Page 14 of Naga Warrior's Mate

Dernin’s muscles rippled as he dodged another of Kren’s wild swings.The Kolgari’s movements soon became sluggish.Dernin capitalized on this and struck like lightning, his fist connecting with Kren’s jaw.The impact echoed through the arena.

Kren dropped to his knees.The crowd erupted as Dernin coiled his tail around the Kolgari’s throat, applying just enough pressure until Kren tapped out.

A strange warmth bloomed in Alaysia’s chest as she watched Dernin release his opponent immediately.No showboating, no unnecessary violence.Just clean, efficient skill.

“If someone has to win...”she muttered and then caught herself.“What am I thinking?I shouldn’t want any of them to win.”

Dernin turned toward her viewing box and bowed, his golden scales catching the light.Unlike Bariv’s mocking gesture earlier, this felt...different.Respectful.Her cheeks flushed.

“Well, well,” Marcella’s knowing tone made Alaysia’s spine stiffen.“Seems our Naga fighter has taken quite an interest in you.”

“That’s the whole point.Isn’t it?”Alaysia’s voice came out sharper than intended.“I’m the prize they’re all fighting for.”

“Mmhmm.And I’m sure that’s exactly why he defended you from Bariv before he even knew about the tournament.”

Alaysia watched Dernin exit the ring, his movements fluid despite the beating he’d taken.She remembered the gentle way he’d spoken to her, how he’d maintained a respectful distance even while protecting her.

“I don’t know what to think anymore,” she admitted softly, pressing her cool fingers to her heated cheeks.

The plum satin of her dress rustled as she shifted her weight, trying to process the conflicting emotions churning inside her.

“He didn’t have to help me earlier.But for some reason he did,” she murmured, more to herself than Marcella.

Her reflection in the glass caught her eye—flushed cheeks, bright eyes, red hair falling in waves past her shoulders.She touched her neck where Bariv’s filaments had nearly brushed her skin, remembering how Dernin had positioned himself between them without hesitation.

“The way he fights is different too.”She crossed her arms, analyzing what she’d witnessed.“No unnecessary brutality, no showing off.Just...”Her mind flickered to the deliberate and accurate movements, the way he’d released Kren the moment he’d submitted.

The crowd below began clearing out, and their excited chatter about the matches floated up to her position.

Maybe Marcella is right.Maybe he is different.But different how?And why?

She remembered the intensity in his golden eyes when he’d intervened with Bariv, the gentle tone of his voice when he’d spoken to her.

Nothing like the predatory gazes and crude comments she was used to receiving.

Alaysia sighed.Too many questions were left unanswered, too many pieces that didn’t fit the pattern she’d come to expect from the fighters in this place.

“I need to know more,” she whispered.

Chapter 8

Alaysia

Thestonewallsofthe slave quarters felt especially confining as Alaysia paced the small area.Her satin dress swished with each turn, the sound grating on her already frayed nerves.

“Something’s eating at you,” Marcella said, watching from her perch on a worn wooden stool.

Alaysia’s hands found their way to her hips.“It doesn’t make sense.None of it does.”

“What doesn’t?”

“Dernin.The way he stepped in with Bariv.”She stopped pacing, her blue eyes narrowing.“No one here does anything without an angle.So, what’s his?”

“Maybe he told you the truth.Maybe he really did it because it was right.”

“In this place?”Alaysia scoffed.“Right and wrong don’t exist here.There has to be more to it.”She resumed her pacing.“I need to talk to him.”

“And how exactly do you plan to do that?You can’t exactly waltz into the fighters’ quarters wearing that get-up.”

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