over my pants. When he’s done, he drops the stick back into it, grabs the handle and strains until he lifts it and makes his way out the door.
“This is gross,” I observe.
Anzil is staring at my tits, which glisten, reflecting the dim beams of light that illuminate the room. Smiling since Xyron still has his back turned, I give them a shake and thrust my hips suggestively. I’m rewarded with Anzil’s cock jumping to attention and straining against his pants to break free.
I slip my shirt on. Instead of tucking it in, I tie it into a mid-riff. Anzil grabs the armor he purchased for me and walks over. Silent he pulls it tight and fastens it. Overhead, the crowd goes wild and dirt rains down, sticking to all the oil now covering my skin. This is disgusting. Damn it, I hate this place.
“That match is over,” Xyron says. “You are next.”
“Great,” I say. “You can turn around now.”
“Remember, make it a show,” Anzil says for the millionth time. “Start slow, evaluate your opponent.”
“Could you tell me that again, maybe in smaller words?”
Xyron snorts, turning away. “She is ready.”
“I’m trying to help,” Anzil says.
“I know, but you’ve been saying the same thing again and again,” I say. “I’ve got it.”
Someone comes down the hallway. The Arena Master looks in. He looks like the offspring of a bull and a human, almost a minotaur. He’s shirtless, as is apparently the norm for those around the gladiator arts. His head is shaped like a bull but with a human face. He has two big horns that emerge from his temples then curl down along his jawline. He looks in the room and huffs.
“Female,” he says. “Now.”
I nod and step towards him, but Anzil grabs my arm and spins me around into his waiting arms. He kisses me, deep and passionately. When he parts the kiss, we stare into each other’s eyes.
“I’ll be back,” I quip, doing my best impression of the voice of the actor who played the robot killer in some old vid.
“I know,” Anzil says. “Our story isn’t done yet.”
Something about his words or the look on his face hits me hard. Right in the guts, damn it. Tears well in my eyes. If I stand here any longer, I’m going to bawl, so I nod sharply and spin on my heel. I grab the sword resting by the door and follow the Arena Master into the hall then up the slope to the gates.
Nervous energy fills me, so I bounce on the balls of my feet. There’s a small window with a metal grate in the wooden door on the other side of the iron bars that block entrance to the arena, but I’m too short to see out of it.
I can hear them, though. The crowd is loud and raucous, cheering and booing and stamping their feet. I hate this place. They’re insanely excited to see people get hurt for their amusement. These people need a vid system. Then they can watch movies where it’s all faked for them.
“What a day in the arena!” a voice booms outside the gate. “Citizens of Venta, are you excited?” The crowd roars. “Only two matches left before the end of the day, and this one is something special. A sight to behold!”
“That would be me,” I mutter. “A sight to behold.”
“Humph,” the Arena Master snorts.
“Making her first appearance in the arena, one of the newest fighters to come out of House Batius…”
The crowd roars as if they know who I am already. “KIARA! KIARA! KIARA!”
They know my name, at least. Go them. The wooden door swings open and the iron gate groans as it rises, clanking along what sounds like a rusty track.
“A hew-man, a female, and she’s ready to fight. I give you Kiara!”
I walk out onto the sands, swinging my sword. The crowd cheers. I want to flip them off. I don’t want to play to their sick desires, but Anzil’s words echo in my ears still. The crowd decides the winners. If I displease them, it’s possible to be killed even in non-blood games.
I move through a spinning maneuver that Spthifius taught me, leaping into the air, spinning one direction with the sword slashing, landing lightly on my feet and then repeating the motion in the opposite direction. When I land this time I do a standing back flip, landing on my feet again.
The crowd goes nuts. Their cheers are so loud my ears are ringing. I