LOGINAsher’s POV“The last slave standing of the Crimson House of Alpha Kaelen!”The announcer’s voice echoed over the stands. The crowd answered with noise, jeers and laughter. “He looks so young!” Someone in the crowd shouted.“Too weak! Fragile like a woman!” Another yelled.I locked my jaw until it hurt and tuned them out. I stood alone in the middle of the stained sand, watching the cave and whatever was growling inside it.“You are to tame the beast… the Boreas!” the announcer shouted, his voice climbing like this was entertainment and not a damn funeral waiting to happen. “And you are to ride it! Ten thousand gold coins to the winning house, and the victorious slave will sit at the same table as King Alpha Xorax himself during the Festival of the Crescent Moon!”“Begin!”The iron bars of the cave gate started lowering into the ground. Thick icy smoke poured out of the dark. Cold air rolled across the sand and cut through the heat on my skin.My breath caught. My heart hammered so
Asher’s POVA scream tore through the air above me.Then something answered it — a deep booming roar that shook the stone.I flinched hard. My hands clamped onto the rusted bars. Whatever was happening up in the sun was happening fast, and it was bad. Somewhere in another cell, a man started praying under his breath and didn’t stop.The oak doors at the end of the corridor burst open. Boots scrambled down the steps in a mess of shouting. Someone dropped a spear and it clattered loud against the wall. Guards hauled the first gladiator back into the dark.It was the Beta from the Gold House. The one who’d marched out ten minutes ago with his chest out and his sword ready. I barely recognized him. His torso was torn open with deep claw marks and his leather chestplate was shredded to strips.Blood pooled in his collarbone and ran down his side. Two guards dragged his limp body across the dirt and dumped him in an empty cage without care. His head hit the stone, but he didn’t make a sou
Asher’s POVMy stomach wouldn’t shut up.I was damn hungry. The dark pits were quiet except for the other fighters locked in the cells around me — low grumbles, heavy breathing, the occasional scrape of chains against stone. Someone coughed hard in a cell further down. Someone else muttered a prayer I didn’t recognize. Only the Moon Goddess knew what they were going to make us do once those iron grates finally lifted.I couldn’t tell if it was already the tournament day. Time had turned into cold damp and nothing else. There were no windows. The torch smoke barely changed except when a guard walked past and stirred the air.But little by little the silence started to crack. Muffled voices gathered somewhere high above on the other side of the pit wall. A low distant hum. Hundreds of people, maybe thousands, taking their seats. Boots thudded against wood. Benches scraped across the stone.Footsteps came down the spiral stairs. “Asher?”I pushed up off the dirty stone and pressed my f
Asher’s POVI think I was having the best dream until hands grabbed my arms.My eyes snapped open. A guard was bent over me, his broad scarred face was inches from mine. Stale grease and old rain clung to his leather coat.Before I could draw a breath, his other hand knotted into my shirt and jerked me straight off the straw.“Get up.”“Let go of me!” I twisted in his grip. My heels dragged across the grit as a second guard caught my left wrist and twisted my arm behind my back. “Where the fuck are you taking me? What did I do?”“Keep your mouth shut if you like your teeth.” The first one drove his forearm into my chest and shoved me toward the open doorway.They hauled me down the narrow corridor. My bare feet scraped the uneven flags. Every time I tried to plant my weight, the guard on my left would yank my arm higher. Doors creaked as we passed. Servants and branded slaves pressed their faces to the iron grates, eyes wide in the amber torchlight.Whispers moved through the hall.“
Asher’s POVWhy the hell did Kaelen lie?The question wouldn’t stop coming. It kept turning in my head until it hurt. He had stood in front of Vaelin, looked him dead in the eye, and said he gave me that black-sealed paper himself. It made no sense. Kaelen didn’t care about me. He was playing his usual game.He didn’t say a word while he dragged me down the hall. His grip on my wrist was tight enough to leave marks. I had to walk fast just to keep from going down on the stone. Torchlight slid over the walls as we moved. Servants stepped out of his way without being told. Nobody looked at my face.The second we hit his private wing, he let go and shoved me forward.I stumbled, caught myself on the wall, and turned to face him. The silk dragged across my shoulder as I straightened. My pulse was still too fast from the near miss with Vaelin. From the parchment and everything that had happened.“Explain.” Kaelen’s voice had none of the soft edge left in it. “Why did you have that parch
Asher’s POVShit… shit… this has got to be the worst day ever.If Kaelen finds out I took that parchment, they will destroy me. Both of them. Right here in this fucking castle. My throat was so dry I couldn't even swallow, and my legs felt like two sack of stones as we walked down the corridor behind Vaelin’s guard."You don't need to come, Prince Kaelen," I said, trying to pull back from his grip on my shoulder.Kaelen didn't even look down at me. He just kept walking, his long black cloak trailing over the floorboards. His thumb pressed firm into my skin to keep me moving beside him. "Nonsense, little gold bird. Where you go, I go.""Wait," I tried again."Please. You really don't need to come."Kaelen paid deaf ears to every word coming out of my mouth. He didn't care that my heart was knocking against my ribs like a trapped rabbit. He just smiled that smooth, arrogant smile of his, completely ignoring my panic. I was terrified of what was going to happen once we stepped through tho







