Underland(38)

“Congrats!” he said wryly between her dry heaves. “You survived.”

“Shut it,” Kira snapped back. She pushed stray strands of hair out of her eyes and slowly stood up. She brought up her arm to wipe her mouth but then looked at the stuff covering it and almost puked again.

A towel appeared in her hand, and Kira looked over at a young girl with eyes the size of tea saucers. She wore the clothes and hairstyle of a slave.

“Thanks,” Kira said as she wiped at her mouth.

“You spoke to me,” her breathy voice answered. Her giant eyes opening wider, she squealed in excitement and fled.

“And you created a fan base with your crazy antics.”

“What antics?” Kira stared at Zeke.

“Oh, risking your neck to help open the elevator tube. It was smart to help them—created more targets. If you were the only one who was ahead of the gray team, you would have been easy pickings.”

“That’s a horrible thing to say. That wasn’t the reason I helped them.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “You were pretty ruthless, jumping on Talon and making him fly you to the bottom of the gorge. Then you showed smarts when you covered your band and hid in the tunnels.”

“How do you know all of this?”

“I watched you do it.”

“You could have taken me out.”

“Yes, I could have. But you intrigue me. I wanted to see how far you’d get on your own, and then I had to repay you for the chocolate.” He patted the bag tied to his waist.

This was the first time she had taken a close look at him. He was dressed head to toe in a red uniform. No wonder she couldn’t find him among the new runners. But he looked so young. How long had he been competing? How many kills were under his belt?

Kira looked up at the screen and tried to find his name among the list of ranked competitors and then she realized—she had been calling him Zeke in her mind for so long. She didn’t even know his name.

She was desperate to ask him more questions, but they were ushered off the track to make room for the rest of the groups coming across. They were taken up to a viewing ledge with refreshments and chairs as they watched the last competitors complete the course. Way fewer runners finished than what started the race.

Very few white runners survived.

The next couple of hours were a daze. She was interviewed and then pawed at as people touched her for luck when she passed among the fans. She grimaced and pulled back at first, but then she saw that it was all part of the lifestyle. Zeke took each of the pats with grace and stopped to shake the outstretched hands. It seemed this came with the territory of being a champion. He was either used to it, or he was able to put on a good show.

Kira kept her chin up and tried to not cringe from the onslaught of affection. Especially when that affection was accompanied by growls and large clawed hands that could easily maim and kill her.

The remaining runners rode in a separate glass elevator and were taken to another room. Camera flashes blinded her. When the spots cleared, she saw a very large dais. Remus stood among the other owners.

“What do you think about today’s outcome?” A merwoman with white hair asked the gym owners and trainers.

“I think the outcome was quite obvious, Avis,” a stoic trainer said. His tan cheeks were sunken in, giving him weathered, aged look. “My fighters would have performed better but I—and I’m not alone in this—I believe it was because of a malfunction with the starting gate.” His eyes flashed, showing the first hint of emotion. “There should have been a delay. They should have started over.”

“You would have lost all of your starters if it wasn’t for the one from Remus’s gym,” the female vamp interjected. Kira recognized her from the Gamblers’ Market. “I was the one who lost Rhinoc to the gate malfunction.”

Even some of the owners appreciated her. Kira let the thought encourage her.

“That’s a human for you!” Ssirone called out. “Too stupid for its own good. Letting their emotions take control.”

Well…

“Who dares to insult the human fighter?” The vampire’s powerful voice rang out across the room. She must have recently fed, because the apple of her cheeks flushed a rosy color.

“Why would you care about humanssss when they’re nothing more than food to you?” Ssirone yelled at Selene.

“Remus,” Avis directed her next question to the man. His arms were crossed and his brows furrowed. His posture alone spoke of his displeasure at being interviewed. “Were you surprised when your human was drafted? Weren’t you afraid it would get eaten?”

Remus looked up. The furrowed brow smoothed, and his face took on an almost pleasant demeanor. “I’m surprised that she lived, but I won’t underestimate her so easily again.” His gaze flicked over to Zeke and Kira. A chill gripped her spine. He looked back to the reporter. “Every event is a gamble. And I like to gamble big.”

“And win,” Avis smiled sweetly. “I do have to say that your human surprised us all and garnered herself quite a lot of adoration when she killed the boggart. She’s quite the fighter isn’t she?”

“Yes…she…is,” Remus locked eyes with Kira, and then he flicked over to where Den was standing.

Kira studied the pompous owner. On the outside he was cool, nonchalant, but Kira knew he was anything but—he was likely plotting her demise. First she’d killed Creeper, and now his new boggart as well. He’d already wanted her dead. What would he do now to make sure it happened?