Page 85 of Filthy Royal

“Turn around so I can get you out of these things.” Maddox’s request yanked him from his thoughts, and he redirected his gaze to his brother.

“Fuck me.” The kid’s swollen jaw and fresh black eye were hard to miss, even in the partial light.

“No thanks.”

“Funny guy.” Damien eyed the mess that was his brother’s face. “But that? Not so funny. I’m sorry I didn’t do a better job of guarding your back.”

“I can take care of myself.”Snick.The kid unlocked the manacles and stepped back. “Plus, I’ve had way worse.”

That only made Damien feel more of a shit.

He’d vowed to protect his family. Told himself and them that he was fine and could handle this assignment, no problem.

And yet the instant he saw her, scented her, he’d lost it.

Some fucking Enforcer.

He shoved off the ground, then rubbed at his wrists and stretched, trying to work out some of the kinks—and stall so he could pull his shit together before looking at the cages again.

Scarlett’s still form was easy to see, as was the comforting rise and fall of her chest.

The other cell, however, was in dark mode; its clear crystal turned opaque, so it was impossible to see in or out, and all sound was muffled. A good thing since their other “guest” was throwing himself at the cage wall hard enough to make it shake and likely roaring loud enough to bring reinforcements—ifthey could hear him. Which they couldn’t.

“You did good by bringing that one.” Damien gestured toward the shuddering cage with his chin. He’d caught a glimpse of the other prisoner right before Maddox tased him.

The kid grinned. “Fucker’s as heavy as hells and clearly dense as a black hole too. Guess he has no clue he’s underground and not about to be rescued.”

“He’ll find out soon enough.” Damien’s gaze shifted to the other cell. “They both will.”

Few who came to watch the fights knew about the abandoned city buried beneath the glitz and shimmer of the Golden Dome.

It had been built by Scarlett’s ancestors, a simple society with a small population who’d foraged for food on the surface at night and lived underground during the suns’ rises. Clever and resourceful, they’d embedded soft golden crystals into the walls and ceilings to serve as light sources, constructed aqueducts for running water, sewers to remove waste, and built sleeping quarters of dirt, clay, and rock. In places, you could still glimpse their skilled artistry in the carvings above the crumbling doorways.

Then the Consortium arrived. With more advanced tech and cold brutality, the new arrivals dropped the Golden Dome onto the surface, hunted down those who refused to be incorporated and systematically obliterated the nomadic society’s traditions until all that remained was ruins.

As a result, large swaths of the underground city lay in rubble. But there were some sections—those closer to the surface—that had fared better. Passages that could still be traversed and old sleeping quarters that could provide shelter—or be repurposed as interrogation rooms.

And where, hopefully, few would think to search for the missing.

“Good idea, hitting me with the taser.” Although it hurt like a son of a bitch even now.

“Wasn’t my idea.” Maddox held out his comms. “Here, take mine. Yours got fried.”

With a scowl, Damien shoved the piece into his ear canal.

“It was my idea,”Anya piped up.“I knew you’d give the go-ahead if you were in your right mind.”

“You guys did good.”

“Oh, we know it.”Anya had never been one for false modesty.

Maddox, on the other hand, only grunted, but Damien thought he stood a little taller.

Not that the little shit would admit to liking the praise. But, again, Damien understood. He’d been the youngest Skolov brother for a long time.

“So, ah…” He decided to get it over with. “What did Nikolai and the others say?”

For four long planetary rotations, he’d tried to erase the inglorious image of arriving home shackled and beaten, tossed onto the Abzal ice at his brothers’ boots after the Consortium banned his ass from the Golden Dome for using illegal drugs during the tournament. Drugs they’d likely played a part in dosing him with in the first place.

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