Page 130 of The Star's Sword

“You wish!” She turned to face me, and the distraction helped the vampires push her back into the preparation area. “I was just going to get something to eat. You’re so late, I was famished.”

“She’s exactly on time,” Cayne said. He walked over to her elder vampires, as Simon walked over to us from the other side of the arena. “What is the challenge they’ve chosen?”

“Surprisingly, they are demanding combat,” Simon said, grinning. Today he wore a gold, sequined jacket with black slacks, plus his trademark cape. His fangs glinted at me; his smile was so wide when he met my eyes. Something wicked and knowing flashed in his expression, and I smirked back.

“How are you feeling after last night?” he asked.

“Amazing,” I said, swinging my arms across my chest to start stretching out. “What are the rules?” I still had light plates of armor on like yesterday, fabricated by Samael. It allowed me full movement and some protection, but wasn’t full plate.

One of the elder vampires next to Vasara moved forward.

It was a thin, black-haired male with pale skin and red eyes, and jewels all over his suit, hanging in ropes and embroidered into the fabric. If it had been possible to merely buy style, this vampire would have been stylish.

“This stray dog has been stating falsehoods about Vasara. Saying she is a coward for leaving that malfunctioning test yesterday when she had no choice.”

“She absolutely had a choice,” I retorted. “She chose to let her friends die.”

“She left a malfunctioning area that would have killed her along with her friends,” the elder vampire continued. “This has caused a rift in our trust with you, Simon, that will not easily be fixed.”

Simon just folded his arms and rolled his eyes at him. “I’ll worry about that when your jewel-covered ass finds another keep that will protect you, Larson.”

Larson hissed. “I’m an elite.”

“You do nothing,” Simon said. “Nothing but get in the way of people trying to do good. I regret ever turning you.”

“I regret working diplomacy for your keep,” Larson spat.

“I regret feeding your ungrateful ass for a hundred years,” Simon said, walking forward with clenched fists, having finally had it. “All of you,” he said, turning to address the vampires watching and the elder vampires with Vasara. “You all lost your souls long ago, it’s true, but you’ve gone too far, supporting her. You know what she is. How she will run. Who she wants to hurt. You stand by, because it works for you. You have forgotten that we vampires will die in the current system. The blood will run out. Without Cleo, it would have months ago. We must breach the veil and harvest celestials, and make them pay for what they did in creating us by sustaining us with their own blood. We are not predators to be trained. We must rise up for our right to live alongside others, sustained by our makers, not those we must work together with.”

Simon finished his rousing speech to silence, which then escalated to boos and hisses.

He walked over to me. “I can’t believe they are still so faithful to her after what she did to them yesterday. You’d think she’d removed each of their brains with a drill and filled them with air and madness.” He sighed, his thin shoulders seeming to carry the weight of the world. “I am tired of the vampires. Tired of the wealth that does nothing to change things. Tired of Cayne bringing new stories of horrific pain the ninth realm celestials are causing. All that is to say, kick her ass, Cleo. Because these idiots are truly sending her in there believing she can beat you.” He grinned. “Which, as we both know, is the greatest gift they could have given.” He gestured to my tiny sheath, holding my night sword. “Don’t hesitate.”

“I won’t,” I said, staring at Vasara, who seemed to go pale just looking at me.

That’s right, you jackass. You won’t have Samael, Cayne or Simon. You’ll just have my sword in your throat.

As if she could feel my intent, she turned away, looking ready to throw up as another vampire stepped up to reassure her.

A female elder vampire in an array of colorful silks and jewels walked over to us, leering at Samael.

Samael was wearing his slayer apparel without chains, just like yesterday, black with bandages holding it down and his spiky boots.

“You’ll need to come with us,” she said. “Just like yesterday.”

“I got it,” he said.

Vasara smirked at me as Samael was led past her and into the arena. “When I win today, your boyfriend is mine.”

I cocked my head, unsure what she thought she could do to a ninth realm celestial even if she beat me.

But instead of the crystal tube he’d been in last time, there was a large cage made of shimmering blue metal.

It reminded me of the necklaces we’d worn to suppress our inner celestials in the demon realms before Ara had trusted us.

“Because it was too easy for Mr. Card to pull Samael out, we’ve sourced another restraint device from the Drorren,” the female elder vampire said, walking over to the cage, which was just inside the boundary of the arena, and opening a large, grated door.

Samael moved in, and instantly took on his incubus form as the cage door was closed on him and the metal suppressed his celestial side.

---