Winning the Legend (25 page)

“Getting a bit scared now?” Rhys asked,
flexing the vines at his fingertips in a gruesome fashion.
“Wondering if you hit me, will the pain be returned to you?” Rhys
called out, but Devin stayed far enough away from the vines that
stretched out in front of Rhys. “Ahh, I get it. The Randolph pup
only fights those he knows he can beat. That’s why you didn’t fight
Arianna. You couldn’t beat her. Then again, from what I can see,
you couldn’t win her over either as she chose the baku over
you.”

Devin didn’t move. Rhys’ taunting did
nothing for him. Rhys took a step out of the protective circle he
had cast on his walk to his spot. The edges of the magic were
visible. He knew exactly where he could and couldn’t fight Rhys. He
quickly formulated plans. Nessa’s blood was all the help Devin
needed.

‘He needs both feet outside
the circle to be exposed,’
Nessa explained
to Devin while Arianna listened in.
‘Don’t
attack until he is completely out.’

Devin waited while Rhys tried to taunt him
more. Yet Devin remained the emotional steel wall he always was.
Rhys hadn’t expected Devin could be so closed up, as he tried more
to jeer Devin into action. Rhys glanced over to Arianna, and
discovered Andrew had his hand on her arm again. Distracted, the
sidhe king stepped out of the circle, and didn’t notice that Devin
instantly was upon him, making his move. Two direct hits to his
head and stomach snapped Rhys back into action and to the battle at
hand. The fight had officially started.

Devin struck first, but Rhys returned hit
for hit. For at least two minutes, Rhys and Devin evenly exchanged
blows. And it became obvious that they were evenly matched. For
every hit Rhys landed, Devin got another in. Rhys directed the
fight back to his protection circle, and Devin flew back instantly
to his original spot across the way. Rhys smiled, realizing that
Devin knew what he was doing.

“Interesting,” Rhys added to Devin. “You
know a bit of sidhe magic. Maybe there are a few secrets you’re not
telling your lady love back there. Oh wait, she isn’t your lady any
more, is she?” Rhys laughed, but it was Devin’s smile that stopped
him.

“And she isn’t yours, either.” Devin nodded
back to Arianna and Andrew. Andrew already knew his touch drew
Rhys’ concentration from the match, and with Devin staring at him,
he knew what to do.

Andrew slipped his arms around Arianna. She
didn’t even notice because she was intently watching the match.
Andrew’s touch was so natural after the binding. It wasn’t until
she looked between the two stalled fighters that she realized they
were both looking at her.

‘Andrew, you can’t. He’ll
come after you next,’
Arianna quickly
replied, but Andrew kept his arms around her. He kissed the top of
her head. Men all around them growled, but it wasn’t for them. It
was a show for Rhys specifically.

‘Now I can take him
directly without any tricks,’
Andrew
replied.
‘We’re stronger than him. We’re
stronger than everyone. You don’t have to fear ever again.
Together, we’re unstoppable.’
Arianna
looked up at him as he spoke in her mind. Everything he was saying
was true. She could feel it also. Strength. Together, they were
unstoppable.

“Match to Mr. Alexander,” Serge called,
interrupting Arianna and Andrew’s moment. Rhys was face down on the
ground, not moving. His pulse still beat, but he was out. Nessa
hurried over to her brother with fake concern.

‘Get out of here before he
wakes,’
Nessa advised Devin, who nodded
his answer to her.
‘I’ll keep him under
until you’re back in Arianna’s room. Don’t leave her side now. He’s
going to be irate.’

Andrew and Arianna both listened to her
words. Andrew took Arianna’s hand and rubbed the back of it with
his other hand as they stood with the other spectators, who were
just as much in shock from the match as they were. Everyone’s focus
was on Arianna and Andrew, and none had noticed how quickly Devin
subdued Rhys.

‘Guess we best be going
before the monster comes back to life,’
Andrew teased Arianna, trying to relieve her
anxiety.

‘You heard that,
too?’
Arianna asked, as they walked back
fast. She just realized that Andrew heard Nessa talk. Their
connection was complete. Andrew had Arianna’s abilities
too.

‘We share everything
now,’
Andrew replied.
‘All our abilities are the same, we are bound.’

Chapter 27

Arianna wasn’t happy to be going back to the
matches later that evening. She was the last to arrive, and as she
walked to her seat, all eyes were on her. Behind her, she could
hear the thoughts as the men silently conversed. She didn’t need to
listen in to know that they were all plotting, yet anxiously
looking forward to her upcoming match. They were all waiting to see
her skills, and she would not disappoint them. The two people she
didn’t wish to fight were now her next two opponents, today and
tomorrow. Since everyone else now had at least one loss, she didn’t
have a choice. To win her own freedom, she needed to win all of her
matches, and they wouldn’t be easy. Neither Rhys nor Nik would back
down from a fight with her. They wanted her more than they wanted
her safe.

Nessa was right that Rhys was mad. He was
furious when he woke. Arianna could even feel it from her warded
room. She was happy to find that Rhys didn’t take his anger out on
Nessa, and had yet to find anything to incriminate her; otherwise
she would already be hurt or dead. Arianna needed Nessa’s help a
little longer.

Arianna didn’t want to wait. She didn’t sit
still at all, instead choosing to pace around. The connection with
Andrew and his experience would be helpful, but she still had to
fight either Rhys or Nik today. Rhys radiated anger, and Arianna
wasn’t sure if she could actually stand up to him at this point.
Skill and power might not be enough against his desperation.

“Arianna,” Serge called, and knowing the
drill, Arianna walked over to him and picked one of the two
cards.

Andrew’s nervous energy bounced around. He
still wasn’t completely happy that she was doing this on her own,
but she was right. She needed to do this for herself. This was her
fight. And if anything happened, he was going to step in and crush
some heads. Arianna gave a small nod to him, but he still didn’t
relax. The opponent didn’t matter now. Nik was completely healed,
and there was no advantage like there had been for Turner. Rhys was
pissed beyond compare, and would be a terrible opponent as
well.

“Mr. Katsulas,” Serge called.

Nik stepped into the sparring field across
from Arianna.

‘I begged him to bow to
you, but he will not,’
Polo said mentally
to Arianna. He was sincerely trying to save her from his brother
and future lord. Arianna had won Polo over completely. Too bad that
didn’t extend to Nik.

‘I never expected he
would,’
Arianna replied.

Polo was worried for Arianna. Yet again in
this strange world, she had turned an opponent into a friend. Polo
already carried her in high regard for saving his life two months
ago, now he held her even higher because of her care for his
brother who didn’t deserve her pity. Nik had complained and sulked
the entire time they had been there, and Nik wasn’t going to back
down from fighting her now. Arianna should have let Nik get hurt
worse during his match with Turner. It would have been more
advantageous to her, but she didn’t. Arianna saved Nik.

Nik didn’t waste any time charging at
Arianna and landing the first hit to her shoulder. He smiled at her
shock, as he had done well. However, Arianna’s surprise was from
finding that he actually hit with less force than Andrew. The shock
wore off rapidly, and she was glad for her month of training with
Andrew. She was ready when Nik made the next move. This time she
slipped by him, placing her hand just right to knock him to the
ground. Nik quickly bounced back up as Arianna moved away from his
extending nails as he transformed. She turned herself into her
baku-dearg-dul night human form and blocked out the gasps and sighs
from the spectators at the sight of her. Female night humans were
rare, but her power was what caught everyone’s attention. Nik
didn’t even pause.

‘Use your size to your
advantage,’
Andrew directed her.
‘He will expect you to be strong. Everyone can
sense that, but he doesn’t expect you to be quick and
smart.’
Arianna only had a brief moment to
nod an affirmation before Nik was back attacking her.

Arianna moved in closer, and began attacking
rather than just counterattacking. After trading punches and not
sustaining any damage that would hinder her, Arianna moved back a
little, allowing herself to duck in and away speedily. She was able
to do exactly what Andrew was directing her to do by landing blows
and getting away before Nik could react. She was easily taking over
the match. Nik’s punches and kicks hit dead air, and he soon jumped
back from her in frustration. Andrew’s experience ran through her
veins now and made the match easier than ever imagined. Arianna
began to see how Andrew practiced with her without breaking a
sweat. Everything she did now was instinctual and trained into her,
or, rather, it had been trained into Andrew.

Nik moved back in to attack after
regrouping, and Arianna continued her method of evading anything
thrown her way. She was landing the majority of the hits, and
slowly wearing him down. He was becoming sloppier with each punch,
and happiness radiated off of Andrew. Several times, she trusted
his instinct to get her away from a hit that would have connected
if she didn’t have his knowledge. Andrew’s experience was
exhilarating, and realizing how much he was helping her made her
smile. Arianna barely dodged another hit that grazed down her arm,
distracted by thoughts of Andrew.

‘Let’s see how you like
that,’
Nik jeered mentally. Arianna looked
at the cut on the top of her arm. It didn’t hurt at all and wasn’t
very deep.

‘No! You have less than one
minute to end it,’
Polo screamed in her
head.
‘He used vrykalakos poison. Get done
now, and I can give you my blood to stop it.
’ Polo warned.

It was just a scratch and her skin already
pulled back together. The poison wasn’t working at all on her. She
had vrykalakos blood in her now, so it wasn’t an issue. But she
couldn’t let everyone else know that at this point. She didn’t have
many options left now.

‘Finish him now,’
Devin told her mentally. He knew exactly why Nik
had used every opportunity to only catch a slight graze across her
skin. The ancient vrykalakos were known for the poison hidden in
their nails. Only the elite still had the ability.
‘They will wonder why the poison didn’t work if
you continue.’

Andrew looked over to Devin and realized it
was true. They didn’t want their secret getting out yet. They still
needed the element of surprise to subdue the men tomorrow when Rhys
made his move. If they even thought that Arianna wasn’t normal, it
would cause everyone to adjust their plans. Her new merger of
abilities was their secret weapon.

Andrew closed his eyes and thought of
Arianna. They were already connected closer than they ever
imagined, but now it was as if he almost controlled her internally.
Arianna felt him enter her mind and didn’t fight it. Andrew was the
expert at fighting; she was not.

‘Ari, let me end this
now,’
Andrew said, as he moved Arianna
into position. Nik was still dancing around, waiting for the poison
to take affect before he finished the fight. She wasn’t easy to
beat otherwise.

Arianna slowed her movements and moved in
close. Nik figured the poison was setting in and stopped being so
cautious. Arianna kicked low, which Nik blocked, easily seeing that
a punch was coming next. She was leaving part of her body exposed
from moving from the kick to the punch. He was upright, ready to
block the punch and counter, and didn’t realize she was already
throwing a second punch from the other side. Her quickness easily
overtook him as she knocked him unconscious.

Polo ran down to the field already nicking
the vein in his wrist as he ran. He held his wrist up to her to
offer her his blood. Arianna wanted to refuse, but knew that the
other men were watching. She drank the blood as she held on to the
already healed nick on her arm. As she pulled back, Polo finally
turned to his unconscious brother to remove him from the field.

‘Thank you,’
Arianna said to Polo as he took his brother back
to the house.

‘You are the queen we have
all been waiting for. I can’t let my brother’s stupidity harm
you,’
Polo replied with a bow before
leaving.

The men on the sidelines all watched in awe.
She was a beautiful, but deadly, angel. None of them knew why Polo
had chosen to save Arianna, but the scene was exciting to watch.
Even the men not competing were now watching her more closely. No
one had seen her interact with Polo, yet he just offered himself to
her. Slowly she was winning more and more allies, and those that
were planning to betray her were now thinking that they might be
wrong.

With the matches set for each person to
fight each other once, there was no mystery regarding the last two
matchups. Loan would not be fighting and wasn’t even on the
grounds. He would need at least a day to recover to the point of
walking around, if not more. Loan’s opponent wouldn’t be fighting
tonight. Devin had already fought Rhys, thus it was Turner’s turn
for Rhys, and Devin got the free round.