Page 32 of Xeda

A group of Sal's soldiers was already there to greet her, waiting to let the fighters out.

One by one, she opened their doors, and they each popped out to form a line, knowing what to do from the previous trials they had participated in. She drew over to Xeda's cell last, seeing him pacing in the shadows.

"Ready?" she asked.

He bowed his head.

She opened the door and unlatched the chains. He lurched out into the light, towering over her. The guards drew back and made a circle around them, then together they headed for the arena.

A crowd had already formed around the circumference of the arena, mostly consisting of staff that were off duty until later in the evening as well as a handful of staff from the houses of Sal's friends and business partners. Sal and his family and friends sat above in their own shaded box to watch everything below. The judges of the games were there with him, looking down on her critically. They talked and mingled while staff offered them food and drinks.

The other fighters stood off to the side while Ophilia brought Xeda to stand before Sal and the others. Sal came forward with Cristan standing beside him. His son fixed her with a sneer as he glared down at her.

"All right, everyone. These are Cristan's first ever games. He will be representing my house this year, and I am beyond confident he will win this. But first, we must test our fighter and show the judges what House Salimar has to offer." He waved to Ophilia to begin as everyone clapped behind him.

Taking a deep breath, Ophilia turned to Xeda. Using her remote, she unlatched the belt from his waist, letting his tail unravel and fall at his feet. Next, she took off the collar and the cuffs, then the gloves and socks on his hands and feet. Xeda didn't so much as flinch, eager to be free of them. Finally, she unlocked the muzzle from his face and carefully slid it off him, letting it fall to the ground. Xeda worked his jaw, showing off his midnight black teeth, sharp as a viper’s. His tail swung back and forth, curling before her.

Now that he was completely free of his binds, Ophilia offered her hand to him. "Take my hand, Xeda, so I can show them how well-trained you are."

The fire in his eyes made her tense, but she refused to take back her statement. He knew Sal and the others had to be convinced first. Had to know he wasn't a threat.

He stepped closer, glaring down at her. When she thought he might swipe her hand away, he instead put it on top of hers.

She let out a slow breath, then grabbed his wrist and lifted his heavy arm as high as she could, showing him off to the judges and the crowd. She turned him around once for everyone to see, and they clapped and shouted in response, clearly shocked that he was actually letting her turn him and wasn't eating her instead.

"Wonderful, Ophilia, really good." Sal clapped.

As she turned Xeda back to face Sal, she noticed Cristan was gone from his side and was now walking toward her.

"Cristan, wait," she started to protest.

"He's my fighter, not yours," Cristan said as he approached, waving at his people with a shit-eating grin on his face. "So, he needs to show some respect to me. So, go on, vrisha, kneel down."

Ophilia went deathly still. She could feel the heat of Xeda's rage at her back. He started to hiss, and she whirled around to face him, putting a hand on his chest to stop him from lashing out.

Xeda bared his teeth at the boy, looking ready to kill.

"Xeda," she whispered. "Xeda, look at me." It took him a moment to cast his icy glare down at her instead of Cristan. She looked back, pleading silently. "You have to. For your sake. Please."

"Come on, vrisha," Cristan said behind her, laughing. "Be a good doggy."

She could see it took all his will to let go, to see beyond his fury. A deep guttural growl lingered in his chest. If he didn't do as Cristan wanted, the judges might not consider him tamed enough for the games, which meant another year of waiting. Or worse, Sal getting impatient and sending him to the labs.

Xeda's face twisted into something awful. Slowly, he lowered himself onto the ground even as he continued to growl and bare his teeth, looking as if the movement pained him. He knelt down, his chest rising and falling as she could see him fighting not to leap up and rip Cristan's throat out.

Cristan whooped with delight, and the staff and his family cheered. He bowed to the crowd like the idiot that he was.

"All right, all right, Cristan, you made your point." Sal laughed quietly, making some offhand joke to the judges she didn't hear. Cristan proudly walked off, back up to the box to stand by his father's side. "Off to a good start. But it's fighting we want, right?" Sal gestured to the fighters. "Bring in the bastard champion. And let's really see what this supposed warrior can do."

They brought into the arena the bastard champion—a large corax with a mouth like a great white shark's, snapping at the others as he passed by. They ordered the other fighters into the arena as well, and Ophilia knew they meant to have Xeda fight them all at once. This would be his ultimate test.

If she was worried it would be too much for him to handle, those worries vanished into thin air as soon as Xeda rose from his knees. The look on his face told her where his rage was now centered.

Quickly, she went and placed herself behind the short wall encompassing the inner ring of the arena. She watched as Xeda stalked toward the fighters and, as they began their fight, took out all his fury on them with a wild savagery like none she had yet to see.

CHAPTERTEN

Xeda

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