Page 42 of Orange Tundra
Stepped past them like it was nothing.
Past the blood-slick stones where I’d once knelt. Where I’d learned obedience the hard way.
Kilo's throneroom was filth in gold—a grotesque altar to power. Broken tiles, rusted weapons. The Shura weapon lay beside him like a pet. It pulsed like a heartbeat gone wrong.
Nialla sat on his lap, legs spread, cum still glistening between her thighs. She smirked when she saw me.
"The Shura worked perfectly," Nialla preened, stroking the twisted weapon like a beloved pet.
"His beast is strong," I said, keeping my tone neutral. They expect me to react. "Strongest I've ever seen."
"Which makes his fall all the sweeter." Nialla's fingers traced the weapon's jagged crystal core. "The Silver Beast... reduced to a pit fighter for our entertainment."
My heart stuttered. I should have expected this.
"Trill," Kilo grinned like a snake with its jaw unhinged. "You brought our beast home in chains. Beautiful work."
I stayed silent.
Nialla licked blood from her fingers, moaning exaggeratedly. "It fucked me good watching you drag that monster in. My cock aches remembering it."
"Tonight we break him," Kilo said, standing. "Throw him to the pit. Let the crowd see what happens to Silver Tribe arrogance."
He handed me a baton.
"I need him wild. But not dead. You know how to play that line, don’t you?"
I nodded.
"Make him feral. But breathing. We’ll sell the climax."
Nialla snorted. "Don't worry, we don't expect him to win. Just to suffer spectacularly before he dies."
My beast snarled inside me, but I kept my expression flat. "As you wish."
"One more thing." Kilo's eyes narrowed. "You did well during the capture. But I need to be certain of your loyalty."
The air in the room chilled. "Haven't I proven myself?"
"Prove it again," he said simply.
That was the game. Play the monster. Hide the heart.
Zirc’s cellpulsed with madness.
The guards eyed me suspiciously but stepped aside at my nod.
"I need privacy," I told them. "Leader's orders."
They retreated to the end of the corridor, still within earshot but giving me a semblance of solitude. I entered the cell, locking it behind me.
He growled as I entered, chains groaning. One eye clear. One crystalline. Half-man, half-cursed god. Fury incarnate.
"You," he growled, the word barely intelligible through fangs that had partially emerged.
I knelt just beyond reach. Palmed a vial of healing salve.
"This helps."
