Page 59 of Starfall

Ari

Z ade opened the door to the red room, his shrewd gaze leisurely drifting down my body.

You can do this , I repeated over and over in my head, goosebumps already rising from the crude way Zade eyed me. He made no attempt to hide where his thoughts had wandered.

“Hello, there, pretty thing” he cooed, his depraved grin chilling my blood. “What brings you here?”

Regardless of his leering, I was sure he had his fair share of romantic partners, what with his dirty blond hair and bright blue eyes, but I wasn’t going to be one of them. He just didn’t know it yet.

“I came to wish you luck,” I said brightly, forcing a smile. I wanted to retch.

The door swung open, allowing me entry. “Well, come on in, sweetheart.” I resisted rolling my eyes. His arrogance was about to screw him over. The fighter might have thought he was getting a pre-fight gift , but he was in for a nasty surprise.

I was no one’s gift. I’d be his curse.

My heart raced as I aimed for the red lounge in the corner of the space and took a seat.

Zade watched my every move with a twisted interest. Tattoos covered his bare chest; a giant skull was inked front and center, snakes and rodents crawling from the eye sockets and mouth, and a crown with his initials took up the majority of his abdomen. Egotistical to a fault.

He’d be easy prey.

“Can I make you a drink?” He asked, striding to his vanity and snagging two empty tumblers. A bottle of amber liquid gleamed in a crystal decanter. Maybe he did this before every conquest: plied them with alcohol and wore what he might deem as charm.

I had to get in and out of here as quickly as possible. My damn skin itched even sitting in his sights, and playing seductress wasn’t in my repertoire.

“I’d like for you to come here,” I said, adopting a tone I’d heard from the mortals in the lounge upstairs. It was deep and sultry, and I felt like a fool for attempting it. But the dress I wore helped. That, and the way Elias had looked at me minutes ago when he saw me in it.

You’re doing this for him .

The glasses rattled when Zade dropped them back on the vanity.

“Right to the point. I do love a woman who doesn’t play games.”

Ugh . I swallowed rising bile. His entire demeanor made my skin crawl; that smug look on his face a permanent fixture I craved to wipe away with my fists. I couldn’t wait to see Elias do it for me.

I made a show of shifting to the side and allowing him room, but Zade sat as close as possible, his thigh pressing against mine. I bit the inside of my cheek. Just get through this and play the rol e. Hell, I’d been playing a role my entire life.

I took his clammy hands in mine and bit back a wince at the wrongness of it all.

He had a foot over Elias, which was intimidating by itself, but he was also broader, and his biceps were the size of my thigh. I understood why Elias had originally requested my help; he wouldn’t win this match. They were unevenly paired.

“Zade,” I whispered, channeling my magic. It perked up the moment I envisioned Elias’s fist crashing into Zade’s face. My voice took on that eerie quality, the air in the room seeming to still. Focus . Lull him. Snare him in the trap.

Eternal, I needed to practice. I cursed Mistress Lina for forbidding it.

Still, the fighter’s eyes glazed over, his hands growing lax in my hold. Good. I had him where I wanted him, and it had been…easy. Easier than when I’d used my power on Darren and Charlie’s men. Maybe I grew stronger?

“You’re going to block only half of Elias’s hits and you will not strike his face,” I demanded, searching his slack-jawed features for a sign of understanding. I figured Elias would want this to appear as real a fight as possible, otherwise suspicion might arise.

Zade cocked his head, but he didn’t tear his eyes off of me. He’d been caught, the air around us seeming to hum.

“Yes,” Zade murmured dreamily, the cockiness that had dripped from his tone absent. “I won’t strike his face.”

“And?” I pressed.

“I’ll block half of his hits.”

I patted his sweaty hands, ready to be over and done with it all. “You also won’t remember me coming by, will you?” He shook his head back and forth. “Good boy.”

All right. That wasn’t horrible. Quick and easy, right?

Standing from the couch and untangling myself from the hulking mass of the blond fighter, I wasted no time running for the door.

The last thing I needed was for one of his lackeys to catch me inside.

I had no intention of allowing my anger to boil to the point where I accidentally branded anyone else.

Not that I had an answer for that , either. Fucking Xavier owed me an explanation. If he wasn’t about to damn me to the underworld tonight. Which was a very real possibility.

After leaving a surprisingly docile Zade in his room, thoroughly unsatisfied and glassy-eyed, I made my way to the stands.

Liv worked until midnight, leaving me on my own.

When I’d first come to this city, the overwhelming masses would’ve sent me racing for the door, to anywhere with fresh air and an open sky.

I was proud my nerves settled, and I was able to confidently find my seat close to the ring, ignoring the appreciative stares of several patrons on my way.

I channeled Liv the entire time, pretending to be half as confident as she was.

Still… It felt good to be seen , I couldn’t deny that. To feel beautiful in a way that wasn’t at all related to the Eternal. I felt like Ari . Or who I would’ve been if I were mortal. Was I twisted if I said it all felt divine? Powerful?

Leaning back, I impatiently searched the tunnel Elias would enter through. The crowd shifted in their seats, just as eager to glimpse the fighters that would command the arena.

All day, I’d stayed away, even when Elias would occasionally peek his head inside the blue room to check on me. Though he never strayed past the threshold, his hands gripped the side of the doorframe tightly, enough that his knuckles whitened.

He sent up drinks and sweets from the bakery, but I had longed to see him .

But as much as my body craved his touch, I had to remember tonight was far more important.

Whatever happened would mean life or death, and I suspected Elias felt the weight of that on his shoulders, even with the promise of my magic as support.

I, too, fidgeted in my seat, the thunderous arena growing restless. They were late.

The earlier nerves I’d praised myself for controlling now decided to make an unwanted appearance.

My heart thudded madly against my ribcage, and my chest filled with ice.

Anxiety clawed its way around my throat, and instinctively, I grasped the diamond around my neck.

While I continued to doubt Xavier’s second gift , his ring had saved my life.

I was a fool to wear this necklace, but to my credit, I hadn’t originally planned to put it on.

Once Liv had seen it hidden at the bottom of my satchel when we were changing, she insisted it went too well with the dress not to wear it.

She’d waved my protesting hands aside and looped it around my neck herself.

Once secured, I physically couldn’t take it off. The clasp must’ve broken. I’d have to wear it until I found the tools to remove it. At least it looked pretty .

My worries returned to Zade. I’d heard he was the best fighter in the realm, and if my magic didn’t work as it should, Zade would knock out Elias by round one.

And then, I’d probably do something foolish, like jump in the arena and kick Zade’s ass myself.

Which would be rather satisfying, now that I thought about it.

A roar of thunderous shouting and applause rang in my ears as Elias sauntered into the arena.

He wore red satin shorts, Darren’s boxing gloves emblem embroidered on one side, ‘ The Bloody Fist ’ stitched on the other.

He looked like the angry version of Elias that I’d come to know, and I suspected it worked well to intimidate his opponents.

I gripped the edges of the stone ledge below my seat, my knuckles turning white. This was the moment, the hardest part of his wish to see through. Once over, getting into the Bleeding Hearts’ Tent would be easy.

It was what happened after, that was left to chance. My mind screamed that something was coming—whether the Eternal, or Xavier, or both. Or just my death. That was a possibility, too.

Boos echoed when Zade swaggered into the ring like he owned it.

Decked out in black shorts, not one ounce of fat showed on his body, which was all rippling muscles under the lights of the gas lamps.

Each step he took seemed to shake the ring, and his cunning smile implied he knew damn well that he was formidable.

When I turned to Elias, I found his eyes already resting on me.

A myriad of emotions flickered across his features—determination, longing… fear .

He knew what would occur if he won, and after last night?—

Stop . Time was too precious to think of what-ifs.

I had to focus on the now . But fuck, if those eyes didn’t burn into my very soul, the yellow in them close enough to see.

He’d gotten me one of the best seats in the house, and I swore I glimpsed his lips mouth my name as he set his face into stone.

Darren, decked out in an obnoxious red suit and polished black bowler hat, presented himself beside the two fighters, announcing them for all to hear. The man unquestionably enjoyed the performance and spectacle.

Screams and shouts of encouragement thundered in the space, with some patrons stomping their feet.

It was contagious, the energy. I leaned forward, my eyes never once leaving Elias.

I cursed how my hands grew clammy and sweat dripped down my temples.

I wanted him to win…and not just for the wish’s sake.

He deserved it. The glory and appreciation.

A chance at a new, happier life. Whatever happened tonight, I wanted that for him.

When Elias and Zade knocked fists, Darren left the arena, heading for his usual place above, a flock of assistants and servers nipping at his heels. I noticed the glare he shot Elias before he vanished—a threat if I ever saw one.

The bell sounded, indicating the first round, and black spots floated across my vision when Zade made his move.

I hadn’t expected that first punch?—

Elias went down like a sack of bricks, his cheekbone split.

No no no no

I’d made a mistake. I should’ve told Zade to pull his hits more. To use half his weight. Why hadn’t I added more to the commands?

The crowd exuded a dangerous kind of wildness tonight, and shrieking voices rose in pitch, becoming a beating symphony of exuberant roars and applause. It sounded like the chorus to a bloodbath.

“The Bloody Fist of Persh!” someone called out, and Elias turned their way, struggling to his feet. The crowd caught on, chanting his name, begging him to rise. Elias swiped at his brow as he stood, blood flying to splatter across the ground. Confusion marred his face.

Fuck. He trusted me, and I just got him hurt. Within seconds .

“Fight me, Bloody Fist,” Zade snarled, bouncing on his heels. “I don’t wanna make it look too easy.”

Elias feigned a punch to the left and swerved right, but Zade was already aiming to block him.

Elias didn’t relent.

The next time he struck out, he found Zade’s ribs. A sickening crack met my ears.

The crowd roared.

Zade bared his teeth in response, angling himself and preparing to unleash the full might of his temper. He didn’t like being shown up, especially by someone he obviously deemed unworthy. The way he scowled at Elias raised my hackles, and I gripped the front of the seat before me for dear life.

Thankfully, Elias was quick on his feet, and he dodged Zade’s next assault.

Barely. Moving back into position, Elias executed a series of hits aimed for his rib and lower torso, but Zade infuriatingly blocked his counter-attacks effortlessly.

A haughty grin spread across his face like he’d already won.

This was not at all how I imagined this to go. Zade should’ve been on the losing end.

“Come on, let’s give them something to cheer for, eh, boy?” Zade taunted. Elias snarled at the demeaning term, sliding to the right and preparing to?—

In a blur of ink and limbs, Zade punched Elias square in the jaw.

A scream sounded in my ears before I realized it belonged to me. I watched helplessly as Elias plummeted to the ground for the second time, his cheek pressed against the stone.

“Get up!” I shouted, lurching from my seat. My body swayed as doubts crowded in to make space for fear.

I’d told Zade specifically to avoid Elias’s face, which meant…my magic hadn’t worked. At all .

Elias was fighting without my help.

A cry of alarm rent the air, heard over the noise of the booing crowd. Liv . She had to be watching from above. I couldn’t tear my eyes off the fighters to search for her.

Elias rolled onto his stomach, using his arms to push up and to his feet. He veered to the side, but he quickly righted himself, his confused gaze turning toward the stands, to me .

The chaos swimming in his eyes, how his lips parted in question as he took me in, destroyed me. Did he believe I’d purposefully chosen not to use my power on Zade?

But that didn’t make sense. If anything, Elias had been hesitant to carry out the remaining part of our mission. I had the sinking sensation that he debated walking away right now, and my sisters would be trapped. Especially when I confessed how much I wished to stay in his world.

So what was happening?

With Elias’s eyes aimed at me, Zade used the opportunity to punch Elias’s stomach, the blow causing him to sputter and double over. The sound that escaped him was more animal than human.

The responding noise that escaped my lips was shrill, frantic, and wholly inhuman. I prepared to jump over the edge and into the arena like I craved, and my muscles tensed for the right moment.

But that would just end with Elias’s immediate disqualification. I couldn’t do a damned thing but watch in horror as I wracked my brain for what I’d done wrong. I swear Zade had been under my spell—I had felt it working…

“Come on, boy!” Darren thundered above, his scathing voice beyond that of a threat. “ Move !”

Elias darted to the left, avoiding another punch, and then he spun, propelling himself forward to collide his closed fist with Zade’s nose. It wasn’t a hard hit, but the crowd bellowed its approval. Some blood trickled down Zade’s nostrils, but he wiped it away with a maniacal sneer.

Zade laughed, the sound twisted with unhinged delight. “Now, you’re a dead man, Bloody Fist.”