“It almost ruined my night. Right until you came into the hotel.”
“Oh, I came, all right,” Sasha said, with a huge grin.
He laughed in response, before letting out a sigh, and standing up. “Well, I need to go and train with Balys today. And… it looks like you better check with my sister how the arrangement of the fight is going.”
“I’ll check later. I’m still going to spend some time with my family today, help Mom clean everything up,” Sasha said. “Then I’ll come right along to help.”
“Of course.”
They stole quite a few more kisses before leaving the hotel. Sasha to her parent’s home. Cyrus to the training arena.
* * *
Sasha’s nerves felt frayed. Two days disappeared so fast. The anxiety of the fight loomed, and Aleera couldn’t contain her own fears, as they entered the arena. Aleera with her mask, Imogen following behind, stocked up with enough ingredients to take down a small army.
The ominous threat of the Infernus family lingered. Of course, they wouldn’t be happy about the fight not being fixed. That they’d have to win or lose like a normal person.
She glanced up to the highest box in the arena, knowing Torag resided there, watching the match under the cover of shadows. A match where Cyrus was scheduled to face off against an Infernus family member’s fighter. One with conditions she’d painfully negotiated so that Torag would actually allow his son to fight and to win or lose without any of the fights being fixed.
The trouble was that meant Cyrus needed to keep up his winning streak. His training with Balys meant a lot, and his unique form offered great advantages. But that didn’t mean he could keep effortlessly win fights or pretend to struggle with them when in fact the fight itself was no trouble at all. Then there were the words from the brother, hissing for him to lose, tothinkabout it.
The crowd itself rustled with anticipation. The Infernus representative was opposite her in the arena, on the edge of the ring, and he locked eyes with her for a brief moment. Anger burned there. Oh yeah. He wasnothappy to see her at all.
She licked her lips, noting Imogen by her side. Ready to counteract any potential magic flung their way.
“And here,” the announcer said, standing in the middle of the arena, “we have a most intriguing fight for everyone tonight!”
Cheers and cries from the crowd. Imogen whispered something under her breath. A spell? A curse? Sasha didn’t know at this point. All shedidknow, however, was that this, even if it didn’t seem like it to the audience – was the biggest fight in Cyrus’ career thus far. “To our left, we have the undefeated, the rising star of the arena, represented by a human. An unusual dragon, with a form unlike anything seen – The Lonely!”This time, a louder sense of applause went through the pit. People who finally acknowledged that The Lonely wasn’t just a novelty – but a real contender, there to stay.
So long as nothing interfered with the deal she’d forged with the father.
“In the right corner, we have a newcomer. They’re known in other circles beyond ours and have made a killing for themselves in the European circuits. Their representative is from the prestigious Infernus family, who are testing their mettle on American soil. I present to you all – Annihilation!”
Sasha almost choked on air with laughter. Annihilation was quite the big-shot name to give a fighter. Sure, maybe something like The Lonely wasn’t exactly exciting or macho, but it certainly had a nicer ring to Sasha’s ears than something that tried too hard. Or perhaps she was just biased toward Cyrus. Biased to the memories she possessed of him that still burned in her veins.
Her fingers gripped the edge of the wall as the two dragons shifted into their forms. The Lonely, with his mottled, sauropod-like form, with broken, misshapen wings that could never lift such a body off the ground. Annihilation, a brilliant, glittering dragon of black and red, with white thronging through his body like veins.
Certainly, an impressive-looking dragon and the crowd seemed to think so as well. They let out gasps at Annihilation’s appearance, and there were more than a few worried glances. It didn’t help that Annihilation washugetoo. Those who had put their faith in The Lonely were likely sweating bullets at this point.
But hadn’t Cyrus proved them wrong every time? Still, nervousness crept in as the two titans circled each other, testing each other’s reflexes, making false lunges toward each other. Sasha kept thinking back to Balys’ observation of Cyrus – how his form was strong, powerful, with more bite power than a normal dragon, more kick and tail power – but also far clumsier andterribleat turning. His flanks were a vulnerable area. His wings simply couldn’t extend far enough to protect him.
Finally, Annihilation surged forward. Impatient from waiting, thirsting for the fight. The Lonely – no – Cyrus – buckled against the blow, using his powerful legs to push back. The dragons strained at one another, snapping, slashing. Cyrus let out a bellowing roar, deeper and stronger than other dragons before flipping Annihilation over his body. The other dragon landed awkwardly; wings stretched out to minimize damage before scooting upright. Barely avoiding a sturdy foot pinning him down.
Annihilation went straight for the flank. As if he knew exactly where to hurt Cyrus the most. Cyrus twisted awkwardly as teeth scraped against his hide, lumbering to gain better leverage, pressing the bulk of his body against the opponent.
“Trouble,” Imogen hissed in a strained voice, snapping Sasha’s attention away from the duel.
“What?”
“A vampire is trying to use the Thrall on you.” Imogen pulled out a bag and flicked out strange, glittering dust in front of her. “They’re not being very subtle about it…”
Sure enough, people close to her seemed strangely dazed as if overcome with a sudden bout of drunkenness. Bile rose in Sasha’s throat at the thought of the imminent danger approaching her. A danger that she didn’t know how to navigate.
Why now? Was it just coincidence or an attempt by the Infernus to try and distract Cyrus by having something happen to her? Imogen sprinkled more dust and chanted something under her breath.
A shadow ripped out of the crowd, and claws extended toward Imogen. It crashed against an invisible barrier and growled.
Sasha saw the flicker of blood-red eyes, abnormally long fangs and claws, a pallid death mask of a face, contorted in hatred. Other members of the crowd backed away from the commotion except for a few dazed individuals. None seemed particularly inclined to help, as the vampire thudded against the barrier again.