opponent. Her chest heaves as sweat pours down her face. My cock is so hard I could come; the slightest touch and I’d blow. The throbbing ache pulses in time with the pounding of my heart. I’ve been a warrior my entire life and yet I’ve never been more impressed or turned on by a display of physicality.
Silence lies heavy over the sands. The guards groan in pain. Their armor clanks as they roll on the ground. Kiara straightens, tilting her head up towards Dominus. A slow clap drifts down from the balcony.
“Impressive!” Dominus says. “Tell me, human, are your missing companions warriors like you?”
I know where his mind is going. I know, having seen Adeline train, that she is every bit as impressive. It is obvious he hasn’t been paying attention to them. I close my eyes. An empty feeling fills my head, swelling from dark depths, and with it comes despair. Despair of our situation, of being trapped, our lives playthings for those who have power over us.
Power that I will find a way to escape. The sooner the better. I will get us free. The hard steel of resolve creates waves of cold that wash through me. I open my eyes, and my certainty of course is unassailable.
I will get her free. All of them.
“No,” Kiara answers Dominus. “They each have their own skills, but all of them are mine.”
The way she lays her claim, the dominance clear in her voice, causes my dick to throb anew. Watching her, I smile. She is a woman worthy of admiration, of love, of all my attention. I know, right now, she is the one. No other woman will ever warm my bed or find a place in my heart. No other woman can compare.
“Ah, that is a shame,” Dominus says.
“Did I prove my point?” Kiara asks. Off to one side, I see Ductores’ grip tighten on his whip, and he takes a step forward. “Dominus?”
Kiara must have noticed, as she adds the honorific to her question, but still she stares up defiant as ever.
“Yes, yes,” Dominus says. “Point proven. What is the point of having the most highly trained warriors in the galaxy if I don’t put them to use outside the arena, heh, Ductores?”
“Yes, Dominus,” Ductores agrees reluctantly.
“Make it so,” he says, and I hear the sound of his feet walking away over my head.
“Dominus!” I call out, stepping back onto the sands. He looks over his shoulder, the annoyance clearly written on his face. “I would accompany.”
“Fine,” he says. “But Ductores, if I lose either of my investments, there will be a reckoning.”
“Yes, Dominus,” Ductores says, glaring at both of us.
Judging by the look on Ductores’ face, we won’t have to wait for that reckoning any longer than it takes for him to get us alone.
Chapter 10
Kiara
I sense his approach long before I hear him. The air is so thick with tension, even Medicus’ hands are shaking as he attends my wounds. I close my eyes, keeping my attention focused. They don’t use anesthetics on Krix, at least not on slaves. Pain makes you stronger. That’s the running theme of Krix.
“What were you thinking?” Ductores’ voice booms off the stone walls accented by the door slamming open.
“Hello, Ductores,” I say, not turning to face him.
I keep my gaze on the wall ahead of me. I’m not going to change my mind, especially now that I have Dominus’ permission. Once I’m outside I can fill in more of my map while trying to get back Scarlet and the others. Another step towards our eventual freedom.
Ductores’ glare warms my back. I have no doubt he is trying to stare a hole through me. I’m not going to give him the satisfaction of reacting. He seems like a good man, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s part of the problem. As far as I can tell, he believes in this stupid gladiatorial system. He thinks there is honor to be won in these games. Games they play with people’s lives. The casual disregard for life is insane. How can this place consider itself to be civilized when their major source of entertainment is violence and death?
Ductores would be a powerful ally, but he’s too entrenched. I can’t risk putting my trust in him. In the marines, I was drilled to be single-minded about my mission. Anything not related to the success of the mission is a distraction to be ignored. Ductores is too much of a question mark