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Epilogue 2: Tana
CooperThank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this book, and the story will continue!
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The Arena Prologue
The cheers of the spectators are deafening, chanting for their favorite. Up there, the air is clean and the smell of food makes my stomach growl. Down here, under the arena, the Underground we call it, we are only fed when we win. You’d think they would want to keep us all healthy and well fed, they brought us here as modern-day gladiators, after all. But that’s not how it works.Here, only the strongest survive, and I am one of the strongest.My name is Tana, and I am one of the last Elemental Dragons in existence. There are only four of us left. One for air, one for water, one for earth and me, the one for fire. My captors do not know what I am, my fate would be far worse if they did. We’re not allowed to shift in the arena anyway. We must fight in our human form, which works to protect my secret.The ones who imprison us do not care of our well-being. Supernaturals are easy to find, if not so easy to capture. There are very few of us who survive the first month of the arena, but th
The Arena Chapter 1: Cedric
I’m at home, in my pack. It’s the day of my Alpha ceremony. I turned 18 several months ago. My father wanted to give me time to find my mate, but after traveling to nearly every pack in the country, I haven’t found her.He finally agreed to make me Alpha, knowing I would continue to be exposed to other packs and would have an opportunity to find my mate. So, here we are, standing on the stage in front of our pack, my mother and younger brother are standing proudly behind us as my father begins the ceremony. Hundreds of our pack members are in attendance. It’s not every day that a new Alpha is sworn in. Every pack member will swear their allegiance to me, their new Alpha.As my father says the words, cutting my hand with the ceremonial blade, they come, the hunters. They shoot arrows laced with wolfsbane, and bullets made from silver. My father, our warriors and I all shift and begin fighting. They must have killed our patrols, otherwise the howl of alarm would have given us notice. B
The Arena Chapter 2: Tana
I have no idea why Cedric is acting like suddenly there is a way for us to get out of here. We’ve tried everything we can possibly think of to escape. We’ve both tried to pull our bars apart, we’ve tried not eating the food in case it was poisoned, we’ve tried climbing the walls to get to windows or air vents. Cedric even tried shifting, but he was unable. I did too, just in case it would work, but it didn’t. Nothing has worked.The only way we’re getting out of here is if someone comes to our rescue. My family is gone, so I know no one is coming for me. Cedric felt very strongly that his pack would come to save him, but they never did. It’s not that I think they left him for dead. Based on what he’s told me, I think that they either were brought here and have died in battle, or they were taken for experimentation. In which case, they are probably dead.I know when I was captured, my family chose death over the possibility of being experimented on. We didn’t even know about the arena.
The Arena Chapter 3: Cedric
I’m pacing in my cell. They shouldn’t have taken Tana two days in a row. That has never happened in the time I’ve been here. We fight once a week, every week, but that’s it. Then we are given food and rest until the next fight.If they are taking her again, it can only mean they want her dead. She’s become a liability. I’m guessing too many high rollers have bet against her and lost too much money, putting pressure on the Commander. So now they will make sure she dies and they win.I hear the first two fights and know that it’s not the tiger or Tana. They both end too quickly. Their fights are like mine, they last at least 30 minutes, sometimes longer and we always go last. We are the big events since we are the strongest.When the fourth fight starts I hear a lot of growling and snarling. I know one is the tiger. I’ve gotten used to his sound, but I can’t quite place the other. It sounds similar but I’d be surprised if they put two tigers together. Better to have two winners in the b
The Arena Chapter 4: Tana
I don’t know why Cedric is so damned hardheaded. I’ve been marked for death. Nothing that he does will keep me alive. If I was capable of shifting, I would have months ago and gotten everyone out of here.“Did you hear any more about that dragon shifter?” I ask him, wondering why, if they found another dragon, they weren’t in the pits today.“No, maybe it was a misunderstanding, and they were talking about the pride of lions or maybe they knocked the dragon out and they haven’t woken yet.”“Yes, but then, wouldn’t that be the fourth in our fight next weekend?” I ask.“I haven’t smelled a dragon.” Shere Khan says, looking at me meaningfully. Shit, does that mean he knows what I am?“You know what a dragon smells like?” Cedric asks him.“Yes, but unlike other shifters, they don’t share a similar scent based on their breed. It depends on their element.” He replies.“What do you mean, their element?” Cedric asks.“Do you not know anything about dragons?” He asks, looking at me again.Cedr
The Arena Chapter 5: Cedric
I can’t believe Ishir has met a dragon. They are supposed to be good luck. And that’s about all I know of dragons. His knowledge far exceeds mine. I’m hoping one day that I’ll get to meet one. I’m sure they would make a powerful ally to my pack.I have every intention of getting out of here next weekend and I’m getting Tana out as well. If Ishir is right, I’ll know when we are in the arena if she’s my mate. Even if she’s not, we’re getting her out of here. We walk back to where we usually sleep, laying down and holding hands.“The smartest move would be to get the lion to come back and open the doors for the supes. The three of us have been in the arena and know the structure, where the Commander and the other ranked members are. We know the weak spots and the best places to start the battle.”“I can go after the Commander.” Tana says. “I’ll start the fire, but the lion will need to get back down here right away. The keepers will try to take him out, so either you or Ishir will need t
The Arena Chapter 6: Tana
When they move me, they put me in a space that looks and smells like it is where the toilets are. There is no one here except for me and the smell is so terrible I can barely breathe. There is no air flow, so breathing becomes difficult. It’s not surprising that they only give me poisoned food, not that I could eat in this literal shithole even if it wasn’t poisoned. I realize starting on Thursday that the water they give me is also poisoned. So, basically, before my battle, I can’t breathe, I have no food and no water. If I were a regular shifter, like they think I am, the lack of water would be very problematic. But as a dragon, I can go long periods without water. It’s the tainted air that’s the problem for me. What water I might be able to draw from the air is contaminated. I can’t pull enough oxygen into my lungs because of the putrid scent in the air. On Saturday morning, the keeper comes in and shoots me with some sort of dart. I didn’t expect that it would affect me, but it m
The Arena Chapter 7: Cedric
My relief is palpable when Tana finally lifts her head. I’m not sure why the water was important until she says they had poisoned that too. It sounds like the Keepers were too stupid to realize that they might actually kill her before the battle. As the arena begins to fill with fanatics, I feel my strength returning. The fresh air and the extra food this week have made a difference. I look at my hand and attempt to shift, just one claw. I see that my finger shutters with the attempt to shift, but it doesn’t happen. I feel like Tana was able to make an impact on Zaiden and hopefully he’ll follow through with his part of the deal. I feel more confident when I hear that the first battle will be with one of his female lions. Even if she wins, he’ll realize that the battle to the death is a weekly thing, not a one and done as he seemed to think. Throughout the day, I’ve watched Tana sit in what looks like a lotus style, just breathing in the air. After her ordeal this week, I’m sure she
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