Page 4 of The Games of Madmen

Found who?

Me?

“And who’s that?” she asks, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“My brother.”

I fell in love for the first time that day.

Not a sexual kind of love.

A meeting of souls kind of love.

My brother.

My soulmate.

Well,oneof my soulmates anyway.

Turns out I had another.

Wehad another.

Little did I know that they would both break my heart in the end.

Chapter Two

Days before the annual V GAMES…

Zahkar

Twenty-Eight-Years Old…

The Games. An arena that offers an annual night of survival, debauchery, pleasure, violence, death…and not always in that order. A game for the rich and one our Alyona is part of.

That woman arrived here with a designer purse and a “fuck it” attitude. She then trained like a demon to get herself ready for these twisted games like her life depended on it. And it does. Dammit, we can’t let her die in there.

She’s being forced to play in these games and to fight for her family’s debts. But she is far too damn precious to see perish in such brutality.

This is why letting people in is a problem. They either hurt you or die. Sometimes both.

At first, she burrowed her way under our skin like a bloodthirsty tick. She was our newest itch to be scratched—a fiery hot flavor we had to indulge in. But, somehow, sheburied herself much deeper than anyone ever before. Now, she’s spreading roots in our hearts, like a winter jasmine thriving amongst the cold, bringing vibrant color into our dark world.

Beauty among madness.

Calm within chaos.

Love surrounded by hate.

Me and Rodion have always shared. Ever since that day he took me home with him. From day one we’ve been two halves of a whole who share bodies—both male and female, and everything in between—but we've never shared feelings outside of the bond we have for each other.Until her.

And her delicate life hangs dangerously in the hands of monsters.

My chest aches and I rub at it absently. There are a million thoughts racing through my brain. “We could offer to pay the debt,” I say aloud, trying and failing to work out an answer that doesn’t involve our girl dying. “We have money. Tons of it.”

Rodion is silent for a beat as he watches Alyona take another hit from our cousin, Ven, who’s in the ring training her. This is her last practice run before The Games in a few days. The clock is ticking.

“They don’t want the money,” he grumbles. “It’s never about the money with the Vasilievs. It’s always power with them. Their precious fucking reputation.”