Rapture (26 page)

“He
accidentally killed his Arachne, so he was disqualified and pulled from the
fight.”

Oh
yes, she had seen him battling an oversized spider, though now that she peered
over at it, she could easily see that it had been killed. It was belly-up, with
its long legs frozen in place.

“Well,”
Ferox said, drawing her attention back to him. “Let’s get to it. It’s time to
take the tournament.”

 
She smiled, starting when Ferox’s own grin had
fallen into horror. She spun as Grudge darted in, swinging his scythe downward
mere inches from Raine’s face. She lifted her shield an instant before it was
too late, and sparks shattered as the two metals clanged. She jabbed her Hjörr
around the shield and struck true, catching the demon in his side. He stumbled
backward, but that was the only weakness he displayed. His lips peeled back
from a set of yellowing fangs, and he rushed her again.

He
didn’t make it. Ferox flashed in, and the two bodies parted after a
bone-splitting crash. They were tumbling around the next second, and Raine
gripped her hilt, ready to shoot in and cut the bastard.

She
heard the whoosh as a sword whizzed near her ear, and she ducked just as
another opponent’s blade missed its mark. She came up again, Hjörr swinging,
but the demon had sensed her action and pressed a punishing blow to her sword
with his own. It vibrated up her arm and into her body before the hilt dropped
from her hand, the blade disappearing once it left her. The hilt bounced on the
hard dirt and rolled away, though she’d had no time to grab it again. She
darted to the side as the demon’s sword made another play for her head, and
she’d barely had time to grab a dagger from her garter before he tried again.
She spun to the side once more, finding that he couldn’t turn quite as quickly
as she could. Dart, dart, dart, and rush. Her dagger sank into his back, the
bone grinding against the blade. He wailed and turned, trying to catch her in
his meaty palms, but she struck again. And again. And again. And soon, he moved
no more than the rise and fall of his chest. She’d left him alive. And that was
only because she couldn’t give up her victory.

Raine
picked up her sword and turned, seeing that Ferox now fought another opponent,
but yet, so did Grudge. She focused on the bastard as she bolted into the
still-fighting fray. She spun and jabbed at another contestant as a ball of
fire glanced off her side, her having enough reaction time to throw up her shield
in defense. She jabbed and jabbed through the flames that surrounded the demon,
and yet she’d only connected once. She shot through the flames and careened
into the bastard as more flames flew from his palms. She swung her sword, and
he pushed her off of him before throwing more fireballs at her. One connected
with her leg and she’d taken cover before the following ones had reached her.
Her leg stung and she peered down at it, damning the fact that it was the same
one the dragon had poisoned. She clenched her jaw and stood, walking toward the
demon as she swung her Hjörr at her side. He blanched and stepped backward, and
she knew at that point that he feared her. She smiled, letting her Instinct
take over, and a single bolt of lightning crashed down beside the demon. He
skittered, and she rushed in. She arced her blade downward, and it sank into
his side. His back arched, and he turned toward her with his hands
upraised.
 

She
swung again and stopped just before the blade touched his skin. Eyeing the Salvo
dispassionately, she said, “Leave the field now. Come at me again and you’ll
only
remember
the days you were able to throw fire.”

She
turned away, seeking after her prey. And as she walked away, she heard the
Salvo’s footsteps as he rushed off the battlefield.

Grudge
still fought his demon as Ferox dodged the wolf. She peered around hastily,
looking for the werepanther that was sure to be making a play somewhere, and
spotted it being pulled from the battleground. Grudge was having a much harder
time at taking control over his own fight, and turned to her with pleading
eyes. “Help me,” he growled.

She
took in the sight of his opponent. He’d grown in size, his muscles having
expanded to double what they’d been pre-finale. That was the Rage demon though,
or so she’d learned here at the tournament: seemingly non-threatening until
their rage took over.

“Together
we can take him out,” Grudge pleaded as the Rage demon pressed him to the
ground.

Raine
shook her head and shot in, swinging her Hjörr at the Rage’s legs. She swiped
through one and he whirled on her, leaving Grudge in the clear. The Rage fell
on her, quite literally, and she scrambled under his weight. Grudge laughed and
scurried away as Raine fought under the gigantic demon. She pushed and shoved, finding
that she couldn’t extract her sword from under his weight, nor could she reach
her daggers. Another growl sounded and Ferox appeared above her, pulling back
on the Rage demon.

The
Rage did fight then, rolling over to punch and kick at Ferox. He sat up and he
gripped Ferox’s shoulder and punched her vampire with resounding force. Raine
grabbed her sword and launched herself at the Rage’s back, holding her sword to
his throat.

“Don’t
… hit him … again,” she breathed. “I’ll slice your throat here and now if you
even think about it.”

The
Rage’s fingers loosened their hold on her male.

“Good.
That’s good. Now leave the field or face my wrath.”

The
demon’s head dropped as he peered at his legs. A few seconds later, he nodded.

Raine
climbed off of him, still staring at the gigantic demon. “You can leave with no
hindrance from me.”

She
breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Ferox to offer him a smile. “Ferox!”
she screamed.

Grudge
had reached him even before he’d been able to respond, his scythe sliding into
Ferox’s shoulder, sending her vampire to the ground.

“No!”
She hadn’t recognized the voice, but knew it must be her own as lightning
crashed down into the battlefield, causing the still-bound beasts to panic,
pulling and yanking on whatever the other contestants had used to bind them.
Roars and hisses sounded from all around, some making the ground below her feet
rumble. She’d paid it no heed, ignoring it just as she did the crowd in their
renewed excitement. Her eyes were on the vampire and Grudge, as the bastard
yanked his scythe free and readied another blow, probably to sever the arm
completely. Ferox reached up to block it with his own sword—using the one arm
that still worked—but it was obvious that he was in agony. She felt the pain in
her own blood, so much that it staggered her. She had to reach him.

Ferox
had accomplished not getting struck again. He dropped his glaive by his side
and gripped the male’s shirt, pulling him to the ground. Grudge gaped and he
scrambled around, pinning Ferox to the dirt, a wicked smile on his
face.  Ferox merely looked up at him, using one arm to fend off his
attacker. He looked so calm, she realized as her feet left the ground. Raine
reached out and her hands gripped Grudge, one hand landing on his shirt, just
between his shoulders, the other gripping his trousers. Mid-air, she rolled,
yanking Grudge off of her vampire, only releasing him when she had cleared
Ferox. Grudge soared through the air, his arms and legs flailing. He landed at
the feet of an Evian beast, and she threw her sword at it, cutting the rope
that bound the creature. Then she turned and dropped next to Ferox, placing his
head in her lap.

“Oh,”
she breathed, “Ferox. Oh gods.” Her throat felt as though it was in the pit of
her stomach.

“Hey.”
His warm brown eyes peered up at her, a grin that didn’t touch his eyes
appearing. “It’s not that bad.”

She
laughed, her voice making a strange squeaking sound as she wiped away a tear.
His arm had been nearly severed, merely hanging on by a few strands of sinew.

Ferox’s
own smile faded. “Why do you cry?”

“I
don’t know.” Her shoulders slumped, putting her face that much closer to his.
“I don’t like seeing you like this. In pain, I mean. I know you wanted to win
the tournament.”

He
shook his head, his brown hair tickling her legs. “I came here, wanting to win
for my race. But I hadn’t planned on meeting you.” He winced as she pulled his
arm up off the ground to rest on his stomach. “I want you to win it. You have
to fight. Have you defeated him yet?”

“Who,
Grudge?”

A laugh
sputtered from his lips. “Yeah.”

“I
don’t know. He’s busy at the moment, I think.”

“He’ll
be back. He won’t give up until he defeats us both.” He reached down blindly,
gripping his glaive and lifting it. “Fight with the vampires’ glaive. I would
be honored if my female fought with my family’s sword.”

Tears
prickled and then fell as her heart leapt. What a kind, beautiful, brave male.
She dipped down, pressing her mouth to his, licking and sucking at his lips and
tongue. The crowd grew silent when their mouths met, and only one of the beasts
stomping an impatient foot had drawn her lips away from his. “No, Ferox. We’ll
have equal chance.” That’s how they’d played the game thus far, helping each
other, treating each other as equals, and as friends. The finale would be no
different. “If only you could....” The blood seeping from his nearly severed
shoulder stopped her, and she met his eyes again with renewed determination.
“Drink me.”

His
entire body jerked, his eyes going wide as fangs elongated in his mouth.
“Raine, no … I … we … not here, in front of everyone.”

“What
does it matter that everyone is watching? Maybe that’s exactly why we should do
it.” She drew her hand out from under him, and offered her wrist.

Ferox’s
gaze never left hers as he held her arm and pulled it to his mouth. “If we do
this, there is no going back.”

“I
don’t know about you, but I passed that threshold a couple weeks ago.”

Ferox
smiled. “I passed it the moment I saw you, Caalia.”

She
blinked away more tears, feeling the tickle of them as another smile spread
across her face. She no longer wanted to win the tournament. She wanted Ferox
to take it, to win for his race as the rightful king he would one day be. “Do
it, Ferox. I choose you. Take my strength and the love that beats in my heart,
and know that I will always choose you.”

Tears
had welled in eyes. He ignored them, gazing at her with so much love and
affection that she could practically feel it stroking her body. He pressed his
lips to her skin, closing his eyes as if in benediction, before his eyelids
opened again and he struck. The sting did hurt as his fangs slid into her
tender flesh, and she tried not to flinch. He’d seen it and cupped her jaw as
he sucked on her vein, drawing the lifeblood from her body into his own. His
concern warmed her as the pain transformed into pleasure. She didn’t take her
eyes away from him, she couldn’t have even if she’d wanted to. She was so lost
for this male that she stared, transfixed as he took from her vein and poured
all the love he had for her into his gaze.

All around them, the silence stretched, only a few gasps reminding her
that they were, in fact, not alone. She didn’t know how much time passed before
Ferox withdrew his fangs, licking at her wrist.

“Do you feel better?”

His eyes met hers after a long, luxurious stretch, and he smiled. “It
would be impossible to tell you what I’m feeling now.” He stood then, pulling
her to her feet along with him, and stared down at her, his grin still in
place. He brought her to him, cupping her ass with his hand as he kissed her
long and hard. More murmurs erupted, and they pulled apart.

Raine couldn’t help the smile that was plastered on her face and the
rapid beat of her heart. She didn’t know how Ferox did it, but he made her feel
more alive than she ever had before.

And then she saw everyone’s reactions. They stared, standing all around
the arena, slack-jawed at the two of them as though they’d been plagued. Might
as well have been, she supposed. None of them had probably ever seen an
interracial couple.
She’d
never seen an interracial couple. It was
unheard of! And yet, she couldn’t regret what she and Ferox had done, and she
couldn’t forget what her heart told her.

Ferox was hers.

She glanced up, surprised to see that she could see every one of the
council members, looking down at them, as silent as the others. She couldn’t
see their expressions, but what she and Ferox had just done was enough to draw
every one of them from their seats.

She found her sisters in the crowd next. She’d expected to see them
staring at her with every bit as much disgust as the rest of the onlookers.
They did, except for Caleen, who appeared both shocked and somewhat pleased. It
was only Lisette’s astonishment that alerted Raine to an issue, and she whirled
around and jumped just as Grudge’s scythe whished past her. Ferox had reacted
quickly as well, tackling the demon to the ground and throwing punches at him.
He favored his good arm, but she was relieved to see that his vigor had
returned. His force and strength had doubled, his fists pounding the flesh of
Grudge’s face, earning grunts and groans from their opponent. She spun the
vampiric sword around in the air, a quick flip of her wrist. It felt almost as
good as her Hjörr. Ferox leapt off the demon and, lifting him to his feet,
stood between Grudge and Raine, holding him for her. “Do it,” he growled.