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 there is a never-ending supply of fighters coming through the doors every week.
I’ve lost track of how long I have been here, I think it’s a year, but maybe it’s more. Our jailors keep us weak so that we cannot stage an uprising and get out of here, not that most are here long enough to even consider it. Every fight is to the death. If you don’t kill your opponent, the Commander of the arena will kill you himself and claim the other as the victor. I’ve never seen it, but we can hear everything from the Underground.
Cedric is fighting now. He’s been here nearly as long as I have. It’s only through our survival that we’ve become something like friends. We’re the two that have lasted the longest and because of that, we look out for each other.
He is an Alpha werewolf. I know this because I can smell the wolf on him and his aura is strong. He thinks I am also an Alpha werewolf, because I’ve hidden my scent and only someone that strong could survive here. I've never told him what I really am. The only other supe that has lasted close to our length of time is a tiger shifter, but he’s a loner and has no interest in getting to know us.
I’m standing at the gates, when Cedric is brought back in. He’s a mess. We always are after a fight. Based on the burns, I’m guessing he was fighting against a warlock or a faery. I watch as they drag him past me, hoping to catch his eye, but it looks like he’s unconscious. If I’m back quickly enough, I can help heal him. I’ve done it before when he’s been injured badly. It’s part of how we’ve bonded. He has made sure my food wasn’t stolen when I was unconscious, and I help him heal.
I turn back to the gates as my match is announced. Both Cedric and I are fan favorites and they begin chanting my name.
“Tana! Tana! Tana!”
The sounds of their feet stomping on the floor of the arena causes the ceiling of our prison to vibrate, making my scales ripple under my skin.
I hear the crowd begin to cheer as my competitor is released into the battleground. I only have to wait another minute and the gate is opening for me.
I slowly make my way to the battleground, to kill yet another supernatural.
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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
I don’t know what the little kestrel told Ishir, but whatever it was, it nearly cost her life. I’m not surprised by the boos I receive froom the crowd, although, if these guys were smart, they would have played me up so that their odds would have been better. There’s no way they are making money if I die tonight. However, as the four of us take our stance, ready to fight, I know that none of us are dying tonight. But every spectator in this stadium will burn today. All afternoon, I’ve been soaking up the sun. I’ve been breathing in the fresh air and feeling my fire returning and burning in my gut. Unlike the others, I didn’t try to partially shift. If I had, everyone would have realized what I am. I saw Ishir watching me several times today. He knows my strength has returned. I’m not sure I can totally shift, but I can definitely breathe fire and burn these assholes alive. When the doors open, I see Cedric head toward Zaiden as planned. Ishir heads straight toward me and I run at hi