Page 26 of Us Dark Few

More people than usual stood around the crater, gazing intently at the fight. Her eyes widened when she saw who was in the pit. They weren’t prisoners—they were two Braderhelm guards.

“They let guards fight each other?” Khalani asked Serene.

She didn’t recognize either guard, but they didn’t hold back as they rammed their fists into each other’s faces. The crowd cheered as the two men started wrestling, each trying to gain the upper hand. One was trying to go for an armbar while the other was trying to wrap his legs around the other guard’s neck.

“The guards can’t take all their aggression out on the prisoners. They still need some type of slave labor. This is a way to channel it,” Serene explained.

Blood sprayed as a fist connected with a nose, the crunch audible from where she stood. Prisoners cheered and hollered, their noises closing in around her as her vision shifted. Khalani imagined blood dripping from her body, her life ending in violence as a blade slashed her throat.

That was her fate if the guard found her. Would there even be a body left?

Her breaths came faster as the crowd pressed around her, clamoring for a closer look at the brutality.

Claustrophobia mixed with her fear—a deadly combination. Her palms were sweaty, and it felt like she was being touched all over, as if something was crawling beneath her skin. She realized she was having a panic attack again as bile crept up her throat.

She turned to Serene. “I’m feeling a little sick.”

“You want me to come with?”

“No, no.” Khalani waved her hand. “I’ll be fine. Just need a little air. I won’t leave the pit. Promise.”

Serene assessed her with a frown but eventually said, “Okay.”

Khalani didn’t waste another second and walked through the crowd, away from the fighting pit. Everyone’s attention was riveted toward the center.

“Pin him, Guard Walker!”

“Mason’s so weak. He wouldn’t last a second on the surface.”

The cacophony of voices surrounded her as she pushed through the prisoners. Khalani raced through an opening, and out of nowhere, a leg appeared in front of her. Before she could react, she tripped over it, catapulting to the ground. Pain ran up her arm as she landed on her elbow.

“Get used to staying on the ground,” Dana’s arrogant voice sounded above her.

Not again.

Khalani quickly stood up to face her opponent, ignoring the shooting pain as she put weight on her palm. Dana had her hands planted on her hips and wore an ugly smile.

“What’s your problem?” Khalani growled, ready to explode.

Dana scoffed. “Youare my problem. Do you think screwing the guards will grant you favor? It won’t.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Dana stepped forward, her mouth twisting cruelly. “I saw you trying to get friendly with Captain Steele in the pit your first day. You are sadly mistaken if you think he’ll help your situation by getting close to him.”

Friendly was not a term she would use to describe her interactionswith the cold Captain. The thought of viewing a guard, especially Takeshi, in any positive way made her want to vomit.

“Then you must have watched him taser me. Getting close to Captain Steele is thelastthing on my mind. I have no idea why you would like any guard, but there is zero competition from me. So, you can back off.” She lifted her hands, a last chance for reason and peace.

“Like him?” Dana gave an ugly sneer. “You’re even dumber than you look. You have no idea of the plotting and games that go on down here. Get in my way again, and I’ll kill you.”

Her blood boiled. There were only so many times that her life could be threatened in one day before she snapped.

“I’d tell you how I really feel about your so-called games,but I wasn’t born with enough middle fingers to express myself,” Khalani snarled, ending all pretense of civility.

Dana’s mouth opened, and she quickly snapped it shut. She leaned closer to Khalani as her eyes transformed into daggers. “I would sleep with two eyes open if I were you, 317.” Dana walked past her, bumping into her shoulder. Khalani’s eyes narrowed as Dana disappeared through the crowd.

The harder she tried to keep a low profile, the more enemies she made. Everything was going horribly wrong. She scrubbed a hand over her hair.

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