest, but sometimes I wonder if maybe he just didn’t want to win. That he knew I couldn’t kill him unless he pushed me.

So he did.

Because if it wasn’t one of us who would be killed, it would be both of us.

Shocked whispers erupt in the stands as both boys drop to their knees facing each other. Terror bleeds from their eyes as their still undeveloped chests heave. They won’t hurt each other, so they’ll die together.

The Sovereign’s slayer walks out into the pit, his scythe resting over his shoulder. The mother’s wailing echoes off the walls as he lifts his weapon and beheads the boy closest to him in one powerful swipe. He walks to the next and does the same thing.

I glance at Altis and Hyva, who nod in agreement. In seconds violence will erupt all around us. The bloodlust of those who gathered to watch the Bak’hura has not been sated. All that swirling violence and brutality has no outlet. It’s why we come armed, on the off chance that the twins will refuse to fight and instead choose death.

The wailing mother runs into the pit and drops into the blood-soaked sand. She grabs both heads of her children and falls into a weeping heap. The father is nowhere to be seen; he likely ran off in shame as soon as the first child was slain.

Neev watches it all unfold in stunned, frozen, silence. A fight breaks out on the other side of the arena, and Hyva immediately bends and throws the nearly comatose Neev over his shoulder. Altis rushes down the aisle, making a path for Vynia on her crutches.

I block a punch meant for Hyva as someone else reaches for Neev. Vynia pulls out a knife and throws it at the male reaching for Neev. It hits its intended target right in the eye. This is why she has the position in my trusted circle.

“Don’t you dare set her down,” I tell Hyva. We’re out of the arena but won’t be safe until we’re out on our transport on the way back to the ship.

“I’ve got her,”he reassures me even as she struggles to be set down.

“Let him get you to safety,”I tell her.

“Get the fuck out of my head,” she snarls at me, lifting her body enough to glare at me.

“You’re so fucked,”Hyva chuckles in my mind.

I don’t reply to him. Once we’re on board and speeding off through space, I’ll explain everything.

The four of us run as fast as we can, which with Vynia on crutches isn’t as fast as we could be.

Altis runs to release the ramp, and as soon as it’s down, Vynia rushes up to take the captain's seat. She can fly us out of here quicker than her brother. Hyva follows, then Altis and I. Hyva sets Neev down, and she takes a seat quietly shrinking into the far corner. He gives her a long, examining look before pulling out Vynia’s prosthetic leg and sitting down next to her to attach it while she fires up the engine.

I crouch down in front of Neev, my hand resting on her exposed thigh. She stares over my shoulder, refusing to meet my eyes, but she does pull her leg away from my touch. I can’t tell if she’s in shock from witnessing the execution of the two young males or if she’s just so angry at me.

It’s probably both.

“I need you to look at me, so I can make sure you’re okay,” I plead quietly. “Please.”

She blinks a few times and then slowly turns her gaze to mine. What I see there is nothing. Her eyes are dead. She’s pulled her emotions so far inside herself I’m not sure they’ll ever resurface, at least not in my vicinity. I’d take hatred and anger over this nothingness.

“I’m not, and was never, planning on entering any kind of arrangement with any female on Zeahiri.”

“Lady Salx seemed to be under a different impression.”

“She’s delusional, and her father was referencing an arrangement he made with my father before I was even born. As my father is dead, and I hold the title of Lord Aste, I make my own choices.”

She looks away from me, and it cuts my chest open. If I didn’t know it before, I certainly would now. Neev Kaesong is my mate. My love. My future.

“Please don’t shut me out,” I cup her face and turn her head until our eyes lock. The lone tear that rolls down her cheek guts me. “I’m sorry for not warning you.”

“Okay.” She looks away from me, still withdrawn.

“We’re not done talking about what you just witnessed. Are you alright?”