“Don’t listen to him,” Yong said, his eyes going to me as well. “I can take care of myself.”
The arena god laughed. “You can’t take care of anything. You might be better dressed, but there’s no hiding what you are when you’re standing beside a real dragon. You’re weak, a shadow of what you should be. You couldn’t take a head shot from a normal gun right now.”
“Perhaps,” my father said, lifting his chin. “But I’d rather die than be the anchor who drags his daughter down.” His bright sea-colored eyes flicked to mine. “Do it, Opal! Show this pathetic false god what it means to be a dragon!”
“But she’s not a dragon,” the Gameskeeper said sweetly. “And yours isn’t the only life on the line.” Without taking his eyes off me, the spirit tilted his head toward the door. “Kauffman!”
I hadn’t actually seen the mage whose spellwork I’d been obsessing over since our fight in the Gnarls, but he looked as smarmy as I remembered. Even the superior smirk was the same as he walked into the room and took his position at his god’s right, lifting his hand to show me the black circle twined around his wrist. An exact replica of the one burned into Nik’s neck.
“The Sword of Damocles is a very fair spell,” the Gameskeeper said, taking Kauffman’s arm and moving it closer to me so I could see the markings. “It is equally irremovable for both parties. But while we’ve upheld our end of the bargain, you’re in here trying to rig the fight for Mad Dog, and that’s not allowed.” The god dropped his lackey’s arm with a grin. “You broke the deal, sweetheart. That means his head is mine to take whenever I wish, fight or no fight. One false move from you and I pop him, right after I kill your daddy.”
Don’t listen to him, the DFZ ordered. He’s just trying to intimidate you.
He was doing a damn good job.
There’s no way he’ll kill his champion on fight night. He’s just bluffing because he’s afraid of what you can do, which means you should do it now!
She was right. I knew she was right, but the entire reason I’d become a priestess was to save my dad, and I was here tonight mostly because of Nik. If I did as she asked, I’d lose both of them.
But you’ll gain so much more! Remember what the Gameskeeper is! He’s not a god. He’s a parasite who feeds on the worst of human nature! Those are your words. Remember what drove you to do this!
How could I forget? Just looking at the Gameskeeper sent bile rising up my throat. I knew how bad he was. He was shoving his cruelty in my face, and yet…
Do it, Opal! my god roared, flooding me with power. Before he kills you too!
There were a lot of guns pointed my direction. While I’d been talking with the Gameskeeper, his goons had completely surrounded us, confirming my suspicion that blowing the spellwork really would be my last chance to hit back before we all went down. My dad would have done it. He would have died with his fangs in the Gameskeeper’s throat before he gave the bastard an inch. But despite my upbringing, I wasn’t a dragon. I was just me, and no matter how good it would be for the city and everyone else, I couldn’t throw away the two people I’d come here to save.
The moment I made that decision, something inside me snapped. All at once, all the magic the DFZ had been pouring into me started rushing back out again. I grabbed for it instinctively, crying out to her, but the city didn’t answer. Nothing did. For the first time in weeks, I was alone in my head.
The emptiness hit me like a gut punch. I fell to the ground, too overwhelmed by the torrent of magic gushing out of me like water from a broken jug to feel anything else. When it was all finally gone, I looked up to see the Gameskeeper leering down at me, his bloody eyes glowing with triumph.
“I knew you weren’t a real priestess.”
His words were a second sucker punch, because they were true. A real priestess put her god first. That’s what Peter did, but I wasn’t like him. I’d been happy to use the DFZ’s power, but I’d never committed, and so when our bond was tested, there’d been nothing for either of us to hold on to. We’d snapped like the brittle links we were, and now I was alone. Alone and mortal, on my knees at the feet of a god who no longer felt small.
That was my last thought before the Gameskeeper reached down and struck me across the face. The blow sent me flying. I would have crashed into the wall if his magic hadn’t caught me. It was the same horrible, bloodthirsty force that had grabbed my father in his office. I’d been immune back then because I’d belonged to the DFZ, but I didn’t belong to anyone anymore. I was just another human in way over her head. Change that to “about to lose her head,” because the Gameskeeper was starting to squeeze, his magic crushing me tighter and tighter until—
“Stop!”
The voice was so panicked, I didn’t even recognize it as my father’s until he dove in front of me, shoving his body between mine and the Gameskeeper’s. “Stop,” he said again.
“Or what?” the god asked mockingly. “You just said you were willing to die. Why shouldn’t she go with you?”
“Because she’s no longer a threat. Her connection to the DFZ is gone. She’s just a mortal now, so let her go.”
The Gameskeeper began to laugh. “You haven’t been paying attention if you think appeals to conscience work on me. There’s no mercy in the arena, but it does sound as if you’re ready to talk, so how about
