I leaned back in my chair and stretched out my arms, fully aware of what I was doing and how it pushed up my somewhat small breasts.
“Eyes up here, please.” I tutted, but inwardly was smiling. He’d done exactly what I wanted him to.
Hector ripped his eyes back up to my face and swallowed loudly. I was a little smug about that. And about the appreciation in his eyes. This man wanted me and I was going to get everything I could out of that.
“So, what do you want?” I asked.
He pointed at a screen that I hadn’t noticed before which was replaying parts of my game play. “You don’t have a regular squad, do you?” he asked.
“So?” I shrugged. “Nowhere did it state I had to have one to sign up.”
He chuckled. “Do you know what the prize is for winning this tournament?”
“I’m not here to win for the money,” I replied. Though the money would be good, I was much more interested in the prestige.
“The Renegades are gearing up to enter the International Tournament. When we win, we’ll get to sit together with the creators and consult for them.”
I crossed my arms again, and his gaze slipped back to my breasts. Typical man.
He held out his hand to me. “We need one more member. You in?”
4
I breathed out a little cluster of flames, sparking up the small twig in my hand. The fire danced across the wooden stick right until it almost touched the tips of my fingers. The gravel under my shoes cracked as I took in a deep breath, filling my lungs with air and fire. With a soft sigh, I encouraged the tiny ember between my fingers. The wood turned ashen as the tiny flame jumped onto my skin and twirled along my veins.
“Lola?”
Rachel’s voice jolted me out of my thoughts and I quickly gulped up the flame. She never liked me playing with fire out in the open and frankly, I shouldn’t. But it helped me take my mind off of things.
“You okay?” she asked, joining me at the backdoor of Dragon Soul. I nodded slowly, but I wasn’t sure if I was convincing her or me.
“You darted out of there like your ass was on fire.” She tilted her head and looked at me with her big concerned eyes. I smiled bemused and nudged her shoulder with mine. She worried far too much about me.
“I just needed some fresh air,” I explained, kicking some of the little rocks into a hidden grate. There was something satisfying about the noise they made as they bounced against the metal bars.
“Why did they pull you to the side?” Rachel pushed her blonde hair behind her ear and gave me her famous piercing stare, the one that I couldn’t shrug off.
“They pretty much told me I’m going to be the winner.”
“Oh, that’s great!” she gasped, jumping up and down in excitement, even if she didn’t really get the gaming. She knew how important it was to me.
“They also want me on their team,” I added a little sourly.
“Isn’t that amazing?” Rachel hugged me tight, the scent of cinnamon enwrapping me. She always smelled like the best things of a bonfire night and I so happened to love bonfires.
“They’re the best team on the East Server… Playing with them would mean I get to do quests I couldn’t have dreamed of before and I’d be going pro,” I added slowly, reluctantly. I didn’t want to admit just how cool it could be to play with some of the best players around.
My best friend clapped her hands in glee. “But isn’t that fantastic?” She studied my expression and her smile fell. “It’s not fantastic?”
“I don’t know… I want to game with them, I do… And making gaming my actual career sounds amazing. I’d love to do that.... But is that fair to Tate and JJ? I mean, I know they’ve been a bit awol but just joining a different party seems…”
“Inconsiderate?” Rachel added, staring at me with her deep blue eyes. She always had a knack for finishing my sentences.
“Pretty much, yeah… And not just Tate and JJ. I’ve got you to think about as well.” I leaned against the wall, the rough bricks rubbing against my shoulder blades. I was itching for a fly, but the summer was still a fair bit off and I wasn’t about to get mated just so I could engage in the mating dance.
The image of Martin and Hector popped up in my head and angrily, I shrugged it away. No. I wasn’t about to lose my friendship with Rachel just because of a couple of testosterone filled men. They could get lost, both of them.
“I’m not taking their offer,” I hummed, taking Rachel’s hand in mine. I gently squeezed and let a rare smile dance across my lips. “I don’t want to lose you.”
“It’s a great opportunity for you, though.”
“No chance. A gaming career would take up too much of my time.”
“Lola, look at me.” Rachel’s voice drew my eyes up and I stared back into hers. Nervously, I swallowed, afraid of what she’d tell me to do next.
“This is a great and rare chance for you to do something you love. Don’t let me stop you, I’m already depriving you of enough.”
“You’re not, I chose to stay unmated.”
“Which is ridiculous,” she muttered as she pulled her hand out of mine. A little lost, I studied my best friend, wondering why she looked so pouty all of a sudden.
“It’s not at all. You know the others won’t let you join in…”
“You have to stop blaming yourself for me being different,” Rachel blurted out. She turned her back to me and I wondered what she was hiding. We talked about everything. We had since we were young. I’d seen her laugh, cry and shout. But all of a sudden it was like things were different.
“I don’t blame myself,” I assured her.
“Maybe blame is the wrong word. But you’ve taken on their prejudice as a fault of your own. But that’s not fair to you, Lola.You shouldn’t miss out on your own life just because I can’t live mine.”
“But you can live yours,” I pointed out. “We’re doing it right now. The two of us, in our flat…”
“No, Lola. We’re living half lives. I’m hiding who I am and you’re just trying to protect me from the world. Well, I’m sorry to say, but the world doesn’t work like that. It just isn’t as easy to be protected from. You know that.”
“Rachel…” I did wonder what she’d been hiding from me, but I knew she’d tell me in her own time. I wasn’t about to push her.
“No, Lola.” She sniffed slightly and I stepped closer, closing the gap between us and slipping my arm around her. The cinnamon scent that was Rachel consumed my senses. I wasn’t about to tell her, but I loved the smell. It always made me feel at home.
“You’re more than enough for me,” I murmured, my voice soft and low. I didn’t hug Rachel often and this was why. There was something oddly intimate about it, far more so than I expected from best friends. Then again, I’d only ever had Rachel, so with nothing else to compare it to, how was I to know.
“I find that unlikely,” she muttered. “You’re meant to have three mates, not one odd one.”
“I’d rather have one odd one.” The words were out before I realised what I’d actually said. Maybe mates could be more platonic than I’d been led to believe. That way, Rachel really could be mine and the three male fire dragons I was supposed to have ended up with had never been born.
“You say that now, but I saw how you were looking at that bartender in there…”
“What?” I demanded, letting go of her and gently pushing on her arm to get her to turn around. She complied instantly.
We stood closer to one another than was entirely comfortable, but neither of us actually moved. The moment was too poised for that. All it would take was a small movement on either of our parts and we could be kissing. If we were so inclined.
“The bartender. You were exchanging glances with him every couple of seconds. You weren’t even trying to hide it.” There was something in her voice I couldn’t quite recognise. Hurt maybe? Or jealousy?
I knew I should have stayed away from men.
“I’m
sorry,” I whispered, meaning it with every fibre of my being. “I didn’t mean to…”
“I know,” she whispered back, leaning forward and tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “And you’re perfectly fine to like men, Lola.”
“I won’t abandon you,” I insisted. Even if something went very wrong and I ended up mated with a dance and all, I’d make sure she wasn’t left alone. That wouldn’t be fair of me.
“You should. If you get the chance to be loved like you should, then you should go for it…”
“No,” I replied. “I refuse.”
Rachel sighed. “One day, you’ll feel differently.”
“I doubt it,” I muttered, more to myself than to her.
“You will.” She gave me a wry smile and pulled away from me. “Now, I’m going to make sure we have somewhere to stay for the night. You should go back and make sure you win that tournament fair and square.”
I stared after her as she walked away, admiring the sway of her hips as she moved and wishing I could move in the same alluring way. I’d never understood why men hadn’t been all over Rachel. She was everything most men would want. Beautiful, blonde, athletic...perfect, basically.
She was also right. There was no way I was going to let myself win this tournament without doing it fair and square.
5
Adrenaline coursed through my veins and I felt the excitement pound in my chest. Five more enemies, three more enemies, one more enemy.
With a harsh flick, I let my avatar jump to the right as I shot a perfectly timed combo to the last player. From the corners of my eye, I counted the six defeated players slumped at the bar and knew I was up against the one of the only other females in the tournament.
The idea of her joining the Renegades and spending time with Martin sent a wave of fire through my system. The keys clacked under my fingers as I danced them over the keyboard, sending a string of fast-paced attacks to my opponent. Even through my headset, I heard the girl gasp behind me and I knew I had her on the ropes. Her health was already dwindling down, but I wouldn’t give her the chance to heal. A quick stat check left me confident that I’d be able to throw one last combo of fire at her and with a rapid tap, I shot a ball of flames at the water dragon.
Miss.
Shit. That wasn’t good. With my own mana down to virtually nothing, I ducked behind one of the walls and counted out the three seconds it would take to consume a potion. If she was smart, my opponent would be using the small respite to heal. And she was indeed smart.
As I popped back up and shot a single attack from behind my defences, her health bar flashed back up and it was indeed back to full. Damn, that was a full heal. Now I needed to start from zero again.
A thunder roared through my speakers and I held my breath. The final boss was appearing and I was still engaged in full battle with LastKing. Fuck. If I was unlucky, he’d appear on my side and I’d get caught between two fires. If I was lucky, he’d attack her first and take down her health enough for me to finish her or end the boss. Either would secure my victory, but honour wise, I wanted to take both of them down.
Another shriek echoed through my headset and as I turned my avatar around, I faced the ugly face of the final boss. Damn it. So I drew the short straw. Damn, there went my chances. I was stuck and LastKing knew it.
Unless… If I gauged her right, she was a smart player. One that used proper tactics and not just raw power. If I could keep her believing I was stuck between the two of them, she’d get overconfident and go for the easy kill. Me. Which would make her the perfect target for the boss.
Right…
I had five seconds before the boss’ first attack. Even without seeing his label, I knew it was a cave troll. One of the hardest creatures to beat, but luckily weak against fire. But a simple fire rain wouldn’t do, he was far too high levelled for that. Judging from experience, I could take one basic attack and still have some health left. I’d just have to take his first attack, throw a smoke to distract LastKing, slip out of the tight net I was in, push her in the middle, attack her while the boss did, and win the whole tournament. Easy peasy.
The cave troll growled and energetic music blasted through my headset. The adrenaline pumped through my veins as I made the last play of this set. The screen shook as I took the shower of rocks and with ragged breath, I watched my health bar slink down. I needed to get a move on now. If even one of his smaller attacks hit me, I was a goner. But I wasn’t about to wait for that.
The smoke hissed as I cast the barrier in front of me and I quickly danced out of his reach. Now I just needed to approach LastKing and fire—
Hang on… That was what I’d expect her to do, so she was probably waiting for this to happen. If I got in her reach, she’d blast me with her twister and the match would be over.
No, I needed to do something else, something unexpected.
I checked my inventory and instead of running towards my opponent for an anticipated sneak attack, I ran back towards the cave troll. If I judged the distance right, I could run through his legs to the safe spot just a bit behind him. With two seconds to spare after healing, I could actually fire off my own attack before his second blast came in.
The timer ticked infuriatingly slow as I applied the health potion but relief flooded through my system as my red bar sprung back to full. I was back at full mana from before, so I could do one of my favourite power combos. With a rain of fire to keep LastKing at bay, and a targeted rocket straight at the cave troll, I brought my mana bar to two thirds. Another smoke bomb to keep her in the dark and two fire blasts later, I dodged for cover as the cave troll roared a sandstorm around.
That was great, if LastKing came too close, she’d have been hit by this too. And she’d take more damage as I did with her water armour. That would be in my favour.
I held the adrenaline rush back and rapidly clacked the keys for the last combo I had. A string of fire for the cave troll and a blind shot into the mix of smoke and dust. If I judged right, that should be a headshot to my opponent and take her to her last leg.
With ragged breath, I counted down the seconds that it would take the cave troll to recharge and ran through his legs once again. With the last of my mana, I spewed another rain of fire around me and prayed I was close enough to both to hit them with the flames.
CONGRATS.
My screen flashed green and as it counted up the hit points I collected in the quest, I saw both LastKing and the cave troll vanish into glitter in the background. I did kill both.
Yes! I won!
With fire pumping through my veins and the victory coursing through my system, I threw my headset down. I nodded at LastKing in acknowledgement and pushed myself out of my chair. The muscles in my back twinged, but I didn’t care. I fucking won.
I caught Rachel’s curious look from across the room and I grinned. I gave her a thumbs up and a proud smile danced around her lips. Her unwavering support warmed my heart and gave me the courage for what I was about to do next.
The beaming smiles of Martin, Hector, and another guy caught my attention and I had no doubt they were the three members of Renegade.
Martin looked at me, hope glimmering in his eyes. He really was adorable. And so were his friends.
I flashed them a confident smile as I stopped before them. This was it.
“And?” Hector asked, a cocky glimmer passing over his face.
“I refuse.”
6
“What are you thinking?” Rachel demanded.
Ignoring her, I downed the flaming sambuca shot Zara had placed in front of me. I gave the water dragon an encouraging smile, hoping it’d keep the shots coming.
“Saying no?”
“But why?”
“I can’t fight with them.” Even if I wanted to. On more than one level. A sneaking suspicion on the exact identities of the Renegades was starting within me. And it wasn’t good for me.
All those avoided mating ceremonies, including the one I should
be at now, and they still managed to find me? The world truly was a cruel place. But I wasn’t about to abandon Rachel. Not for one man and not for three. That wasn’t how the world worked.
I did another shot, the flames going out just as I threw it down my neck. Not that it would matter if they didn’t. Fire dragons were pretty much immune to flames. It was just one of our advantages.
“Lola…”
“I’m not talking about it,” I snapped, instantly regretting it when I saw the devastated look on her face.
“Fine.” She picked up her drink and downed it in a very un-Rachel like move.
Now I felt bad.
She signalled for Zara who already had a new drink poured and ready. Luckily she had another shot for me too. Looked like we were getting drunk then. We didn’t do this often. In fact, I was pretty sure the last time had been my twenty-first birthday, in other words the day the courting ritual started. The first one, at least. I’d missed four now and only had one left before my mating ritual was supposed to happen when I came of age.
I slammed the glass down again only to have it replaced. I hoped the three guys weren’t seeing this. It wasn’t a good impression to be giving them.
No, Lola! What the hell are you thinking?
Maybe getting roaring drunk was the way to keep them from any kind of interest. Because obviously the fire dragon mating bond wasn’t anywhere near as strong as flaming sambuca.
Beside me, Rachel finished another of her drinks. I must have really hurt her. My normally health-crazy best friend was downing sugary cocktails fast enough that she was sure to have a hangover in the morning.
Shit.
I took another shot, then pushed back my chair and wobbled. Rachel was only a couple of paces away. I could reach her. If I did, she wouldn’t be mad at me anymore.
Yes, that would be right. How could anyone stay mad at drunk-Lola? She was fun.
“I’m sorry,” I slurred, slumping down next to Rachel.
“For what?”
Realms and Rebels: A Paranormal and Fantasy Reverse Harem Collection Page 26