“Save it,” Jacob interrupted, his body moving to block Mortize’s view of me. “The fight is starting.”
I couldn’t help my curiosity about what secret he supposedly knew. But, then again, Moritze wasn’t exactly the type to be trusted. More than likely, he was making shit up, attempting to rattle both Callan and me because he was jealous I wanted nothing to do with him.
Forcing the question from my thoughts, I turned to watch the large gates open at the side of the ring, a knot of apprehension clogging my throat as the men were asked the same question as before.
“Do you both understand that this fight is to the death? One winner. One loser. Once you step inside and the gates close, there is no turning back.”
Connor and his opponent both answered that they understood and were allowed down into the ring, their bodies rigid, their expressions hard as the gates closed with a final thump.
The entire arena was so silent you could hear a pin drop, anticipation for blood a vein through the air, a pulsing need for violence so thick it made me feel as if I were drowning in it.
As soon as the first punch was thrown, that silence popped like a balloon, the arena filled with the chorus of men screaming for blood, with the demand for death that they found entertaining.
I watched for the first few minutes, my body jumping when Connor took a hit to the side that knocked him back.
Callan tugged me closer, his arm only a small comfort as I watched the fight continue.
Connor dodged a hit that would have knocked any normal person out and then came back with a punch that must have broken his opponent’s nose. Blood spurted from the man’s face, his neck snapping back so hard that it made mine hurt just to look at it.
The screaming only grew louder as Connor took advantage of the momentary lapse in his opponent’s reflexes, his body moving with such brutal movements that I could feel every hit, swore I could hear every crack of bone.
Fifteen minutes later and the fight was decided, Moritze’s man falling to the ground when Connor proved to be the better fighter.
The screaming grew louder as Connor looked up to scan the audience, hands reaching out to turn down their thumbs in a demand for death.
Unable to watch, I turned my face into Callan’s chest, his hand coming up to cradle the back of my head as Connor executed a man for entertainment.
I knew it was done when the audience erupted in bloodthirsty shouts, their voices immediately calling for the prize that would be brought out.
Beside us, Moritze cursed beneath his breath, Callan’s chest shaking with quiet laughter to hear it.
Leave it to Jacob to be the person to say what everyone was thinking. “Something wrong, Moritze? I’m starting to think you should start betting against the corpses you keep walking in here. You might actually make some money.”
“Fuck off,” Moritze barked as he turned to leave.
I wouldn’t look down. The audience was still screaming, which meant Connor hadn’t walked off with the woman brought in.
It didn’t ease my thoughts to know that those women were doing it willingly. Regardless of whether it was all an act or not, people were still celebrating not only the death of a fighter, but the rape of a woman in the end.
Callan pressed a finger beneath my chin and tipped my face to his.
“I hate this,” I admitted. “All of it.”
Amber eyes met mine with apology written behind them. I doubted the fights would ever end, but I hoped I could stop the prize portion one day in the future.
Brushing the hair from my face, Callan leaned over to press a kiss to my forehead, his eyes lifting to lock on Franklin. Distrust filtered through the amber color, rage a simmering heat beneath his skin.
I didn’t like the naked blade of the expression on Callan’s face, but rather than asking about it in front of everybody, I leaned against him instead, my eyes dropping down to the ring just as the gates were once again closing.
A feeling of dread rattled through me, but for what reason I wasn’t sure.
There was too much at stake. Too many games. Too many secrets and lies.
But then, when I thought about it, that had always been what it felt like in my family.
I decided right then and there that once the situation with Moritze was handled I would work to change what