Page 24 of Adtovar (The Alliance Rescue #1)
The trickle of water ran over my skin, cold but bearable enough to wash the dust and grime away.
Training had been strange today. Training had been strange ever since they discovered Melakor dead in his bunk.
Just as I suspected, the healer—too inebriated to do anything else—had defaulted to claiming that Melakor must have suffered an internal injury during his fight with Ronco, which led to his death.
Ronco—none of the gladiators, really—seemed too disturbed by Melakor’s death.
If anything, there was a new swagger in Ronco’s step at seemingly having taken down such a noteworthy warrior.
As for training, while on the surface, it appeared we fought hard with dulled blades and weapons, and there was a distinctive pulling of punches. No one wanted to suffer Melakor’s fate.
The whispers and murmurs regarding my last battle proved true.
Bozzo was indeed bringing in a special gladiator for the final bout, postponing the event for three days to accommodate the arrival of my mystery opponent.
Speculation ran rampant, with most believing the gladiator to be a Gudari—a species known for their ferocity, stamina, and unyielding prowess in battle.
I had faced a Gudari before and emerged victorious.
And this time I was fighting for something far more precious than mere glory. I was fighting for my mate.
Maddie perched on my cot, diligently working with her rock and bowl to grind the black stone from her arsenal into a fine powder.
The rhythmic motion of her hands was mesmerizing.
Ebony dust stained the tips of her fingertips and smudged the tip of her nose, a whimsical dot amid her determined focus.
The sight stirred something deep within me, as the sight of her always did.
“Any news?” Maddie glanced up, rubbing the back of her hand over her nose, which only added to the dust dotting her features. Her brow furrowed with concern, and her eyes clouded with a worry that I felt powerless to lift.
“Most think it is a Gudari,” I said, coming to settle beside her on the cot.
“And you can beat a Gudari?” She insisted.
“I can beat a Gudari,” I assured her, leaning over to press a kiss to her lips.
Maddie gave a playful huff, but I didn’t miss the way her gaze darted toward the doorway. The door was closed, yet the ramshackle wood held so many gaps and cracks that it provided little in the way of true privacy.
We’d been exceedingly cautious. Bozzo already held suspicion that Maddie was my mate, but suspicion and certainty were worlds apart.
We had confined our lovemaking to the depths of the night, ensuring that neither sound nor sight would betray our closeness to the others.
My shoulder bore the lasting imprint of her teeth, a mark left by Maddie as she bit down to stifle her cries of pleasure, my most cherished scar.
Even now, with the tiredness of training lingering in my bones, I found it nearly impossible to keep my hands off her.
I leaned over, nuzzling her neck, savoring the warmth of her skin and the intoxicating blend of her floral and spice scent.
Maddie’s soft giggle filled the air, a sweet, melodic sound that danced around us like a playful breeze as she nestled closer.
“It’s the middle of the afternoon,” she sighed, tilting her neck to aid my exploration.
“Yes,” I groaned, nibbling along her skin, loving the way her salty taste lingered on my tongue.
“And everybody is resting.” Between the end of training and the start of dinner, there remained a two-hour gap that most gladiators used to retreat to their cells for a shower and some much-needed rest. Now that I’d won their freedom, the females were the exception to the timetable of the underground, but from the way they tittered and giggled in my presence, they knew full well we were fucking and seemed to approve.
Everyone was otherwise occupied.Well, almost everyone.
The faint scuff of footsteps reached my ears, heavy, much too heavy for a female. I laid a finger across my lips, motioning for Maddie’s silence, and stood, moving away from her and nearer the door.
The moment the footsteps paused outside my cell, I surged forward, punching the door open, narrowly avoiding slamming the heavy wood into the guard’s snout by a breath.
The larger of Bozzo’s private guards, the one Maddie referred to as Frac, instinctively raised a broad hand to his snout as if to confirm he had avoided harm.
His beady, dark eyes bore into me with an intense glare, a low growl vibrating ominously on his lips, hinting at his anger.
“What do you want?” I snapped at him.
Frac’s eyes lingered on me for a moment before they shifted away, settling on Maddie, perched on the edge of the cot.
She had hastily stashed away the remnants of her gunpowder concoction, her hands now deftly working needle and thread as she darned my tunic.
It was a perfectly reasonable task, though the small smudge of black powder that clung stubbornly to her nose betrayed her recent, more explosive activities.
Frac was so thoroughly encrusted in filth that I doubted he’d notice.
A disdainful grunt rumbled from his throat, and with a flick of his wrist, he tossed a couple of protein bars in my direction. The bars arced through the air, their wrappers crinkling softly before landing at my feet with a muffled thud.
“I brought you some nutrition. You’re going to need it for your last fight. We don’t want you getting beaten too quickly.”
Before I could open my mouth to retort, Maddie appeared at my side, fixing a fierce glare on Frac. Her eyes burned with intensity, while her hands clenched tightly into fists at her sides, knuckles white with tension.
“Shut up Frac. Adtovar is the Champion. He can whip anybody you bring in.” The show of her pride enveloped my heart, a comforting warmth flowing through my chest.This was my mate—my feisty, brilliant, beautiful mate.
Frac laughed, showing his sharp teeth while a bubble of snot formed in a large nostril. “He can’t bean an Ungeheuer. No one can.”
“Bullshit,” Maddie retorted, her voice a mix of praise and warning as she extolled my abilities and threatened to unleash hexes. Her words tumbled out in a flurry, but I couldn’t focus on them. I remained fixated on a single, dreadful word, its relentless echo consuming my mind.
Ungeheuer.
Only when I sensed Maddie’s gaze fixed on me did I consider my reaction. It must not have been good. Her eyes widened with concern, a flicker of worry dancing in their depths.
“What’s an Ungeheuer?”
Her question brought a cackle pouring from Frac’s lips. “I’ll let the Champion tell you.” He leaned closer, taking a huge whiff in Maddie’s direction, one beady eye closing in a semblance of a wink. “I promise to bury what’s left of him, and I’ll take real good care of you.”
My hand shot out reflexively, fingers curling tightly around Frac’s throat and squeezing.
He let out a high-pitched squeal, his claws raking across my forearm, leaving behind deep, angry slashes.
Yet, I remained numb to the pain, oblivious to anything other than punishing this male for his thoughts toward my mate, until the gentle, soothing touch of Maddie’s hand came to rest on my shoulder.
“Let him go, Adtovar.”
I flexed my fingers, and Frac fell to his knees, the impact echoing softly against the hard ground.
“Get out of here,” Maddie sniped at him. “Or I’ll let him kill you next time.”
Frac shot us a hateful glare, his attempt at a growl barely emerging as a weak, pitiful mewl. With an awkward scramble, he clambered to his feet, his movements clumsy and unsteady, before he stumbled away.
Maddie closed the door, the soft click echoing in the quiet cell. She reached out and grasped my hand and, with a gentle tug, towed me across the dimly lit space to the simple, metal-framed cot, pulling me down to sit beside her.
“You want to tell me what an Ungeheuer is and why it upset you?”
No, I did not want to tell her. I did not want to tell her that the mere mention of that one creature shattered any hope I held for our future together.
“The Ungeheuer,” I began, the word feeling like a jagged stone lodged in my throat.
Maddie wrapped her arms around my waist and laid her head against my shoulder. “What is it, Adtovar?”
I took a deep breath. “The Ungeheuer is a genetically engineered creature made by Ulkommanian, the same species that augmented me. They are rare. Only a few in existence and never used in a fight unless the pit boss wants a guaranteed kill. They are unstoppable... unkillable.”
“I’ve spent my career studying the building blocks of natural life. Nothing is unkillable,” Maddie said with complete conviction.
A faint laugh escaped my lips, but it held no humor. “I saw one once when I was just starting out as a gladiator. The thing was massive, over ten feet tall, and covered in poison spikes. It killed the arena champion in less than thirty seconds.”
A sound, a haunting blend of a scream and a growl, erupted from Maddie’s lips as she sprang to her feet. Her movements were restless and agitated as she stalked back and forth across the confines of the cell, like a caged animal pacing with pent-up energy.
“Why would Bozzo do this? I thought the whole reason to have you fight was so he could claim to have the Champion Gladiator, Adtovar .”
“For the money,” I told her softly, grabbing her wrist as she passed and pulling her onto my lap. “With my record and reputation, there are those who expect me to win even against the undefeatable. Bozzo is stacking the fight. He’ll bet against me, and when I fall....”
“Don’t say that,” Maddie hissed. “You’re not going to fall.”
I pulled her against my chest, resting my chin atop her head and loving the way she fit perfectly against me.
“Winning the bout will be next to impossible, but perhaps I can last long enough... make enough of a ruckus that you and the females can get away from the arena.” I pulled the comm bracelet off the bedside table.
Bozzo had never taken it from me, no doubt hoping to hear any attempt at communication “The day of the match will be the fifteenth day I’ve been planetside.
If my crew hadn’t heard from me by then, they planned to launch a rescue mission. ”
“I’m not leaving this planet without you,” Maddie snarled, her gaze fierce.
I gently cupped her face between my hands, feeling the warmth of her skin beneath my fingertips, and pressed my lips to hers.
Maddie surrendered to the kiss, her lips soft and warm against mine, but only for a fleeting moment before scrambling to her feet, a look of stubborn determination playing across her face.
“You listen to me, buster,” she snapped and jabbed her finger into the center of my chest. “I am not leaving here without you. I don’t care what you think about this Uglyhead, genetically engineered or not. If it’s made of flesh and blood, we can kill it.We just need to figure out how.”
My mate was so fierce that I didn’t dare correct her mispronunciation of the creature’s name. Honestly, I liked her version better.
I would willingly lay down my life to see Maddie rescued. But her fiery spirit, the unwavering determination in every gesture, and the deep, unyielding desire that shone brightly in her eyes whenever she gazed at me, kindled a sense of optimism in my soul.
“It is said the only way to kill a Uglyhead is to stab it in a weak spot at the nape of its neck. Of course, to do that, you must get by the long poisoned spikes running over its back and shoulders.”
“So, you can’t get too close, got it,” she huffed and began pacing but stopped in her tracks as her eyes lit upon the cot, where her mortar and pestle hid under the blanket.
“Other than the weak spot, is the Uglyhead’s skin hard to penetrate?” The question came out as barely more than a whisper.
“No.” I tried to follow her line of thought and came up empty as to what she might be planning.
“A blade can breach the skin, especially in the weaker spot on the back of its neck. The problem is getting the blade into the skin without being nicked by one of the spikes. The poison it secretes kills in seconds.”
Her smile stretched wider, lighting up her entire face, and with an exuberant whoop of joy, she propelled herself into my arms.
“If we can’t stab it. We’ll just have to blow its ass up!”