Page 25 of Reckless
“Listen, kid.” He rubs a hand over his tired eyes before inspecting the next ticket. “I don’t just let anyone fight in my ring. Besides”—he throws me a glance—“you’d get eaten alive in there. So, scram.”
Flattening my palms on the table, I lean in close enough to catch the flash of a gold watch on his wrist and the smell of cologne on his skin.
He’s better off than half this city.
“I want a fair cut. Whatever the rest of your fighters are earning,” I say smoothly. “Though I expect to be making more than them in no time.”
At that, he reluctantly lifts his head, meeting my gaze as he holds a hand up to halt the line. “I said scram, kid. While I’ll still let you.”
I tilt my head innocently, eyes narrowing slightly. “It would be a shame if the guards were to find out about the illegal cage-fighting you’re running down here.” I nod toward the shiny watch decorating his thick wrist. “It seems you’ve become quite accustomed to wealth. I doubt it would be easy for you to readjust to the poverty you crawled out of.”
Though fighting is clearly not outlawed here in Dor, considering how common of an occurrence it is, gambling on said fighters is where they decided to draw the line—explaining the cramped cellar with a fancy knock to allow you access.
A smile begins to form at the corner of his mouth, as though he possesses a sort of corrupted charisma. “Are you threatening me?” He laughs, harsh and biting. “You can’t threaten me, kid. I’ll have my men tear you to pieces. I practically own this city.”
“You’ve never seen me fight.” I shrug nonchalantly. “So, if I need to return them toyouin pieces just to prove myself, I suppose I’ll have to do just that.”
The thought of ripping anyone to pieces makes me queasy, but thelook I pin him with says anything but. Several slow seconds tick by before a smile spreads across his lips. “I like your spirit, kid.”
I swallow my relief. “Is that a yes?”
“You fight in an hour.” He pulls out a sheet of parchment inked with the names of previous fighters and how much they earned him. “I’m givin’ you a shot, so don’t disappoint me, kid. You don’t wanna know what happens when I’m disappointed.”
I nod, hiding my smile. “I doubt I’ll ever find out.”
He shakes his head in disbelief, looking as though he already regrets his decision. “Yeah, we’ll see about that. I’m Rafael.” His eyes flick up to my concealed face. “And what should we call you, kid?”
My eyes skim over the cage and the flickering lights above it. A small smile manages to curve my lips, tugging gently at my scar.
“Shadow.”
CHAPTER 10Kai
Even the moonlight feels warm here.
Pale silver rays slip between the cracks of buildings and banners, like frail fingers desperate to claw through anything in their way. I tug at the bandanna tied around my mouth and nose; the blood-red fabric intended to keep the blowing sand from my mouth, though it grinds between my teeth nonetheless.
I’ve abandoned my Imperials for the night, just as I’ve done the previous four since we’d arrived in Dor. I spent most of the day alone, scouting the streets along with any possible crevice she could have climbed into. Every time I pull back a banner, push open a decaying door, ask if someone has seen the Silver Savior, she evades me at every turn.
She’s a phantom in human form. Like trying to clutch the wind in your fist, unable to see it even while feeling it slip between your fingers.
And the knowledge of that has me feeling something pathetically too close to relief.
Tonight is warmer than most, leaving me sticky with both sweat and sand. I turn down a quiet street, feeling slightly unsettled by the silence that swallows this city each evening. If I were to take a wild guess, I’d say it’s because everyone is worn out after a long day of fighting in the streets and pushing through the current of bodies.
I glance at a passing guard who looks anything but alert. I take a deep breath, swallowing the urge to pick a fight out of sheer curiosity as to what the lazy bastard would do. They’re worse than most of the Imperials back home, and that’s saying something.
My lack of power here weighs on me, a dull buzz in my blood. I feel oddly heavy despite missing a piece of myself. Unlike the other Elites, my ability relies on those around me, and the Imperials I brought to Dor are the only bit of power I have to feed off. After spending the entirety of my life surrounded by Elites, the absence of them and their accompanying powers is so foreign, it’s frightening.
I’ve never felt so exposed.
A sudden, slight pressure at my hip has me tensing, tentatively reaching for my concealed dagger. Well,herconcealed dagger.
The coin pouch.
That’s what they’re after.
That’s what she was after too, that first day I met her.
