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He slowly unlatched himself from the doorway. He settled himself opposite her, carefully lowering himself into a sitting position, curling his tail behind him. "Starving," he said in a low voice.

"Well, good, ‘cause I got a lot. I didn't know what your favorites would be, so I picked almost everything they had. A lot of meat mostly. I hope you like it..." She caught his eyes and grew tense as he leered at her. "Is...everything okay?"

There was a shadow over his expression that she couldn't explain. A dark fire burned in his gaze that made the goosebumps rise along her arms and neck.

"I'm fine," he said in a husky voice. He bared his teeth at her, and it took her a moment to realize he was trying to smile.

Her brow furrowed as she smirked back at him. "Good." She took her plate and reached for some food, taking some meat and fruit. Xeda followed soon after, taking only meat.

"So, the next game won't be for a few days. Until then, they are having the fighters entertain in other ways. They'll be bringing in bastard champions, and you'll be having a couple singular fights, nothing crazy, just something to show people your power while also getting to see your single combat skills. Tomorrow will be that and the showing."

"Showing?" he said.

She cleared her throat, finding it hard to look at him. "It's unfortunately another way to embarrass the fighters. To have the houses show you off like some prized breed. It can be anything from fighting dances to just feats of strength. For instance, Tazyn usually shows off with his bladed weapon in a series of dances. Some do nothing more than pick up insanely heavy objects that no one else could, like a ground vehicle. It’s just to show your abilities."

Xeda's face twisted. "I am not dancing."

She chuckled. "I figured as much. Don't worry, I already have an idea for it. And it won't involve anything too embarrassing."

He snorted as he picked at his meat. She noticed he didn't actually eat it, just tore it apart more with his talons. He stared down at it, as if he wasn't really seeing what he was doing. She eyed the rest of him and noticed his pants were torn, even though they were a new pair.

She thought about asking him if everything was all right again, but she didn't want to pry too much. "These are all just ways to entertain the people until they complete the next and possibly final course, Xeda. Nothing more."

He grunted, but she wasn't totally sure if he actually heard her.He must be thinking about the next game, she thought. She doubted he was worried about it, but she could imagine after what he just went through, it would make sense that it would occupy most of his thoughts.

He did look a lot more tense too. She remembered then about the deal she had made in the pool if he won. She smiled and said, "I owe you another massage, don't I? If you'd like me to..."

That shadow passed over his expression again. He put his plate down as if contemplating it, then said, "Not tonight. I want to go down to the training center instead."

She frowned. He’d just gotten done in the game. He had to be exhausted. But maybe he was worrying after all. "You don't want to tire yourself out," she said, cautiously. "And you’re still healing..."

"I'll be fine. I'm not tired. I just need to...distract myself for a little while."

Distract himself from what? The games? That had to be it. "All right," she said slowly. "If you want."

He rose. "I won't be down long."

She nodded, then stood. She didn't want to argue. It was whatever would help him. If he thought he needed to train now, so be it. He knew what was best for him, she was sure.

"If this is about what happened in the arena, Xeda..."

"It's not." He turned his back to her, ready to go out the door.

She nodded again, eyeing the food in disappointment. She would have it boxed up for later. "Okay."

She could feel the tension in the air now from him, like a storm brewing. She opened her mouth to ask about it but then decided against it and instead passed by him to open the door. When she went to hit the door pad, she froze as she felt a breath of warm air on her neck. Xeda was right behind her. She noticed one arm stretched out to one side of her, his nails digging into the wall. She hadn't even noticed he’d moved. He was so close now she could feel the heat of his body against her back.

Something was up with him. He was acting strange. She felt tense suddenly near him, as if he might bite her. Or pounce on her. For the first time since letting him out of his cell back at the house, he made her nervous.

She stood there for another few seconds, contemplating whether she should turn around and face him and found she was too much a coward in that moment to do so. Instead, she hit the pad and opened the door and let out a breath as she turned down the hallway, knowing he followed close behind.

CHAPTERNINETEEN

Xeda

He was truly going to kill someone.

He stood underneath one of the observation boxes, clenching and unclenching his fists. He could hear people speaking above him, clapping every so often as one of the fighters on the field tackled another. The clapping, the laughter, the clinking of their glasses grated on his senses. He could see on the opposite side of the enclosed space within the arena other observation boxes where more people looked down, watching the fights while they drank and ate fine food. He hated them all, and he hated that he had to pretend that he didn't. Everything was an illusion, even the sky above him. It showed gray clouds with the warning of storms, but it was only a holographic fakery.