Oh hell no. I hadn’t just blown my connection to the DFZ so my dad could turn around and put himself into this maniac’s hands. I struggled as hard as I could against the binding magic, mouthing frantically at my father since the pressure on my throat kept me from yelling, but he didn’t even glance my direction.
“What kind of deal?”
“The best kind,” the Gameskeeper said greedily. “An upgrade.” He pointed a finger at the cut rock ceiling. “I’ve got a hundred thousand people up there plus millions more watching at home waiting with bated breath to see my champion fight a dragon. Just one problem.” He stuck a thumb over his shoulder at White Snake, who was still crouching on the ground. “The one I’ve got is already a loser. Everyone in the world already saw her get smacked down when the DFZ saved your life. That was good enough when I didn’t have anything better, but now I do.” He smiled at Yong. “I have you.”
My father scoffed. “I thought I was too weak.”
“You are,” the Gameskeeper said. “But that doesn’t mean you have to stay that way. I’ve heard how dragons get power. You eat it out of your defeated enemies, and you’ve got a prime candidate right here.”
He turned to look at White Snake, who shrank into the bloody ground. “There’s your power, Yong of Korea. She’s always been your enemy, hasn’t she? Eat her and take her fire for yourself, and then go face my dog in the arena. If you win—and there’s no way you won’t—I’ll give you your Opal back no worse for wear, and the two of you can go wherever you want. I’m sure you must have all sorts of problems waiting for you back home. This way you’ll be strong enough to deal with those, and I’ll be able to give my worshipers an even better spectacle than I promised. We both win, and all it will cost you are the lives of your lifelong foe and your daughter’s thuggish boyfriend, whom I’m sure you never approved of anyway. There are literally no downsides for you, but make your choice quick. One way or another, I’m sending a dragon into that arena, so what do you say? Do we have a deal?”
I screamed silently against the magic that was wrapped around my head like a fist. My dad fighting Nik in the Gameskeeper’s arena was such a worst-case scenario, I hadn’t even thought to be afraid of it. Whichever one of them triumphed, I lost someone irreplaceable. Probably Nik, but his Mad Dog was so deadly and my father was so weak that I couldn’t say for sure. Given the way my luck was going tonight, they were both going to die, but there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t even get my dad’s attention as he stood in front of me, his brows furrowed as if he were giving this insanity serious thought.
“It seems I don’t have a choice,” he said at last, shaking his head as if this were all merely a vexing inconvenience and not the end of the goddamn world. “Very well. Spare my daughter, and I will debase myself by entering your arena, but I’m not taking White Snake’s fire.”
His sister sagged in relief, but the Gameskeeper looked insulted. “You’re not fit to fight without it. My people came here to see a dragon. You can’t even get out of your human disguise.”
“I don’t need to change to beat a mortal,” my father said haughtily. “Do you know how many ‘champions’ I’ve killed in my two thousand years? This will be nothing, and anyway, I’ve already sworn on my fire to take White Snake back home with me to Korea. If I eat her, my own flames will consume me for oath breaking, so it’s a moot point.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m all the dragon you’re going to get. Take it or leave it, but I’m doing my part. Now you do yours. Let my daughter go.”
As much as I hated every part of this, I was on board with that last bit. I’d been choking for over a minute now, and my vision was starting to go dark. Thankfully, while he didn’t look happy about it, the Gameskeeper must have decided Yong’s offer was good enough, because his magic dropped me a second later. I fell sprawling onto the ground, my body convulsing with hacking coughs as I fought for air. I was still working on it when a new set of hands dug into my shoulders, and I looked up to see Kauffman’s smug face leering down at me. He wrenched my arms behind my back next, securing my hands with one of those horrible plastic zip-ties Nik loved so much.
“I accept your terms,” the Gameskeeper told my father as Kauffman yanked me to my feet. “But until you defeat my champion, I’ll be keeping your treasure as collateral. I just want to make sure you’re really fighting out there. My audience deserves nothing less.”
Yong growled deep in his throat. White Snake did too. She must have been genuinely moved by Yong’s refusal to take her fire, because her whole demeanor had changed. Unfortunately, the anti-dragon guns were all still pointed at her, and despite her talk about them not actually being able to kill her, she didn’t look ready to take another barrage just yet.
“You men stay here,” the Gameskeeper ordered, handing his own gun to the soldier closest to him. “Make sure our backup dragon doesn’t go anywhere. Meanwhile, the new challenger and I have a crowd to greet.”
He held out his hand to my father. With a final look at me, Yong took it. The two of them vanished a moment later, riding up the bloody magic to the arena where I could already feel the crowd’s anticipation thrumming like a heartbeat.
“You heard the boss,” Kauffman told the soldiers. “Stay here and
