by Anna Hackett
A ha’ri moved his way and he circled it. It was wary.
But not wary enough. In a flash, it rushed in at him. Magnus leaped straight up, flying high into the air. When he came down, he landed on the beast’s back, dodging its spikes.
Nestled amongst the protective spikes on its back was a glowing green bump. He fought with his malfunctioning systems for information.
Static filled his heads-up display, but some text flashed up.
There. The bump was a vital organ.
He slammed his cybernetic arm into the green lump. Green goo splattered.
The creature let out a terrible sound and spun. As its body collapsed, Magnus leaped off it, hitting the sand running. He sprinted toward Ever.
She was standing beside the collapsed body of the ha’ri. Her chest was heaving, the electroblade clutched in her hand.
She’d taken the beast down.
“You are amazing.” He yanked her close.
She smiled. “Not so bad yourself, Imperator Rone.”
The crowd’s shouting changed, increasing in volume. Together, he and Ever turned.
A group of fighters was entering the arena.
“Champ-ion. Champ-ion.”
They were calling for Samantha Santos.
Several of the fighters broke into a run, racing across the arena.
Magnus tensed, readying himself. “Stay back.”
Ever lifted her blade and shook her head. “I can’t. If we’re going to survive, we both have to fight.”
Drak. “I love you.” He turned and broke into a sprint. He blurred, rushing into the fighters.
He swung out with his fists, kicking and landing blows. He knocked down several fighters, leaving them groaning on the sand. He spun, and a giant, dark-skinned warrior rushed at him. A hard front kick sent the man flying.
“Champ-ion. Champ-ion.”
Ever sprinted up beside him, panting. “Oh, God, it’s Sam.”
Magnus swiveled. Ahead, the crowd of fighters parted.
Sam Santos strode forward.
She wore fighting boots that reached past her knees. An armored skirt fell over her muscled thighs, and a metal, armored top molded her body. Her sword arm was covered with a metallic arm guard.
She held a large sword that glowed green along its edges.
Magnus’ gut hardened. Poison. He mentally kicked his malfunctioning scanners. Not just any poison, but diseth. The tiniest amount could kill in minutes. It slowly worked into the body, overwhelming the body’s systems until everything shut down and its victim died.
Ever gasped. “Magnus…her face.”
He dragged his gaze off the sword and took in Sam’s face. His jaw hardened.
She now had an implant at her temple. She stared at them coldly, with no sign of recognition.
Chapter Sixteen
Sam strode closer, and Ever clutched the electroblade in her hands.
“Sam?” Ever called out. “It’s Ever.”
Nothing. Sam didn’t respond, or even blink. There wasn’t the smallest flicker of recognition on the woman’s face.
With a rush of speed, Sam leaped into the air, swinging her deadly sword.
Magnus pushed Ever back and raced to meet the woman.
He knocked Sam’s blade away with his cybernetic arm, and then kicked her. Ever watched them scuffle, their boots sliding through the sand. The crowd cheered.
God, they were going to kill each other. Magnus spun Sam around and gripped the back of Sam’s fighting leathers. He swung her around, lifted her off her feet, and tossed her into the air.
Sam sailed through the air, but landed safely in a crouch, sliding a few meters through the sand. She lifted her sword, and stared at them with her cool, expressionless face.
She rose and strode back toward them.
“Sam, please,” Ever cried out. “Try to remember. We’re your friends.”
“Ever, stay behind me.” Magnus said.
Ever looked around wildly. The other fighters were hanging back, letting their champion do the dirty work.
“What do we do?” Ever said.
“We need to disable her implant.” His gaze narrowed. “That worked when I rescued you.”
Right. Pin the Champion of Zaabha down and disable her implant. Piece of cake. Ever’s stomach did a slow roll.
“Watch out for the sword,” he warned. “It’s covered in deadly poison.”
Sam attacked again, her long legs devouring the distance across the sand. Magnus rushed to meet her. He used his cybernetic arm like a weapon, crashing it against Sam’s sword. The pair continued to dance their way across the sand with hard, deadly moves. Ever could tell he was holding back from using his full strength.
The poison on Sam’s weapon didn’t appear to affect Magnus’ metallic skin, but if it touched his organic skin…
Disable Sam’s implant. That’s what Ever had to focus on now.
Magnus went down on one knee, slamming a blow into Sam’s thigh. The woman grunted, her leg going out from under her. She hit the ground but rolled instantly. Magnus’ palm hit sand instead of Sam.
Suddenly, a strange noise resonated across the arena. A mechanical, grinding sound.
Ever spun and watched as four creatures burst out of the tunnels.
Her chest hitched. No, not creatures. These were machines. Robots. They looked like spiders, with riders seated in saddles on top. They were some sort of spider-droids.
They made their way toward the fighting, moving across the sand in formation.
Sam stepped back, watching the incoming machines. Her sword lowered. Ever guessed the woman was receiving orders through her implant.
One of the droids rushed at Ever. Magnus flew in, knocking it out of the way. She turned, trying to keep the circling machines in view.
Another one darted in, one leg swinging at her. Magnus grabbed the machine’s leg. The spider-droid halted, the face of the operator twisting as she tried to free her robot from Magnus’ grip.
With a loud snap, he broke half the leg off, then he used it as a stake and stabbed it into the body of the machine. Green electricity arced and the spider-droid skittered backward, lurching.
The other machines moved in together.
“Ever, run!” Magnus yelled, as he leaped onto the closest machine. He knocked the operator off, and, with a scream, the man fell under his spider-droid’s legs.
Ever ducked out through a gap. She spun, seeing one of the machines turn to follow her. The operator was smiling wickedly.
She glanced back toward the tunnels, but that route was blocked. There were fighters all around the arena floor, still holding back, even though some were bouncing on their feet and clutching their weapons. Clearly, some were eager to fight, eager to spill blood.
The clack-clack of an out-of-control spider-droid made her turn again. Magnus was at the controls of one machine, riding it like he was some kind of Earth rodeo star. He rammed his cybernetic arm into the robot’s control panel. Sparks exploded up like a fountain, and the machine stopped. He sat there, focused on the machine, his arm lit up with blue electricity.
Then he leaped off the spider-droid. It was still for a second, before it whirled and raced off.
Straight toward the spider-droid closest to Ever.
The two machines crashed into each other, legs waving and slamming into each other. Magnus’ machine smashed the other one to pieces, before it spun, and aimed for the last remaining robot.
The last operator’s eyes widened. The big man dived off the machine and ran for his life.
Magnus reached Ever, his eye glowing bright, neon blue. “I reprogrammed it.”
“Nice work.”
The other spider-droid lay on its side now, its legs all broken. Magnus’ robot turned again, paused, then it headed for the nearest stands.
Ever heard gasps and cries of terror. The machine slammed into the stands with a splinter of wood. Frightened screams rang out. Chaos reigned in the stands as spectators
rushed for safety. Several Thraxian and Srinar guards were trying to direct the crowd, but it was a stampede.
“Really nice work.” She squeezed Magnus’ arm.
She felt him tense, and when she looked up, Sam was striding toward them again, moving with purpose.
The former head of security was spinning her sword. The Zaabha fighters moved in behind her.
“Ever.” Magnus gripped her. “Can you fix your stealth suit? If I know you’re safe, I can take down these fighters.”
“How can you take them all?”
“I have some…abilities I haven’t used since I left the military.”
A rock lodged in her throat. Abilities he’d abandoned and never wanted to use again.
“Ever, the suit.”
She watched the fighters coming closer and quickly fiddled with her suit controls. “I don’t think I can—” The camouflage flared to life.
“Good work.” He slid his hand down her arm and found her hand. Squeezed. “I will not let you and our baby die here.”
Her heart clenched. “Magnus.”
“Stay hidden.” He turned and strode toward the fighters.
She saw blue electricity light up his arm and saw his entire body tense. She pressed her palms to her thighs. She knew it hurt him.
Then he let out a roar and his entire body sparked blue-white. No. It had to be agony for him. He charged into the fighters. The agonized screams echoed across the sand.
Ever touched her belly. He was doing this for her, for them. He was embracing the killer he’d once been to protect them.
She watched him fight—tireless, relentless. She had to force herself to stay still.
Then Sam rushed at Magnus, and Ever gasped.
But the woman leaped over Magnus. He reached up, trying to grab her, his fingers brushing the woman’s leather boots.
But she sailed through the air and landed just meters away from Ever. She swung her sword experimentally, her gaze focused.
She knew Ever was there somewhere. Air lodged in Ever’s throat and she took a half step back.
Sam’s gaze fell to the sand, and then she lunged forward. Ever darted to the side. Sam swung again. Her sword just missed Ever, but the woman’s muscled body slammed into Ever.
They went down in a tumble, rolling through the sand. Sam slammed the sword down, but Ever wiggled free and rolled away.
It was only thanks to the suit hiding her, that Sam’s sword missed running straight through Ever’s gut. But her hand stung sharply.
Sam rolled away and Ever tried to move…but her head spun. Her vision blurred. Her suit flickered and the camouflage died.
Magnus let out a roar, tackling Sam. They sprung up, fighting each other with hard blows. But Ever could tell Magnus was still trying not to hurt the woman.
Magnus landed a sharp blow and Sam’s head snapped back. She stumbled backward, wary now and her gaze assessing.
Ever tried to get to her feet, but her body felt too heavy.
“Ever,” Magnus called out, gaze still on Sam.
“I’m okay.” Except for the growing lethargy and pain.
“I detect incoming heat signatures,” he said.
“Yes.” She eyed the fighters nearby. They were starting to get edgy. Any second they’d swarm, caught up in the heat of the fight. “There’s a whole bunch of prisoners around us who want to kill us.”
“No.” A faint smile on Magnus’ face. “I can detect Jaxer.”
Hope flared in Ever. Help was coming.
Sam stepped forward, and she and Magnus stared at each other like gunslingers about to go in for the kill.
The woman swung her sword again, her muscles bunching.
Suddenly, the screech of a bird echoed overhead. Ever turned her head, blinking against the bright sunlight.
Clutching her hand to her chest, she squinted and watched as a dark shadow appeared in the sky. A big body dropped down, directly in front of Sam, with the flap of a black cloak.
Galen.
The imperator rose, his intense gaze trained on Sam.
Dizziness hit Ever like a tidal wave, and she slumped back on the sand. Her head felt like it weighed a ton. “Magnus.” It was barely a whisper.
But he heard her.
He dropped down beside her, pulling her into his arms. “Ever.” He lifted her hand, and his face contorted into an expression of horror.
A thin cut on her finger, tinged with green.
Anguish twisted his features. “Ever, no!”
Agony tore through Magnus. He tore the ruined stealth suit off her and stared blindly at the poison on her skin.
Already, his scanners were detecting a stutter in her breathing. Her eyelids fluttered, and every drop of color had drained from her face.
The poison was going to kill her. And there was no cure.
Shouts echoed around them. His reprogrammed spider-droid was still causing chaos in the crowd, adding to the confusion caused by terrified spectators. Overhead, more flying beasts swooped in, dropping more big, powerful bodies onto the sand.
Raiden and Harper. Thorin and Kace. Saff and Blaine. Nero and Lore.
The House of Galen had arrived.
Acton and Mace landed with heavy thuds. Jaxer was the last to land. Magnus didn’t detect any others, which meant Galen hadn’t been able to get all of their backup teams aboard.
“Magnus.” Jax dropped to one knee beside him. “Are you all right?”
“Ever’s been poisoned. Diseth.”
Shock appeared on his friend’s face. “There’s no antidote, Magnus.”
His arms tightened on the woman in his embrace. Her pulse was rapid, her heart working overtime. “I can’t lose her.”
He glanced up, watching the gladiators and his cyborgs rushing toward the line of incoming fighters. In the center of the mêlée, Sam and Galen were fighting. The imperator spun and swung up with his sword.
Sam dodged and charged at him. She matched the man move for move.
Jax pressed his fingers to Ever’s wrist. “She’s weakening. Her pulse is thready. The poison is slowly working into her system.” Jax’s gaze met his, sorrow in his eyes. “You know how diseth works. She’s only feeling the vague effects of it right now. The main clot of poison travels slowly…but it won’t be long before it works its way up her arm and into her vital organs.”
Magnus ground his teeth. He was a man of action, and right now, he had no way to save his woman or their child. A pained roar echoed inside him.
Think. He spun through his databanks, searching for anything he could do. He had to save her.
One idea appeared. His stomach revolted at the possibility.
Jax, his friend for so long, was attuned to his thoughts. The man nodded. “There’s only one option that might have a chance of saving her.”
“No.” The word was ripped from Magnus.
Suddenly, an explosion rocked the arena. Magnus looked up and saw that Lore had tossed something. Sand sprayed up like a fountain.
There was another boom. Blaine and Saff were on the other side of the arena. His sensors detected high-grade explosives.
But as Magnus looked toward the stands, he saw more Thraxian and Srinar guards amassing. The Fightmaster wasn’t giving up Zaabha without a battle.
The ground started to tilt.
Screams rang out. Magnus started to slide sideways through the sand. He gripped Ever to his chest.
“Drak.” Jax pressed his palms to the sand.
The tilting stopped and the giant arena platform righted itself.
“Magnus.” Jax looked at him. “You can do this. You can save her.”
Yes. He dragged in a breath, rubbing a thumb over her pale cheek. He’d vowed to protect her and their child, no matter what. He loved her with everything he had.
For her, he could do this. Thankfully, she was unconscious. He stroked her hair off her face. “I’m sorry, my fierce warrior.”
Carefully, he laid her out on the sand. He pulled he
r poisoned arm out straight, resting her hand flat on the ground. Her hand was swollen and red, and the veins in her wrist were an angry green. The poison hadn’t gone too far, yet. But there was no more time to waste. He took the electroblade Jax handed him.
“Forgive me, my love, but you have to live.” He raised the blade and then brought it down.
Ripped from unconsciousness, Ever’s scream pierced the air, and drilled like a blade into Magnus’ heart.
Chapter Seventeen
Galen
She was good.
Galen’s muscles strained as he fought. Blood pumped through his body.
Sam swung her sword at his head and he jumped back. He spun, and used his speed to come up behind her. With the hilt of his sword, he knocked her forward.
But she didn’t go down like he’d anticipated. She was already spinning to face him. Drak, she was light on her feet.
She twirled, and he saw that deadly, poison-tipped blade coming at his face. He dropped to one knee, then rammed a fist into the toned belly bared by the ridiculous fighting leathers the Thraxians had given her.
As she staggered back, shaking her head, Galen pushed up and raised his sword.
She watched him with blank eyes, her boots moving through the sand to circle him. He matched her moves.
“I promised to come back for you, Captain Santos.”
Nothing flickered in those brown eyes of hers.
“Remember, I told you that I’ve been protecting your people. We agreed to protect them and bring Zaabha down.”
She lunged at him, and their swords crashed together. She drove him back, and he moved his sword to meet her blows.
Galen was aware of his gladiators fighting around him. Another explosion rocked the ground beneath them, and he shifted his weight to keep his balance.
Anger punched through Galen. His backup team was stuck on the ground. If they could find a way to land Zaabha and get their full contingent of fighters aboard, then he could finally destroy this drakking hellish pit.
Sam leaped high, her strong body a thing of beauty. She had bold features and golden skin turned bronze by the sun. Light flashed off the sword that was like an extension of her body.