Page 53 of Xeda

Kaxek walked off, turning his back on him. Xeda was still working through what Kaxek said, and he forgot about Cristan above him. He looked up and saw he was gone. They all were, including Ophilia. Only Sal looked down on him now.

He didn't say a word. Maybe he was too scared to. Or too pissed. It didn't matter. He didn't intimidate Xeda, even if he held some power over him.

Sal only glared down at him in warning before he walked off with the rest. Xeda watched as the wardens and their guards swarmed him.

“Xeda of House Salimar, you will be given a penalty for your actions today,” said Warden James. “We will be escorting you to your room now.”

He was about to argue that he wouldn’t go anywhere until he saw Ophilia, but then she appeared from the stairway leading from the box. The look she gave him was pure disappointment, and he couldn’t blame her. But he couldn’t be sorry either.

They led him back with Ophilia next to him. He said nothing, knowing there was no point. He thought about Kaxek’s words and how incredibly vulnerable he felt, how close he was to breaking. Hating how right Kaxek was.

CHAPTERTWENTY

Ophilia

Ophilia stood close to the glass, looking down from the balcony to the small training field below. Xeda stalked along one side as he watched the set of fighters in combat. Practicing only, not drawing blood. He, along with the finalists and the low end fighters the wardens had brought, had been stuck together in the small space to test their will to not tear each other apart. An open training event for trainers and family to watch as they had their morning meal.

Ophilia stood alone to one side of the balcony, ignoring the other trainers and house members that moved and talked around her. Most of them hardly took notice of the fighters below, too deep in conversation instead, about the next game or about their trade. Sal and his lot were nearby, but his sons were missing this time. Likely too hungover or drugged up from drops to come down from their apartments. She was glad she didn't have to hear another complaint or snide remark from Cristan. It was all she had to endure last night when they held a private dinner in Sal's unit.

The showing had been a disaster. After the wardens had escorted her and Xeda back to their room, she tried to ask what had gone through Xeda's head. She knew he was angry at the situation, but his behavior had changed since the first game. He seemed more and more ready to lose his composure. To strike out and hurt someone. She wondered how much the game must have affected him. Or if it was something else she had missed.

"I just want this done," Xeda had answered when she had confronted him. He paced before her, unwilling to look at her. "I'm sick of waiting, sick of these people, sick of having to play nice."

"I understand. But Xeda, you put everything at risk today. They could have disqualified you for what you did. Now you'll take a penalty, and that sets you back," she explained. "I know this is hard—"

He growled and turned from her, starting to take off his armor. "Don't think I don't know that," he hissed. "You have no idea."

She grew quiet, watching him. "Then what?" she asked after a long moment. "What can I do?"

He didn't say anything. He kept his back to her, and she so badly wanted to rush at him and force him to turn around and look at her.

"Please. Xeda, tell me what I can do."

He dropped his shoulder pad on the ground. He bowed his head, and she waited for him to tell her something, anything.

"Nothing," he whispered. His tail weaved back and forth like an angry cat's, and his hands clenched and unclenched, but he refused to let her in. "It's nothing. I can't..."

"Can't what?" She took a step toward him. "What's going on?"

He groaned, raking a hand over his face. He murmured something, but she didn’t catch it. Then he hissed softly, and she realized he was laughing. Finally, he turned, and the look he gave her chilled her to the bone.

He approached her slowly, then circled around her back, and she jumped as she felt his tail graze across the back of her legs. She grew still as she felt his breath on her neck.

"Tell me, do I still scare you?" he asked, close to her ear.

An odd, unexpected question. She licked her lips, thinking it over anyway, and decided to answer honestly. "Yes," she whispered back. "Sometimes."

He hummed, as if that was an acceptable answer. Then she felt his talons graze down her arms, making her shiver. She could feel his front brush against her back, his heat warming her.

"Maybe you should be," he whispered in her ear. But the way he said it wasn't like a threat. It almost sounded—broken.

Before she could turn and say something, there was a knock at the door.

As if he'd been shocked, Xeda quickly distanced himself from her. She watched him disappear onto the balcony without looking back. She wanted to go to him, but the knock at the door came again. Annoyed, she went over and opened it.

"Good afternoon," said one of the staff, a petite woman with short blonde hair. "Mr. Salimar requests your presence tonight."

No reason for him to just call her. That would have been beneath him.

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