Page 28 of High Stakes

Before the tip touched me, he was torn off me.

Maru exploded.

I sat up, watching as my trainer kicked Abram’s ass all the way to his own corner, and then picked him up and threw Abram from the ring. My opponent landed flat on his back, his own trainer glaring at Maru like he was the one in the wrong.

Maru... Warrior.

He had no upgrades. He wasn’t the largest in the room, but he was the strongest by far. He was also very pissed, I realized as he turned and headed back to me. I stood and rubbed the blood off my cheek. It didn’t help. I think it just made it worse.

Abram chose that moment to make a slur about Maru, who turned back to him. “What – you didn’t have enough of an ass kicking? You need another?”

Abram’s trainer intercepted his Asset and wisely rushed him out of the room.

Maru came to my side. “He was going to kill you,” he yelled, jabbing a finger in Abram’s direction before helping me up.

“He would’ve stopped,” I weakly argued.

“You and I both know that’s a lie.”

“What is your name?” a deep voice asked, stirring me from my memories.

I blinked until a long black beak came into focus. I tried to push myself up, but found that my energy still hadn’t returned. “Lie still,” he ordered. “Tell me your name.”

Where am I?

“Your name?” the man prompted again.

“Eve.”

He ran the back of his hand over my brow. “You have a fever, Eve. Do you remember being in Edenshire?”

Edenshire? Yes. The bodies. The stench…

Seeing recognition in my eyes, he continued, “Did you touch anyone there? Alive or dead?”

I shook my head, the slight movement jarring my vision. “No.” My throat was parched, the dryness causing my tongue to stick to the roof of my mouth. “Water?”

The man helped me sit up and then brought a cup to my lips. “It’s an herbal tea. It’ll help bring down the fever,” he offered kindly.

I sipped the warm, bitter liquid from the cup he presented. “How long have I been in here?” I glanced over to see that all the men in the cells to my left were watching me, or watching us, rather. The one who’d kept us all up with his rantings stared intently as I took another sip.

“You arrived at this time yesterday. It is just past sunset.”

“One night?” I groaned. It felt like weeks.

The man reached out, and with a gloved hand brushed a sweat-soaked strand of hair off my forehead. How could I be sweaty and freezing at the same time?

“Who are you?” I asked.

“No one important,” he replied softly.

“You’re trying to keep me from dying. I’d say you’re extremely important.”

I could hear his lips curl as he looked down through the mask that covered his face entirely. I wished I could see what he looked like, but given my feverish state, I understood why he couldn’t remove it. It was too risky.

“It’s my pleasure, Milady.”

We sat in silence as I took my time sipping on the warm liquid until the cup was empty and then handed it back to him. “Thank you.”

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