Page 63 of Aria's Desire

Kix smiled ever so slightly, his pretty eyes sparkling with pride. “Speak with them. Ask them about themselves, tell them about you. We do not ask or expect you to leap into forever right away, only that you stop fighting against your heart. You are the strongest being I have ever had the privilege to know. You can do this, myaessa.”

“Okay.” She drew in a slow breath and nodded. “Okay, I can do that. I’ll ask them on a date.”

“What day?” Tirox asked.

She and Kix both laughed. After explaining what a date was, the three of them set to coming up with a plan. It probably should’ve been weird to plan dates with other men with the help of her husbands but… it wasn’t.

Chapter 33

Aria stepped into the training area for the army with all four of her men by her sides. Tirox and Kix had ‘officially’ shown up shortly after their meeting that morning with Ishtal.

The Queen hadn’t been thrilled Aria had her mates spying around her castle, but she understood and, as Aria anticipated, once she learned what they’d found, she wasn't angry at all.

She was, however, distraught to discover her people were capable of such atrocity. Aria wasn’t. No species was one hundred percent made up of honorable, trustworthy people. Hell, look at the horrific shit humans do to one another. Thankfully, Ishtal’s dismay quickly gave way to a quiet, simmering fury. Sadness wouldn’t get them anywhere, but anger was useful.

They now had a plan, one that would put all the culprits in the same area. Unfortunately, Aria didn’t fucking like the plan.

Ishtal wanted to hold a gladiator tournament.

Her logic was sound. It was apparently something they did fairly often and would be a damn near sure fire way to gather those women in one place without raising any suspicions.

The games were an opportunity for males to assess females and a chance for females to scope out unmated males. According to Ishtal, those five women in particular would take advantage of the chance to see and be seen, to flaunt their positions, and to pit some of their males in the games.

Aside from that, everyone would already be gathered to, first, learn of their crimes then listen to the speech she and Ishtal had prepared. Just as important, it would give those still leery of the alliance a chance to see Aria and her men fight and provide the soldiers a chance to begin learning the tactics they’d need in order to be of any use in this war.

So, yes, the logic was sound. It was asking her men, who’d very recently been enslaved gladiators, to fight in another fucking tournament that was the problem.

Aria flat out refused at first. Not at the idea of a tournament. It was a good plan, but she wouldn’t ask her men to fight. She would enter the tournament alone. There was no need for her men to do so, no need to take the chance of dredging up painful memories for them.

All four men had looked tickled pink at her protectiveness, gazing at her softly, but they’d reassured her they were fine with it. Aria still didn’t like it, but she trusted them to know their own minds and knew they wouldn’t agree to fight unless they were truly okay with it.

So, here they were, standing on yet another field of sand, though, this time, none of them had weapons. That had been a relief, at least. The tournaments they held here were only about showing off one’s skill. There were no weapons, no killing, and only mostly minor injuries at the end.

Ishtal, dressed in the most elaborate get-up Aria had seen her in to date, strolled onto the field and addressed the massive crowd of spectators. Most were packed into rows upon rows of seating carved into the surrounding mountain faces, but there were also throngs of people standing around the perimeter of the arena and tents set up where the females of high rank lounged with their harems.

That was where the culprits would be.

Aria only half listened to Ishtal speak, most of her focus on scanning the occupants of those tents, looking for her targets. Finding them, she smoothly transferred her gaze to the masses above, not wanting to rouse their suspicions. She spotted more than a few people she recognized from the villages, telling her the majority, if not all, of the population was present.

Ishtal had mentioned she’d be inviting the entirety of the Queendom to witness the tournament, so that wasn’t surprising.

Eyeing the lineup of contestants, she assessed them, looking for any that appeared promising. There was a pretty even mix of females and males. Most were soldiers, obvious from the way they carried themselves, but there were some villagers and males she recognized as castle workers.

Feeling Tirox shift restlessly next to her, she peered up at him. Catching her questioning look, he grinned. “It has been too long since I had a good fight. I hope these people are fiercer than they appear.”

Aria bit back a wry smile and remained silent, having just thought something similar herself. Her demon wasn’t the only one feeling the adrenaline rush of an imminent fight. Her pulse was steady, but her fingertips tingled with impatience. She could feel the same antsy anticipation from Kix and see it on Sin and Rellik’s faces.

She didn’t want the fight over too quickly, either. Tirox was right, it had been too long since she’d had the opportunity to let loose a little. Alittle, being the operative word.

Speaking of…

“Remember, we’re trying to make an impression, so don’t take it too easy on them, but no maiming, either.”

“Yes, yes, I remember. I will not hurt them… too badly,” Tirox rumbled.

His comment was met by chuckles from all her men. Biting back her own laugh, she gave them all a look, silently telling them to behave. Rellik answered with a wink, Kix gave her a wolfish smile, and Sin nodded almost nervously. Knowing he was worried about staying in control, she reached out and ran her fingers over his arm.

“You’ve got this. If you’re worried, just don’t let them hit you.”

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