A Shade of Vampire 79 A Game of Death - Bella Forrest Page 0,38
“Rimian or not, that boy can pack some death in his hits. As you’ve already noticed, I put my faith in him, along with a gold coin.”
“How big will the pot get?” I wondered aloud.
He nodded around the arena, showing me the dozen bookies still collecting coins from the public. “Most of these people are betting on Fenyx. If he wins, they’ll get a few pieces of gold and silver, at best. Those who put their coins, no matter how small, on the Rimian underdog… well, they stand to make a small fortune. With so many bookies taking bets, the pot will probably hit a hundred thousand gold coins before the fight starts.”
“I take it that’s a lot.”
“It’ll buy you a nice villa in the city center.” Kalon chuckled.
We were soon left without words as the arena began its preparations for the tournament finale. Stewards and pit staff cleared the sanded area, using long-handled pitchforks with short teeth to comb the dirt and make the surface as smooth as possible.
The referees were seated on their platform, behind the announcer, clad in expensive silks and boasting some of the biggest jewels I had ever seen. Unlike previous tournaments, the Lord and Lady Supreme were not in attendance, and neither were their closest officials—I couldn’t see Zoltan or Petra or Corbin anywhere. The recent events had definitely diminished their appetites for public spectacles of bloody violence. It made me wonder, too… where were they? What were they doing?
“There’s a lot on your mind,” Kalon said, noticing my silence and, most importantly, my frown. The sun mask kept my nose and mouth hidden, but he could tell a lot from my eyes alone. I looked at him, feeling my nerves soften just a bit.
“Can you blame me?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Not at all. But what has already happened cannot be changed. The best you can do is keep moving forward. Seek retribution. Focus on justice.”
“Even if said justice takes me to people who are close to you?” I replied.
Kalon seemed to think about it for a moment. “This isn’t about me, Esme. If anyone dear to me has anything to do with what happened to Nethissis, rest assured, I will assist you in exacting your revenge. I did not sanction any of this, and therefore it’s my duty to act as an extended hand of justice.”
“Your speech is impressive. But I do wonder…”
“You wonder what?” he asked, leaning closer ever so slightly, and so slowly that I barely noticed until I felt his breath gently brush against the slim and delicate fabric of my sun mask.
“Do you mean it?” I asked. “I wouldn’t fault you if my investigation stirred some negative feelings.”
My voice faded slowly as Kalon looked deep into my eyes. There wasn’t much sun breaching the reddish haze, and he’d pulled a large umbrella above us for some shade, but a ray of light still found its way across his face. I marveled at how it danced on his pale skin, making it shimmer discreetly.
“Wherever the truth takes us, I’ll take it,” he replied after a long silence. I could feel him digging into my very soul, yet I couldn’t tear my gaze from him. My heart pounded, nervous and restless, but I welcomed the sensation. He made me feel alive in ways I hadn’t thought were even possible.
“Ladies and gentlemen!” The announcer’s voice shot through the Blood Arena, finally breaking our moment. “Welcome to the grand finale of the forty-seventh mixed tournament!”
We turned to face the impending show as Fenyx Oak and Trev Blayne came out of the fighters’ pits and walked to the center of the arena. The crowd roared and clapped as they stood in the middle, facing one another. I heard several Rimians calling out Trev’s name, and I wondered whether they’d dared to bet on him. The odds were against him, but that could also mean a spectacular prize if he defeated Fenyx.
The contrast between fighters was stark. Trev was tall for his species, well-built but still wiry and agile, clad in dark blue armor with slim chainmail underneath and black leather straps keeping the metallic plates affixed to his calves, thighs, torso, and arms. His helmet was adorned with strange, long feathers that reached down to his waist, in shades of iridescent blue and gold. His weapon of choice was a single short sword—it looked sharp but also light, perfect for close combat, as it would allow him to easily move around his