Page 6 of Bound to the Alien Gladiator (Hope Runs Deep #10)

He took my hand and pulled me to my feet.

My flesh below the tourniquet felt dead and heavy, and the white strips of my shirt had turned red with blood.

Spots of the lizard’s purple blood turned the band into a colorful accessory.

Not that I cared, but I lifted my chin and wore it with pride.

We were both alive and kicking, despite what Atroba had thrown at us.

My vision blurred. I wobbled.

Tezakk wrapped his arm around my waist and drew me closer to his side. “Is the water beast still alive?”

Blinking repeatedly, I struggled to clear my vision. “Yes, with my knife in its eye and that pole shoved in its jugular.”

His tentacles wove like fingers through my hair as he leaned down and kissed me. “I knew there was a reason I liked you.”

When our lips separated, we stayed within the cocoon of his ‘hair.’ “Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Nothing important.” His eyes brightened as his gaze searched mine. The yellow bioluminescence on his body pulsed. “You care for me?”

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “You know I do, or else I would not have agreed last night.”

“Others have—”

Static spiked, and my brain latched on to that word: others. I repeated it over and over in an ever-increasing tone until I realized it was coming from outside of my head.

Tezakk had pulled back and now faced the enormous set of double doors towering over the far end of the pit. They creaked open, and the crowd’s screams obliterated everything else.

Adrenaline spiked. The bow of a wooden ship crept through the opening. “What fresh hell is this?”

He growled. The deep earthy scent of Tezakk flooded the very air I breathed, the dark velvety undertone overwhelming everything else. “Khit.”

I searched the ground for a missed weapon, something to help fight off this Khit, but only saw bits of pieces of the lion beast strewn across the sand. “How long did it take you to do that?”

“Only a few moments once I got past the claws.”

He kept his attention focused on the boat as it floated in. It was smaller than I’d originally thought. It wasn’t much more than a shortened version of a sailboat without steerage and only enough room for one person to stand on the deck.

“Who’s controlling that thing?” I hopped a little to get a better balance on the shifting sand and clutched at Tezakk’s loincloth to stay upright.

I did everything I could not to look at the powerful figure heading toward one of the floating platforms.

They had strong shoulders, a narrow waist, and muscular thighs.

It would take stimulants and years of training for me to obtain that level of strength.

They were too far away to get an accurate estimation of height, but I was more worried about the two small and the extremely sharp pairs of axes they held in their hands.

“Did you miss me, Tezakk?” They swung the axes in a circle with their wrist. “I know I missed you and your tantalizing tentacles.”

“So, this Khit is a being, not a species?” I kept them in my sight as the ship rammed into a platform.

It was easier to do that than watch Tezakk’s response to the overly familiar being that looked like they could rip me apart with their bare hands.

Khit jumped from the vessel, and the wooden pallet wobbled when they landed. The ship veered off, and the tip of the pole surfaced. Launching from the water, the lizard slammed into the ship. The impact ripped the boat in half, sending splinters flying. It sank to the bottom in a matter of moments.

When Tezakk spoke, he sounded both angry and hurt. “I thought you were dead.”

I jerked my focus to Tezakk. His hands fisted, and he stilled his ever-moving tentacles. Even his bioluminescence had dimmed into non-existence. Whoever this person was, it didn’t bode well for either of them.

Khit chuckled. “Why would you think that?”

He stepped forward, forcing me to follow or lose my balance. “You disappeared from the pit and my cell after a fight. What else was I meant to believe?”

“A mistake on my part when I moved up in this world, but now I’m ready to return to your side.”

I sucked in a breath. “What do they mean by that?”

Khit took a few steps back and leapt to the next platform, almost twenty feet away.

I flinched and wiped bits of peppered sand from my cheeks. “Fuuuuucccckkkkk!”

How the hell were we going to fight this powerful individual who could kill us both with ease? Well, at least me, if there still was an ‘us’ after this conversation? I knew Tezakk’s survival depended on winning, and Khit was powerfully built, unlike myself, a weak, injured human.

Tezakk took a step forward. “How can I trust you?”

I stilled. The horror of my new reality settled around me. Was he really going to leave me for Khit?

“Lover, I will show you my renewed level of dedication to our pairing once we’re back in your chambers.”

The crowd roared with laughter.

Tezakk stepped forward, and Khit jumped closer and slammed their axes into the wood. The rafts swayed in the water.

“That can’t be good for the structure.” I shifted my balance. “Do they sink like you?”

“No.” Tezakk pushed me behind him. I wobbled on my leg as he called out, “Come, my love, let us sort this out like civilized people.”

“I knew you would see it my way.” Khit leapt, weapons in hand. Their feet dug into the sand fifty feet away. Khit straightened. “After all, I got us through too many championships to count.”

They took a step forward and pointed their axe at me. “But what to do about her?”

I might have squeaked.

“Toss me an axe.” Tezakk held out his hand. “So that we may take care of this issue together.”

“What?” I stammered and hopped back as pain tore through my chest.

Which one of us was he playing?

“I don’t understand, Tezakk.” I stumbled in the sand. “We had an agreement.”

Khit laughed and tossed an axe to Tezakk, who caught the heavy weapon with one hand. Khit gave me a once over and said, “He’s made many such agreements over the years.”

Numb, I looked for anything to defend myself as my lover approached. Bits and pieces of lion littered the sand. I hopped to the closest one. The wet, blood-soaked fur was cold and heavy in my hand. The claws permanently extended in death.

“Look at the human.” Khit laughed and pointed with their axe. “Thinking she will defeat us, the Champion and his bride, with nothing more than with the foot of a Lyigrith.”

“She might.” Tezakk snarled and swung his axe.

The blade whirled inches from my face and kept going. Khit danced back but not far enough. The sharp edge sliced into their side. Tezakk jerked the axe free. Khit stumbled as green blood seeped through their leathers.

Khit touched the cut, their fingers coming away coated. Their stunned expression turned to rage. “Do you know what you’ve just done?”

“Ruined your plans?” More confident now than I’d ever been in my life, I wobbled up to Tezakk’s side and mimed scratching Khit with the Lyigrith’s paw. “Poor you.”

“Careful with that,” Tezakk said, forcing the paw away from my leg.

“You’ve killed us all.” Khit growled at me and swung their wrist, arcing the axe at their side. “I could have saved Tezakk if he had agreed to my plan, but now to survive, I’ll have to kill you both to appease my benefactor.”

“What favors did you fail to produce?” He tilted his head to the side and then clicked his tongue. “Who did you insult?”

“Is that why you’re back in the pit?” I taunted, waving the claw in my hand. “Pissed off too many people?”

“Only one,” Tezakk said beside me, tentacles floating around his head. “The one who plucked them from the pit in the first place.”

Tezakk’s lips kicked up at the corner as he glanced at me and pointed with his axe. “Khit could never keep their mouth shut.”

Khit’s grip tightened around the weapon’s handle. “I will kill you for that.”

Unimpressed, I feigned yawning. “You’ve already said that.”

Khit’s face darkened, and I felt their rattling growl deep in my bones. I chuckled. “Perhaps I hit a nerve?”

“I’m going to enjoy murdering you in front of Tezakk.” Khit stepped closer. “So he can watch yet another woman he’s mated with die in this pit.”

Tezakk flinched.

Khit spun her axe. “And then the real fun will begin.”

My anxiety ratcheted up. Khit could do it too. They had both the motivation and the need. The look in their eyes was pure hate whenever they landed on me. Never a good sign for my imminent safety.

Tezakk’s voice cut through my fear as he moved in front of me. “You’ll have to go through me first.”

My core heated low and tight, but that could have been from blood loss. I brushed my free hand down the center of his back, my fingertip grazing the white scar I’d given him just a few days ago. “You say the nicest things.”

Khit circled away from the flooded pit, and I followed behind Tezakk as he kept them in sight. His tentacles were undecided which way they wanted to move. Half remained still and focused on the warrior in front of him, while the rest twitched restlessly as they reached for me.

His green eyes met mine. “When I ask it of you, run into the water.”

I settled my hand on the base of his spine; his rough scales reminded me how well-suited he was for these games, and how I wasn’t. “There’s a dangerous flesh-eating lizard in there.”

“Do your best not to get eaten.” He reached back and brushed the sensitive skin of my wrist. “My Mate.”

My fingertips slid from his body as I limped back toward the edge of the water to give him more room to maneuver. “Don’t die.”

He smiled over his shoulder, and Khit charged.

I screamed, the sound eaten up by the crowd.

Tezakk turned and blocked her swing. Weapons locked together, and Khit growled in his face.

Their sharp teeth were inches from biting something sensitive.

His tentacles pressed back against his skin, and he slammed his head forward.

The crack ricocheted around the pit as Khit stumbled back, their forehead split and bleeding.