‘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.
Arianna reached over and touched Turner’s shoulder as he stood.
“Would you reconsider fighting him?” she asked quietly. Turner stared at her. She was asking him to not fight.
Turner looked across the way. Rhys was happy as he stood and walked to his spot; he needed to release some anger, and this was the perfect opportunity. Arianna looked back at Rhys again and closed her eyes. She began to feel a sense of dread. It wasn’t coming from Rhys, but rather the wind. Emotions swirled all around her. People scared. Someone hurt. Someone angry. The wind shifted and the sense cleared more. Devin was angry. Nessa was scared, and Turner was dying. Arianna snapped her head up at Andrew’s touch.
‘What was that?’ he asked.
‘Another ability?’ Arianna guessed as she saw Turner was fine and standing up to fight. Devin was behind him, looking over at Rhys and anticipating the fight.
‘Some ability.’ Andrew rubbed his head, trying to get all the emotion out of it. The sensation that hit them was stronger than what they felt on a daily basis from the people around them.
“Turner,” Arianna reached up and grabbed his arm to stop him as he began to walk away. “He is out for blood. Your position so close to me frightens him. He will do to you what he did to Loan. Even with my blood, he will still hurt you. Please don’t do this,” Arianna begged. Something was wrong. Turner stopped at the desperation in her voice. Devin slid down beside her.
‘What did you see?’ Devin asked. Devin had analyzed all the clans as soon as Arianna took their blood. He needed to be sure about the abilities she could possibly gain. It was said that some night humans could predict the future at times. It wasn’t a controlled ability, but one that came when needed.
‘I didn’t see anything; I felt it. I felt the emotion of Turner dying,’ Arianna replied to both Turner and Devin. Turner knelt by her. They didn’t doubt her. She was obviously upset over what she experienced.
‘I’ll be fine,’ Turner replied. ‘Remember, super lycan here,’ he joked. It was true. With her blood, he was now a super lycan. Like her, he would have to fight with caution. It was that carefulness that would cost him his life.
‘No,’ Andrew replied. ‘You won’t be fine. I felt it through her. You’ll die if you fight him. Devin won because Rhys didn’t expect him to even last for thirty seconds. He thought plain old tricks would win him the match. He won’t do that with you. He is getting smarter and more desperate.’
Devin nodded to Gabriel as Turner absorbed what Andrew had said to them all.
“My charge is declining the fight,” Gabriel told Serge. Serge nodded and placed a win for Rhys. Turner stood, still shocked to find that Arianna could sense the future and his death was to be part of it. Anger flared across the way. Rhys was furious, but Turner was alive and safe for now. That was all that mattered to Arianna.
Chapter 28
“You do know what this means?” Andrew asked as he twirled a piece of Arianna’s hair. They had all gathered in her room. Everyone had returne
d with her. No one would be leaving her side now. Rhys had made plans, and she was the object of his obsession.
“Yes, I know I have to fight Rhys tomorrow, and that he’s pissed. I’m the only thing standing between him and winning—well that and Devin,” Arianna relaxed into Andrew’s arms. Even though she now felt his presence all the time, not just when they were within a five-foot radius, the binding did nothing to stop the need to touch.
“When I win tomorrow, and you win tomorrow, there will be nothing left to discuss,” Devin added from the seat across from them in her sitting room. Everyone was used to Arianna and Andrew by now, but Devin still had to keep his emotions in check as he watched them. It was harder right now because he was still feeling the lasting effects of the attack on him by Vasquez. He was still not completely healed, so he lay there with his eyes closed, listening to everything.
“You don’t think all hell isn’t going to break loose at that point?” Thomas asked, looking up from the computer he sat at with Molina. Molina nodded in agreement.
“That’s where I come in,” Nessa said, magically appearing at the open window again. She did like to make dramatic appearances. Devin opened his eyes long enough to glare at her. She smiled sweetly, yet somehow wickedly, back at him. He rolled his eyes at her before closing them again.
Thomas was already standing and helping Nessa in from the window.
“And your plan would be?” Thomas asked. He needed to know. He needed to know everything. It was part of who he was.
“I’ve been making rounds outside every day,” Nessa began. Everyone already knew that because Arianna had told them.
“Good for you,” Devin replied, still not looking at her.
“And what I have found,” Nessa continued, without acknowledging her interruption, “Is that my brother has a lot less support than he thinks he does.”
Thomas stared at her. By now they assumed most, if not all, those attending would be on Rhys’ side. He had spent weeks getting people to come to the final tomorrow, and they were packing in so deep that the people who supported Arianna were having trouble getting close enough to see the match. They hadn’t prepared enough for this scenario. They hadn’t suspected that one competitor would have so much pull.
“How can you be sure?” Thomas needed to know this was true.
There would be more hope if tomorrow the stands wouldn’t be filled with people there just to help Rhys. They had already gone over everything, and there was no way they could deny entrance to those who wanted to see the matches. It was part of the tradition of the tournament. Arianna had already begun inviting guests onto the property for a week, but they would still be outnumbered when the match came up.
“Because I was right in that the sidhe want to be left alone. My brother is an idiot. The sidhe want Arianna like everyone else, but they want her in name only. They only want control of her. They don’t want to mix the blood of the sidhe with the blood of another clan.” Arianna sat up and stared at Nessa. “Meaning, they want you to marry Rhys so that they get more land and clans.”
“Why would that be?” Arianna asked.
“Can’t you see how male orientated these clans are? If you marry Rhys, then he gets your clans and land.” Nessa rolled her eyes now at all the men in the room. Molina nodded agreement of her disgust with the tradition also.
“But that’s all they want—which means what?” Arianna asked. Andrew tried to pull her back to himself.
“Meaning they’d prefer you to keep your boy toy with you, and never have alone time with my brother.” Andrew nodded his approval of that idea, and it was the first time that Devin actually smiled over what came out of Nessa’s mouth. “They don’t want you to dirty our clan lines, and since I have begun to discreetly inform the sidhe family heads that my brother’s intentions go far beyond just a political marriage, they aren’t very happy with him. “
Thomas sighed. “But that doesn’t mean they will side with us.” He sounded defeated. Hope was there and gone in minutes.
“I’m sure they will side with Arianna if she proceeds fair.” Nessa sat down next to Devin, but ignored him.
“But we can’t risk Arianna on what you think of them. We need to know for a fact that they are going to side with us,” Molina added, defeated by a possibility that couldn’t be confirmed. Nessa frowned at everyone. She was sure that her people would side with Arianna, but her word would not be enough.
“Why don’t we just use the rings from the Randolph manor?” Turner asked, unsure why no one mentioned it. The color-changing rings had been a savior the year before, when they realized that Seeger was trying to overthrow the Randolph family rule of the dearg-dul clan. The rings changed color on night humans based on their loyalties. After last year, they had confiscated all the rings, since they only showed night human loyalty, and the Randolph manor had many day humans there.
“Rings?” Nessa asked. All eyes looked to Devin. He was the only one who still wore his ring.
Devin looked down at his finger and hesitated to pull it off. He had never taken the ring off since Lord Randolph had given it to him after his first night human kill. It was a symbol that he was strong enough to protect Arianna. Devin was given Randolph’s ring directly from his hand, and Randolph told him to never take it off as it proved his link to Arianna ran deeper than everyone else’s. The dark blue stone of Arianna’s mother turned a light blue to match Arianna’s eyes the minute he had put it on. It was unheard of for a day human to change a bloodstone. Devin told no one what had happened, and only Randolph knew the truth. Devin may be a day human, but he was connected enough to Arianna to change a night human bloodstone. Devin slowly slid the ring off as he was deep in thought about the past and all the meaning behind that one ring.
Nessa detected the conflict behind his eyes and almost didn’t reach out to take the ring when Devin silently offered it. He finally looked up, waiting for her to take it. Nessa placed her hand palm up and Devin dropped the ring on her palm.
“It’s a bloodstone,” Thomas explained when Devin did not. “It changes color to tell who someone is loyal to.” Nessa looked closely at the blue-stoned ring. She noticed the resemblance to Arianna’s eyes even if no one else did. Thomas reached down and slid the ring on his finger and the stone changed to a brilliant white color.
“Arianna is white,” Thomas said, slipping the ring off and handing it back to Nessa. She looked closer at the ring. The stone was positioned to lie directly on the skin of the wearer when they put it on.
“And this will change colors beyond white and blue?” Nessa asked, eyeing over the stone.
“It was red for my grandfather,” Arianna replied, still sitting in Andrew’s arms.
“Do you have more?” Nessa asked. “Could we set up at the gates and check each person that enters?”
“And then funnel the ones not supporting Arianna to a specific place,” Molina finished the idea.
Thomas nodded. “But there is the problem of putting a ring on each person. That would take a long time and people might become suspicious.”
“If you cut the ring here and here,” Nessa explained, pointing to side of the ring. “You could bend back the sides and then just use it like a stamp or something.”
“We could tell people it’s for safety reasons,” Molina replied. Her hope was beginning to return. They would have a better chance at defending Arianna if they knew which people were the enemies.
“Exactly,” Nessa said.
Thomas stood, staring at the computer for a moment before looking around at everyone in the room. They were all waiting for his opinion.
“I guess I’ve got to get flying then,” Thomas replied, agreeing with Nessa and Molina. All the rings were in storage back at the Randolph Manor. Thomas began unbuttoning his shirt while moving to the window. “Mori will meet me on my way there, and I’ll be back as soon as I can.” His large black wings snapped open as he jumped from the window.
* * * * *
Ari
anna woke early before the night humans at and around the estate. She closed her eyes, taking a moment to sense everything around her. The world was sleeping. Even the day humans in their estate kept to the night human schedule, and were asleep. She sat up quietly as to not disturb Andrew next to her. He was sleeping soundly. In the sitting room, Devin and Turner were on the couches. Turner was sprawled out and snoring, while Devin was sitting and staring at his ring.
‘Everything all right?’ Arianna asked from the doorway to the bedroom.
‘Yes, and you?’ Devin replied, not looking up from the ring. It was still a bright white color. He hadn’t put the ring back on from the day before.
‘For now,’ she added, coming into the room and sitting beside him. She took the ring from his hand. It was strange. The pull to be near Devin was now minimal after to her binding to Andrew. She still looked at him as a friend, and a very close one at that, but she no longer craved his attention. His friendship was all that she needed from him. She slipped the ring on her finger and the stone shimmered a bit and turned the same pale blue color it was before. Devin looked up to her.
‘My mother’s ring color wasn’t sky blue, it was more a deep sapphire,’ she replied. His ring was a different color blue than her mother’s as everyone was told. She handed the ring back to him. Devin continued to hold the ring and not put it back on. Arianna reached over and took the ring to slide it back on his finger. ‘No matter the color, I will never doubt that you are here for me.’
Devin nodded as the stone stayed the pale blue color. It did not show loyalty to Arianna but to some unknown night human. ‘Always,’ he replied as she stood and returned to her room as silently as she entered.
“You know, it’s way too early to be getting up,” Andrew protested, grabbing her arm and pulling her back to the bed. “The sun is still out.”
“Thomas returned two hours ago,” Arianna told Andrew. Andrew didn’t care. He pulled Arianna to his chest and hugged her.