Page 80 of Keeping Sarah

I was released into the open pit, with no other competitors in sight. The weapons were different from my first pit fight—not fully edged like last time. Practice weapons could be just as deadly, though. They only needed enough force behind them.

Most of the weaponry was basic, with no lances or long hardware. I selected a clawed glove, a metal buckler-style shield, and a short sword, then positioned myself at the farthest space on the pit floor. I wasn’t sure if the other fighters planned to gang up on me, or take each other out before they focused on me, but either way, being far away at the start of things would give me my best advantage.

Without warning, the large tunnel door opened, and the people in the stands cheered.

Strange—last time, the flags dropped before the fight started. Why did they change it?

When I saw my competition, I knew why they had not dropped the flags. Skenthas didn’t give a fuck about flags or protocol.

Sarah had once called them furry elephants, but that was a gentle description of what charged at me. The beast was the largest skentha I had ever seen. Three times my height, covered in gray fur, with tusks like tree branches. It galloped toward me at full speed. No rider, no one to hold it back. Loose dirt clouded behind it.

Halfway across the pit, the animal stopped and roared while it stared at me. The crowd cheered for their beast. I had heard that roar before—in a jungle during a training exercise at the academy. It was the only time I had seen my C.O. frightened. He told us that meant a skentha was celebrating in anticipation of a kill.

He also told us not to run. That our best defense was to stand our ground.

Heeding that advice now, I stayed exactly where I was, on the far edge of the pit with the high wall at my back, studying its every step as it restarted its charge. Its left leg had the slightest limp. I wouldn’t have noticed it from the stands, but being directly in front of the beast, the impediment was obvious.

My blood pumped in my ears, quieting the crowd for me. I was glad of it. Fewer distractions that way. The beast came close enough that the ground shook at my feet, but I stood firm. When it closed in too fast to stop in time, I leapt to my right, so it couldn’t pivot on that limping left foot. The beast smashed into the wall behind me, crumbling some of the mortar and destabilizing the arena.

The beast fell to the ground, shaking its head.

I used its fur to pull myself up onto its shoulder. From there, I straddled the neck and pierced the back of its skull withmy sword in one quick motion. The beast slumped, dead in an instant.

I scrambled to the ground, as the rest of the beast collapsed. When I turned around, the crowd needed a moment to realize the skentha was dead.

Then, someone shouted, “Champion!” and the crowd chanted it together, cheering for me.

I threw off my weapons and shield and waved to them, hoping if I was more of a show-off, they would like me more as Jason had suggested.

Suddenly, I was whisked away by Jason and a group of scantily clad women. “You’re on your way to see Rex Terian. That was one hell of a brief match, Champion.”

“Should I have wasted the crowd’s time? I thought you always scheduled multiple fights. I’m sure they’ll be pleased.”

“It was a compliment,” he said. “Come this way. Now that you’re favored by the people, they want a chance to greet you.”

The path from the fighting pit was littered with people from the crowd. Both men and women reached out to touch me. Some stroked my bare, oiled muscles, while others tried to grab my cock. Jason’s women coyly swatted their hands away but missed most of them.

Omen was mixed in with the crowd, and she subtly passed me a vial. I didn’t even give her a nod of acknowledgement—we couldn’t afford to look suspicious. When another man grabbed at my cock, I pushed his hand away and used that as an excuse to tuck the vial into my loin leather as I readjusted it into place.

The stairs to Rex’s tower were quieter—no crowd was allowed on his level. We finally reached the top, where Rex’s private viewing box was. Jason said, “This is now his throne room, so be respectful.”

I refrained, just barely, from rolling my eyes. “He sits on a throne now?”

“Many things have changed since you were here last, Champion. Don’t gawk.”

I nodded and Jason opened the door. There she was. My consort. I smiled and lurched forward, but Jason kicked the back of my knee to force me down.

“I said to be respectful, didn’t I?” he snapped.

Sarah gasped and leapt down from the throne and helped me to my feet. Then, she glared at Jason and scolded him. “You will never do that to my companion again. Do you hear me?”

The other man’s eyes went wide. “He…the rumor is true?”

“Yes,” she snarled as I faced him.

“My apologies,” he said with a bowed head.

“It’s fine,” I said, shrugging him off. “Barely noticed a thing.”

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