Just A Taste | BOOK 1 The Night Lords Series

40. Round One

I did as chef boy said and stayed close to him on our way to the Night Reverend's seats. Even from so far away, their powerful presence was near stifling and I couldn't bring myself to calm down. My thoughts ran rampant as my heart thundered in my chest. Cassius drawled for the next contestants to enter, his voice clear as crystal over the music and chatter.

Jacques said this was the night they'd get me out. I still had no idea where or when. And Eldric, he was a rogue. Forbidden from this event altogether. I was under the impression Andin would not show face at all so how did those secretive masterminds plan to swoop me out from beneath the Reverend's noses without them knowing? I took note of how one of the Night Lords was absent and I wondered if he took a bathroom break or just hasn't shown up. I hoped for the latter and that it stayed that way.

I draw even closer to chef boy as we pass the lower vampires seated throughout the stadium. A few leer at my body with obvious lust and I try my best to keep my head up. As I looked about, I noticed none of the slaves out here were dressed like us and I scanned the arena once more. That's when chef boy veers right down a set of steps and I realize we were never headed for Cassius.

We were entering the ring.

Sweat coats my palms and behind my neck. I blink, my eyes stinging from the oil fumes coming off my skin. It was getting hard to breathe. Once we step foot off the smooth marble and onto the giving sand, I stumble a little and have to catch myself on chef boy's arm. He stops to look back at me. I hurriedly take my hand away and murmur an apology.

"You remember what I said?" His deep voice soothed my nerves a fraction and I nod.

"Stay close to chef boy. I mean..." I flush, embarrassed I actually said that aloud.

He arches a brow and his lips quirk. "Chef boy?"

I let out a nervous laugh and shrug. "I...I never caught your name."

His blue eyes twinkle with mirth despite his poker face and he nods. "It's Leon."

Leon. I lock it in place and scold myself not to say chef boy again. Leon gestures for me to follow him as he proceeds along the rim of the ring until we come across a small set of steps leading down into a space much like the bench areas baseball players await their turn on the field. We descend and I'm met with several faces shining with golden oil.

The other contestants.

They were all built well, beautiful and strong. I'm secretly relieved that I took the time to exercise a little every day when I was alone in my house though I for sure wasn't training to fight for my life. I was immediately intimidated by the males and their chiseled bodies. It blew my mind that it was allowed for the men to fight the women! If this was truly the case, I was screwed. Leon might stand a chance but I sure as hell would be good for nothing but smoothing out the dirt.

The hairs on my neck stood on end as the feeling of one's eyes crept over my skin and I glanced around until I met the twin gazes of two boys smiling in my direction. They were obviously brothers. Same blonde hair, crooked smiles, brown eyes, and their facial features screamed blood relatives. Like Leon, they wore black skirts along with a leather strap that crossed their torsos except their straps were yellow. I take in the other's attire.

I note that all of them had outfits like ours but instead of black, their clothes were white. Only a handful were exactly like Leon and I and they stood apart from the rest, an arrogant kind of air emanating from them. I counted twelve and after doing a quick calculation, realized that our colors marked us as slaves to the Night Lords. Two slaves for each Night Lord here tonight. Leon and I made fourteen. The male slaves only differed because of the color of their chest strap. I saw red, purple, green, blue, orange, and yellow. They spoke among themselves, ignoring everyone else. Leon made no move to join them and instead seemed to find it more interesting to glare out at the arena where two pairs of slaves wearing white were beginning to brawl. The cheers of the stadium shook the ground and I shivered.