Page 52 of A Song of Shadow and Starlight

"Hello, poppet," he smirks.

"Let me go!"

He strokes his three-finger hand down my cheek and shushes me, clamping a white rag against my nose and mouth. I continue to struggle but within seconds, my eyes droop, my body hunches over, and everything fades to black.

Sixteen

"Wakeup!"Astern,gravelly voice barks as the sound of metal clanging echoes in my ears. "You're next!"

I spring up to a seated position and blink my eyes until I see the blurry figure on the other side of what looks like prison bars, come into clear view.

"Did you hear me, girl?" The troll picks at his one broken tusk with a toothpick. "I said, you're next."

"Next?" I groggily glance around at my surroundings and terror shoots through me. No windows, no walls, just jagged rock and cave-like stone envelope me. At least when I was a prisoner on Atlas' boat, I had a tiny cot to lay on. Here, I'm on the cold, damp ground with no shoes and a tear in my new pair of pants. The only way out of this cell is through the bars the troll is guarding. "Where am I? Who are you?"

His toothy grin is unsettling. "You're in the Necropolis. You're next on the Lava Docket."

"What are you talking about? What is a Lava Docket?" I stand up, nostrils flared, my neck and back aching from the stoney ground I slept on. How have I been kidnapped twice in one week? This is getting absurd.

"A fight to the death."

Oh, hell no.

"I'm afraid there's been some mistake." I curl my fingers around the prison bars, but I immediately retract my hands when I feel a sticky residue. Wiping my hands against my torn trousers, I look at the troll and plead my case. "I'm not a fighter, I'm just a visitor passing through Bava with my friends."

The troll shrugs, unbothered. "If you're sitting in my holding cell, it means you have a match. Whether you win or lose, doesn't much matter to me. I still get paid either way for guarding you."

"Perhaps, there's someone else I can speak to -"

He slams his wooden baton against the bars, rattling them. I lurch back when he bares his teeth and growls.

"Shut your yap!" he bellows. "Pray to whatever gods you may or may not believe in. You'll be meeting them shortly."

With that, he limps away and takes any hope of freedom along with him.

This is bad. Really bad.

What the hell happened at the hotel? I remember that troll placing a cloth over my mouth and nose, but that's all I can recall before waking up here. I never thought I would wish to see the Tronovians, but if they manage to rescue me, I'll kiss each and every single one of them on the mouth.

Screams erupt down the cave hallway, startling me. When I listen, I realize it's not screams. It's a crowd cheering and booing. And then it hits me. The troll said I was in Necropolis, but I was too groggy to process what he'd said. The Necropolis is an underground fighting arena surrounded by lava. I thought the brothers were joking about this place, but now I know it's real. And my situation has gone from bad to worse within seconds. Down here, there are no laws to protect someone like me. There are no rules against kidnapping me or throwing me into an arena to fight to the death to entertain a drunk, gambling audience.

I'm in serious trouble.

The only strategy I have is utilizing my magic, which I'm still learning to use, and hope the few moves Nyx showed me delay the inevitable.

If the brothers don't find me – there's no doubt in my mind that I am going to die here.

I should be in a puddle of tears weeping or trembling in fear, but surprisingly, I'm not sad – I'm pissed. Something deep within my soul rages and even though the odds of surviving are against me, I'm not going to cower and let some murderous brutes determine my fate. If I die, maybe I can take someone with me.

"You don't look like a fighter."

The voice startles me. I clutch my chest and look at the cell beside mine and see a scrawny male troll crouched in the dark corner.

"Stars above and seas below, have you been there this entire time watching me?" I hiss once I catch my breath.

"I'm sorry," he whispers. "I had hoped my partner would be stronger… or bigger."

"Partner? What are you talking about?"

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