His eyes lose their heated red glare as they slip over me. “No, protector. I cannot. You’d sacrifice yourself for nothing.”
“But then he’d be able to summon Bale. This is what he wants, right?” I squint at him. “It would end now.”
He releases a harsh breath. “The fights would go on. There’s nothing you can do to stop what has already begun, as I’ve told you. Go.” He jerks his head toward the back of the chamber.
“You’re a coward, Bax.” I wrestle my arms out of his grasp, then move to the bars and grip them tightly, pressing my face to the cold iron. Van and Lena trade blows, and the darkness coils around my heart.
I should be worried about the cool look in Bax’s eyes as he glimpsed my clamp. What he may do now that he knows about my blood—the mercury. About whether or not he’ll hand me over to the dark priest to strike some accord for the sake of his family. But I can’t worry about myself right now. My only concern is on the fight happening in the Cage.
Lena lands a hard hit to Van’s jaw. Van drops her defensive stance, sways, and falls to her hands and knees. I press closer to the bars. Stand up. Stand up—
She’s not given a chance to recover as Lena moves in behind her and pulls her upright. Van reaches up—but she’s not quick enough. Lena cries out and yanks Van’s head around with a snap.
Caben’s arms surround me. “Kal—”
A tremor rocks my body. My eyes stare after Van as she falls lifeless to the black earth.
Lena stands over Van’s body, ignoring the announcer as he raises her arm and proclaims her victory. Then her eyes find mine. She holds my glare as she makes her way back to our league’s chamber.
“Kal,” Caben says again, his voice a desperate plea.
The barred door grinds open.
I break his hold and launch at Lena.
I clip her temple with my fist and send my knee into her kidney before the guards are on me. They pull me off of her and I’m slammed against the wall. One of the guards raises his rod.
“Stop!” Bax shouts, knocking the guard’s arm aside. “She fights next.”
My gaze holds Lena as I pant out heavy breaths. “You’re mine.”
She braces her palm against her chin and twists her neck. The sound of her cracking it sends fire thundering through my body. I want to break her face.
The guards continue to hold me back as Lena steps close. “Maybe now you’ll use that rage, protector,” she says, then saunters to the opposite side of the chamber.
“Release her,” Bax snarls.
The guards drag me toward the front of the chamber as the announcer in the Cage calls my name. It’s muffled, a distant noise in the back of my head, mixing with the drumming and shouts. A whirring fills my ears. Then I’m pushed over the plank and into the Cage.
Across the Cage, the barred door of Collar’s chamber slides open.
My body thrums with the darkness gathering around me. I close my eyes, try to center my prayers, but the coils lash and whip at my insides. My eyes fly open when the crowd stomps down, the ground rocking with the force.
A massive contender the size of a small mountain steps out. The announcer to my right shouts into his vissa display. “The Colossal, Cannon!”
I jerk my head toward Bax’s chamber. His face is lowered, his eyes searching his screen device. Then he looks up at me, the worry present on his shadowed features. Caben was supposed to be positioned to face Cannon in the final battle. Something has changed. The ring leaders have pulled a switch, and Bax is no longer in their confidence.
My eyes seek Caben. He’s standing in the middle of the chamber, his head tipped forward, his gaze steady on me. He crosses and uncrosses his arms. I wish the guards would have given me a moment—time to tell him something reassuring. Though I’m unsure of what I would have said.
I drag my gaze away from Caben and look at Cannon as he moves to the center of the Cage. His biceps bulge, like two cannon balls have been implanted beneath his skin. For all I know, they have been. The ring leaders are sick enough to do just that.
He roars and smacks his fist into his palm. Then he barrels toward me.
His face shifts back and forth quickly as he runs, shaking in my line of vision. Suddenly his face is my father’s. It flashes before me in an instant, followed by an image of Van falling to the ground. Willa’s lifeless form. Lilly. My mother. Caben. The images seize my mind and a deep laugh rolls inside of my head.
Kill him.
I shake my head and lunge out of Cannon’s path. He swipes the air. Rolling out of range of his stomp, I get to my knees and grab his bare ankle. I twist, and he falls backward. He hits the ground hard, the dirt kicking up around him.