Not everyone in the crowd noticed the commotion – most were still fixated on the developing fight, gasping and cheering and booing at whatever the hell happened. No one would care if a human got attacked and hurt. The bile crystallized into terror, watching Imogen bow down under the assault, holding up a barrier that could not last.
“That’s quite enough of that.” A furious woman grasped the vampire. One that Sasha remembered with a jolt of surprise.
“Amara!”
The succubus let out an unearthly sound, her hair crackling, her eyes glowing a dangerous orange. “I don’t seem to recognize you… perhaps you need a reminder of the rules.”
Reminding the vampire of the rules included pressing them down onto the floor and beating them senseless. Sasha wasn’t the biggest fan of violence administered in this way, but she had to admit there was a certain satisfaction from seeing this occur.
A tremendous roar ripped through the crowd. Sasha’s tension evaporated upon seeing Cyrus stand over the fallen Annihilation, his large wings pinned underneath, his teeth upon the sinuous neck.
“Seems we have a winner!” the announcer bellowed, from the edge of the arena into a speaker. “The Lonelyshowed Annihilationthat the standards in this arena are a little different from what he’s used to!”
This statement came with hoots of laughter, of cheering. People cheering forCyrus.Sasha beamed and she felt her heart swelling watching as Cyrus lifted his head, taking in the crowd cheering for him.
“Damn,” Imogen breathed. The blood witch had her attention on the pulverized vampire, showing some clear admiration for the succubus who delivered such an ass-kicking. “Usually, when we have knights in shining armor, I didn’t think they came in the form of a succubus.”
Amara stood up, rubbing her knuckles. “You’re welcome,” she said, eyes hard but mouth smiling. “I think this one slunk in with that Infernus riff-raff. I really,reallydislike cheating.” Two security guards came to drag away the vampire, who let out a whispering moan. Right before he ended up being dragged away.
With the vampire threat dealt with, Imogen and Sasha to relaxed as the crowd cheered for Cyrus. It left Sasha feeling full as Cyrus did a lap around the arena in his bulky form, actingproudof his form rather than ashamed and angry because of it.
A huge improvement from before.
He shifted back into his human form, complete with the mask, and bowed before everyone before striding out of sight.
Sasha greeted him in the little office, out of the way of the public eye. Imogen stood guard outside. He scooped her up in a hug, breathless with exhilaration.
“Did you hear them all?” he whispered into her ear, his arms warm and welcoming around her. “People actually cheering for me. And it all got so much better since you became the face of us. Thank you. Thank you so much.”
His joy was so infectious that Sasha felt a little bad about telling Cyrus about the vampire attack. Which he hadn’t noticed, having been so caught up in the brawl.
“What?” He stepped away, though his hands were on her shoulders. “A vampire attacked?”
“It was taken care of, don’t worry. Imogen protected me, and then that succubus assistant I told you about leaped in and gave him a good beating before security tossed him out.” She decided to not mention she had missed a great chunk of the fight due to this little distraction. After all, Cyrus seemed so proud of what he’d done. And seeing him smile warmed her own heart, relieving it of its burdens.
Something in his expression made her want to kiss him over and over, and a jolt of desire rippled through her stomach, transferring an electrical tingling through her fingers to his.
There was magic in his touch, his gaze, his presence, and she didn’t think she’d be able to get over it so easily. The memories of him with her parents for Thanksgiving still glowed brightly. Including all the embarrassing questions that her parents and sister had thought appropriate to accost him with, of course. Because that was what siblings were for, right?
He had the same thoughts it seemed, which ended up with rapid kisses between the two of them, a desperation to be in close contact. Her heart fluttered like a bird’s wings, and they embraced each other in joyful silence for a moment until breaking apart.
“Well, you absolutely kicked that guy’s ass,” she said with a breathy laugh. “Serves them right for trying to get your brother to rig it, even after the deal I got in place with your dad. And then they tried to attack me to distract you during the fight…”
“I’ll let my father know. He can’t be happy with that,” Cyrus said. “Although knowing him, he likely wouldn’t care if something like that happened, as it’d prove my defenses were too poor or something.”
“No, this will be an attack on his pride. Especially if you explain how your brother tried to sneak to you on the side, overruling your father’s decision.”
“True, true,” he said, considering her point with a little smile. “That’s very true…” He leaned forward to kiss her again, one finger delicately propping up her chin. “I’m so glad you’re okay, though. I really did have no idea what was happening.”
“It’s okay. Imogen did well. And the succubus, she was really helpful. Maybe we can try and recruit her on the side as well.”
He nodded thoughtfully at that. “Never hurts to have more allies. If you think she might be trustworthy in that regard. We just have to be careful to whom we extend our hand. Not everyone has our best interests at heart, and that’s the unfortunate truth.”
“I have them, though,” she whispered, reaching for a slow, languid kiss, feeling the heat of his breath on her lips. “My interests lie in you.”
He drew away at that, eyes shining, a slow, boyish grin spreading over his features as if he struggled to contain his joy. “My interests lie in you too.”
At those words, her heart did an almost painful lurch in her chest. Words that had a powerful effect on her psyche. She moved and rested her head against his chest, finding it difficult to stare into those beautiful eyes for too long.