“Here.” I turned around to find Benedict with his hands out, a small burst of flame curling and dancing in his palms. The light reflected off his scales, and I imagined a small smile at the corner of his mouth, but it was likely just a trick of the shadows. I cautiously put my hands under his, and together we lifted them over the balcony, letting our light join the others. It was a visible representation of their hope as a race, and it was breathtaking.
“The gods have seen fit to forgive our selfishness, and today we open the first Games in centuries! We await the crowning of our champions, and soon the world will see the rise of the drakens once more!”
The individual fires grew, floating up into a layer of light that covered the entire ceiling. With a mighty blast it exploded, sending a wave of heat across the entire arena. When it burnt out, the torches were again lit, burning the way they had before being extinguished. D’Arcy turned, and I froze as he pointed right at me.
“For seven days we will battle to determine who are the worthiest drakens among us! Our guest will determine the winners, choosing who will be worthy to share her bed, the Court of our king, and the future of our people!”
The crowd roared, every draken stamping their feet and flaring their wings. I twisted my hands nervously in the fabric that hung from my midriff. I’d never been with a man and didn’t fully understand my purpose. Did they think I could give birth to draken children? If that was the case, why had they waited so long to take a human female? Why start now, and with me?
The drakens cheered and roared, their energy and joy infectious. I allowed myself an odd grimace that may have been mistaken for a smile, and Benedict’s hand landed heavily on my shoulder. He held his hand out straight above him and gestured to the draken people surrounding him. He began to sing, and I had to grip hard to the stone balcony to stay on my feet. There weren’t words I recognized, but you’d have to be dead not to appreciate the pain and sorrow that dripped from his vocal cords. All around him the other drakens joined in, some on the same pitch, others in harmony. The sound grew until it filled my head, and I closed my eyes from sheer overwhelm. They split into further harmonies, then notes that didn’t sound right at all, building and tripping over one another until all I could hear was the building pressure of sound that slithered through my body like an inner skin. It grew, and grew, and I put my hands against my head.
Benedict threw his arms down, and then the sound resolved into glorious harmony. The voices moved with his hands, progressing together through a song of brotherhood and loss. I tried to catch my breath as sweat gathered on my lower back. Benedict chose that moment to turn his dark gaze on me, and I could have sworn he’d smirked.
“Let the Games begin.”
FIVE
Benedict sat in the larger throne and gestured for me to sit in the other one. As the torches in the room brightened, he looked at me, and for a moment he stared. I stared back, taking in the bone necklace he wore around his neck. I wondered how he sat in his draken form with the hard spikes on his back.
“See something you like, siren?”
I ignored his penchant for ridiculous nicknames and sat. I shot a glance to him, noticing the blades on his back had melded back under his skin, allowing him to sit comfortably against the stone wall.
“The first trial is underway. Who amongst you wishes to compete?”
D’Arcy’s voice was a deep rumble, yet it stretched to reach every inch of the arena. For a moment, no one moved, then slowly different figures stood throughout the bleachers, thirty in all. D’Arcy bared his fangs in a macabre grin, and with the slightest gesture of his finger, indicated they should join him. Thirty drakens made their way from the bleachers, evenly spacing themselves out on the outside edges.
“The rules are simple: no killing blows and yield if you can’t continue. Any death will be investigated personally by me.”
The tension in the air was tangible as the thirty drakens assumed threatening postures, various claws and blades appearing as they shifted into their deadliest forms, scales and feathers glistening.
“Go.”
It was pandemonium. The men attacked each other relentlessly, clawing, slashing, and some of the larger ones using just their bare hands to inflict as much damage as possible. The largest draken of them was massive; he likely dwarfed Benedict by two or three feet. His scales and coloring were a mottled grey, and his wings looked oddly disproportionate to his body. I doubted they could support his heavy frame. The large draken didn’t hesitate as he grabbed the draken nearest to him and slammed the unfortunate soul against the stone wall. The smaller draken hit with a sickening crack, then fell to the ground and didn’t move. I flinched and nearly stood, but Benedict’s hand was heavy on mine, holding me in place. I swallowed and sat back down. The larger draken snarled in victory, but I felt sick.
Some drakens used swords or axes to reach where their claws or fangs couldn’t, knives being used to devastating effect across the crowded, chaotic atmosphere. drakens fell in a wide radius as screams and blood filled the air. I felt Benedict go rigid beside me, his large hands curling into fists. If he didn’t like the Games, why did he allow them
