Page 7 of Bound to the Alien Gladiator (Hope Runs Deep #10)

They touched the blood flowing from their cut and smiled. “That’s two I owe you for now.”

And their battle began. Metal slammed into metal; bodies danced and swayed in a beat all their own. The crowd fucking ate it up. Tezakk’s movements were graceful and always with purpose, but he hesitated every now and again. Almost as if he were second guessing his next move or unable to make it.

Every time he paused, Khit pressed their advantage, pushing him back and forcing me deeper into the water. He wouldn’t have to tell me to run for it because I’d be swimming with only the rigor-set claw of a lion beast to protect me from the lizard that just wouldn’t die.

You’d think a blade in the eye, a pole in the jugular, and a mouth full of wooden splinters would have slowed that animal down, but that damn knife hilt broke the surface too close to comfort.

The pallet Khit had slammed their axes into was the only thing separating it from me, even as the blood seeping down my leg called the lizard to slaughter.

I swirled the red liquid with my fingers.

Tezakk’s back closed in as he fought off blow after blow from Khit’s axe. I wobbled in the shifting sand, arms flung wide to keep my footing. I struggled to stay out of his way, pushing myself farther and farther back.

“Tezakk,” I warned as the frigid water hit my hips.

“I know.” He grunted and lifted his axe high in the air. The crowd roared as he swung it down.

Khit grunted as they blocked the blow but stayed in place. Tezakk forced me back, but unlike him, I could float. He needed to get out of the water before it swallowed him whole, but Khit kept pressing their advantage.

Khit laughed and swung out, locking the pair of axes inches from Tezakk’s side. They leaned close to him but stayed out of reach of another headbutt.

“Are you ready to fight again at my side?” They leaned away and locked eyes with me. Khit’s lip was split, and dark purple bloomed on their forehead. Still, I knew they could easily kill me. “Leave this weakling and take a Mate with actual strength.”

Anger surged. No one could replace me. I shifted closer. “Fuck you.”

I swung the paw at Khit’s face. The claws raked from temple to chin. Khit’s skin parted like a sharp blade through flesh.

Snarling, they stumbled back, clutching their cheek as blood gushed from what should have been a light wound. I examined the furred limb in my hand. “What the hell is in these things?”

Tezakk gently pushed me back, his axe held at the ready as Khit struggled to regroup. “An anticoagulant. Atroba has the beast’s claws coated with it before each match. Makes things more exciting,” he said wryly.

Now it made more sense why he wanted me away from the Lyigrith. I was thankful Atroba hadn’t coated the lizard’s teeth with it. Which reminded me. I spun in a circle. Where the hell was it?

Khit dropped their hand, but the blood continued to flow, coating their leathers, joining with that of the cut Tezakk had made in his first attack.

The green liquid swirled around the knee-high water they stood in.

“I had hoped we could work out our differences. You were always such a fan favorite.”

Metal flashed.

“Rena, run!”

I spun and stumbled, but Tezakk was there to pick me up.

His heavy weight parted the water much easier than my soft skin.

Heat flowed over my shoulder. Water exploded, but the loud crack concussed the air.

Tezakk fell, taking me with him. I kicked free and bobbed to the surface.

He was shoulder deep in the water, yellow seeping into the eddies surrounding him.

The bone in his shoulder was exposed. He was missing a huge chunk of flesh. Panic set in as I struggled to get closer. “Oh no, no no no . . .”

“I’m okay,” Tezakk bellowed over the screaming crowd. His body bobbed around as he tried to keep his shoulder out of the water. “The blood will stop flowing shortly.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and pointed with a spray of water. “But what about your arm?”

The singed skin at the edges of the wound couldn’t be good.

He quickly glanced at it before refocusing on Khit. “It’ll heal.”

Breathing through my panic, I searched the shore as Khit fought with the illegal gun. I shouted over the booing crowd, “How did she get that past the guards?”

“A question for another day.” He grunted and lifted the head of the axe out of the water. “We should focus on moving while her weapon recharges.”

He pushed me toward the platform where I’d last seen the toothy lizard. “Climb up.”

“And where are you going to be?” I fought his movement. “Besides, those things aren’t exactly safe. That supercharged gator chomped through Khit’s boat like it was a child’s toy.”

He asked, “Do you still have your claw?”

The crowd hushed as the hum of a recharging weapon drew my gaze. “I dropped it, so don’t step on the damn thing.”

“I’ll try my best.”

He staggered forward, the water sliding down his body and exposing more of his shoulder.

The skin, black and glistening, peeled back with a soft tearing sound, revealing even more stark white bone beneath.

A faint, metallic tang hung in the air. His thick scales were far too weak to save him from the energy gun.

The water turned orange as our blood mixed.

The rumble of the crowd increased. Never a good sign.

Khit traveled deeper into the water, closing in on us. Tezakk stalked forward, using his less dominant arm to hold the axe as the other fell limply at his side. He was better off throwing the damn thing than fighting with it.

Anxiously, I treaded water, my tourniqueted leg dragging me deeper down each time I caught my breath. I waved the bloody water toward Khit, hoping against hope the mix of all three strains of our blood would work.

Their weapon beeped. Fully charged. Khit smirked, close enough now that the brown water rose to their waist. They aimed the gun at Tezakk’s chest. “You should have said yes.”

Tezakk threw his axe.

Khit shifted, and it sailed past her, joining Khit’s own weapon on the sand. “Idiot.”

“Now you die.” Khit smiled, sharp teeth coated in their green blood.

They raised their gun.

The crowd roared.

Water exploded. The gun went off. Sharp teeth snapped down on Khit’s torso. Khit screamed as they were dragged underwater.

The crowd thundered.

Tezakk called my name as he spun in the water.

“Here!” I waved and swam in his direction. “We should get to fucking land before it comes back to finish the job.”

“Agreed.” He pulled me close, the flat of the axe pressed against my back. His tentacles caressed my head and shoulders. “Are you injured?”

I hesitated to touch him with all the damage he’d sustained. “No more than before. How’s your shoulder?”

“Hurts like a bitch.” He grunted and walked closer to land.

Khit surfaced deep in the water. Green coated their chest and neck, flowing from deep puncture wounds. Their panicked eyes met ours as they sluggishly moved toward a pallet. “Don’t sit there, help me!”

My busted wooden handle surfaced, followed by the rest of the beast.

“You’d better hurry.” I didn’t know who I was talking to, Khit or Tezakk.

I heard splashing behind us, but I focused on one thing only. Where had Khit’s gun gone?

“Tezakk,” I whispered.

“I know.”

He approached the spot where Khit was pulled under. The water retreated at a fast rate. What should have been chest high now hit my hips. “They’re draining the pit.”

“Yes. They want to get to the weapon before we do.”

I stumbled and fell as my leg tried to support all my weight.

The gun, an illegal Fifty-Ought, sat half buried in the sand a few feet from us.

A weapon that was known for its faulty trigger mechanism and long charge times wasn’t the best choice to smuggle into the pit, but I wasn’t going to complain.

Khit screamed and splashed behind us. But I couldn’t care less about the shrieks of a dying enemy when fresh faced and clean guards now stood before us.

The crowd hushed as Khit’s scream cut off. The roar of applause quickly drowned out the wet, squishy sounds of an eating animal.

Atroba strode out from the raised gate and smiled. She wore the same tight, silver jumpsuit I’d first met her in, although the fake smile was new. “If you make the right choice, you will live to fight another day. But go after the gun, and you’ll die.”

Tezakk’s pained eyes met mine. I slowly shook my head as my heart pounded. Freedom was so close, yet so far away. One wrong move would be the death of us.

He took a step closer to the gun. The guard’s weapons rose.

“Tezakk,” I warned.

His tentacles stilled. Hands clenched, he turned back to me. “Are you sure?”

A dart slammed into his chest. Glazed eyes met mine, and he fell like a rock, slamming into the sand.

I met Atroba’s stare, and she smirked. “Nighty night.”

A sharp sting bit into my neck. I slapped my hand over it, the dart cold and smooth against my skin. Everything went black.