Page 30

Zephyr

I was still shaking by the time Zelena escorted me to the suite and began to help me out of the costume.

“Here,” she pressed a glass of something into my hand. “Drink that and I’ll draw you a bath.”

I nodded and took a generous gulp. The liquid was clear but it burned a cold trail down my body, bracing me.

The free-for-all had been brutal, and overwhelming.

My brain was still in it’s fight mode and I jumped at every sound.

The more I sipped the clear liquor, the more my muscles began to relax and my mind could let go of the need to be on constant alert.

The instinct to cry was very near the surface, which was nothing new for me. I often wanted to weep after a particularly brutal training session or battle but I rarely allowed myself to. Deep down, I was afraid that if I started, I might never be able to stop.

Zelena thankfully didn’t say anything about my quiet, strained demeanor as she gestured to the bath and left me to it.

I slid into the steaming tub, the water glistening with medicinal bath salts that zinged against my skin.

Between the alcohol and the heat of the water, my eyes were sliding closed before I could think better of it.

I didn’t drift off, but if I hadn’t been expected downstairs, I would’ve gone straight to bed.

Zelena left makeup remover beside the tub and I gratefully scrubbed the paints and the dirt from the arena off my face.

As I examined my body under the water I noticed some bruising around my middle and knuckles.

There were some cuts on my skin that stung, but nothing too awful.

There would be a bruise on my cheek tomorrow but I could direct my healing protocols to speed up the process.

I usually didn’t bother to use the extra power when I wasn’t badly injured but I guessed that looking unharmed and beautiful was going to increase my worth among these men and women.

I wonder how Sherrod is doing.

The thought of him sent an ache through my chest that had nothing to do with the fight.

That impulse to cry reared it’s head and before I could stop it, my eyes stung.

All I wanted was for Sherrod to walk through the door and hold me, to make me laugh and feel like I hadn’t faced someone that could have, and would have gladly, snapped my neck.

It was unreal how fast he’d worked his way back into my heart, after all this time, going through life without that support.

Even Kier and Gav’Ahn weren’t the kind of people I could really let all of my defenses down around.

There was always some kind of wall up, a part of the mask that never fell off.

I hadn’t really noticed it before Sherrod told me who he really was.

It was so natural to hide nothing from him, to just be that I found myself frightened that I would reveal too much and ruin any chance we had at being friends.

Does he want that? He said he did but…what if Zelena is right? What if he wants more?

It was scary how much that thought didn’t scare me. At least, not in the way it should have. It scared me that it would all go to shit the moment we fucked, that we’d realize it was just unfinished business, a childish ‘what if’ that we shouldn’t have explored.

“Zephyr? We need to leave in twenty minutes, how are you doing?” Zelena asked from behind the closed door.

I wiped tears off my face and cleared my throat.

“I’m nearly done.”

“Anything that needs stitches or a dressing?”

“No, all superficial. My nanites will take care of it.”

“Let them see the cuts and how you handle it, send a message.”

I grinned, liking this female more and more.

“Got it.”

I quickly washed the sweat off me and toweled off. My hair was still, for the most part, in the tight buns and it was a relief to release them, my scalp relaxing after being pulled tight.

“Can I come in?” Zelena asked.

“Yeah.”

I had the towel around me and she entered with a low whistle.

“What?” I asked.

“Your skin! It’s gorgeous. Those bath salts made it glow. Or maybe that’s just post victory joy.”

I snorted.

“I don’t enjoy beating people senseless.”

“But you did enjoy winning.”

I tried to hide the smile and couldn’t.

“Maybe just a little.”

Zelena’s laugh was low and throaty.

“That right there! Have that confidence, that attitude, and they’ll be eating out of your hands tonight.”

“And I want that?”

“Yes. Your job tonight is to entice with mystery, beauty and a hint of lethal seduction. You want them to want you and also be a little afraid that you might kill them in a post orgasmic bliss of violence.”

I stared at Zelena with wide eyes.

“But I’m not going to…right?”

“Oh, goddess no!” she chuckled. “Sherrod would kill anyone that so much as put a hand on you. And we’ll use that too. Now, I have your outfit for tonight, less revealing than the fight costume.”

I nodded and followed her out, eyeing the scraps of fabric that supposedly made up a crop top and pants.

“I’ve got you in black to match Sherrod, and also to be neutral as everyone will be fighting over you tonight. Tomorrow, Sherrod will reveal whoever won the bid to sponsor you and we’ll get fabric for your outfits for the rest of the celebration.”

I nodded and took the towel off as Zelena fit the garments on me.

The pants were sheer black with silver briefs under that fit tight over my ass and hips, with silver cuffs at my ankles that made the pants flow and puff around me.

There was a slit on the outside from above the cuff all the way to the waist band, which sat low on my hips.

The crop top was also in two layers with the silver part creating a tank top of sorts that hugged my breasts, cut low and with built in cups that pushed my breasts up to create far more cleavage than I’d ever had in my life.

Just like the pants, the cuffs hit my wrists and made the sheer black sleeves puff a bit.

Zelena swept silver powder over my eyelids and cheeks, painting my lips with a plum tint and my lashes too.

“We’re going to keep it simple with make up tonight, let them see your natural beauty,” she explained.

I nodded, grateful that I wouldn’t have it lathered all over my face like I did before the fight. I slipped my feet into silver flats and then Zelena shocked me by producing a hip holster with two black and silver batons.

“Just to remind them who they’re dealing with,” she said with a wink.

“Thank you. I didn’t realize how naked I felt without weapons,” I said with a sigh as I buckled the holster around my waist.

She looked me over, having me turn slowly, adjusted the holster lower on my hips, then spritzed a haze of perfume onto my skin before nodding.

“Perfect, let’s go.”

My fatigue was fast fading as nerves took over.

I was usually pretty calm when it came to a mission, but I hadn’t been in the field extensively in years.

I was usually watching, advising, sending in reinforcements, all the strategy skills that I loved to use.

I didn’t want to admit to Sherrod that I was rusty at this part of it because the last thing I wanted was to be benched. He was jumpy about me as it was.

When we exited the private elevator, Zelena and I found ourselves surrounded by her guard, two men and two women dressed in practically the exact replica of what I’d worn in the arena tonight.

The men only wore the bottoms, however all four had ornately decorated hoods and masks covering their faces completely.

I wondered how the hell they saw in those things and tried to act as if being around these mysterious guards was just an everyday occurrence.

The four of them escorted us down a short, brightly lit hallway decorated in gilt designs.

Two doorways later, we entered a noisy room that was lit even more blindingly than the halls.

The sounds of automated machines, people shouting in remorse or victory, the shuffling of cards, clacking of chips, it all hit me in a blunt assault that had me stuttering to a stop.

“Zephyr?” Zelena whispered.

“I’m alright, it’s just…loud.”

I thought of turning down my aural unit, but then I might not hear something important.

Instead, I ordered my CPU to filter out the superfluous sounds like the machines and such, and they faded into the background.

I took a breath and returned my expression to neutral boredom before the guards took us further into the room.

As soon as the guards parted enough in front of us for the gamblers to see me, a rush of applause erupted.

“Go on, dear, take a bow,” Zelena said.

I sauntered out of the protective half circle of guards and surveyed the room, showing nothing. My cool indifference seemed to only rile them up more and the cheers grew in volume. More people turned to see who had entered the room and a few left their tables to come take pictures of me.

When the cacophony reached a fever pitch, I gave a small bow, looked them all over and turned on my heel back toward the guards. A collective groan of disappointment rose up and I couldn’t help a little grin at Zelena.

“You are a natural,” she said with a laugh. “You ever want a job with me, I could use a show-woman like you.”

“Thanks, but it’s not my scene.”

She shrugged her elegant shoulders and we slowly made our way through the seemingly endless room.

Every once in a while, I would step a little away from the guards to wave or just look around.

People of every species under the sun cheered and more than a few leered at me.

I saw some slip messages to the guards, while others tried to catch Zelena’s eye.

By the time we reached the back where the private rooms were, Zelena had a dozen or more offers for me ranging from the obscene to the odd.

“I’m glad Sherrod isn’t here to see this,” she muttered under her breath.

“Did he do something that makes you think he’d be jealous of this sort of thing?”