“I’m more concerned about being kept in.”
Kai remained silent, as though he didn’t know what to say to that. He didn’t look surprised, though. Of course he didn’t. No sane person wanted to participate in the Magic Games.
Sera stole a final peek at the guards before they were out of sight. “Those two certainly look…capable,” she said with a smirk.
Kai looked at her, his face expressionless. Oh, goody. Kai the granite block was back. And he clearly didn’t appreciate her trying to lighten the gloom and doom mood.
“Are you ogling at them?” he asked, his tone checked.
“Maybe just a little.” She grinned at him. “Jealous?”
“No.” He turned to step off the escalator. “You don’t even know their names.”
They passed the rest of their walk in silence, which was just as well. Every time she opened her mouth, she ended up flirting with Kai. Which she’d already decided was a bad idea. For multiple reasons.
“Here we are,” Kai said.
Sera looked down over the rows of seats. At the very bottom, in the middle of the arena, was the fighting pit. Above the fighting pit, a high ceiling loomed, speckled with speakers and lights—and, at the very center of it all, an enormous 360-degree rounded display panel. The screens were blank right now, but they’d be on during the Magic Games. And there would be closeups. Sera frowned at the display panel to let it know exactly how she felt about it.
“Something wrong?” Kai asked her.
“Just thinking about the fact that several hundred supernaturals will be treated to a closeup of the Magic Council’s attempt to crack open my mind.”
“They won’t crack you.”
“They cracked you,” she said.
“Yes, but I wasn’t as stubborn as you are. Just remember everything I showed you, and you’ll get through it.”
“Do you really think so?”
“That you’re stubborn? Yes.”
“Funny, dragon. Absolutely hilarious.”
“Sera,” he said, his tone serious.
Ok, he was basically always serious, but this time he was more serious than usual. And there was something else. A hint of apprehension speckled his magic, like he was about to bring up something he’d rather not talk about. Or that Sera would rather not talk about.
“Yes?” she asked.
“You’re worried about Finn.”
“I’m worried about what he might be plotting. Have the commandos been able to track him?”
“Not yet. I wanted to call them again for an update,” he said. “By the way, they know you call them that.”
“Commandos?”
“Yes.”
She shrugged. “Well, that’s what they are. They can’t argue with that.”
“They’re not arguing. In fact, they like it. They think it makes them sound tough.”
“They’ve survived having you for a boss.” She grinned in his face. “Of course they’re tough.”
“Yes,” he agreed, his face unreadable.
“I wonder what Finn is up to,” she said.
“We upset his plans. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was looking for revenge.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“You’re worried about your family and friends,” said Kai.
“Yes.”
“Instead of being worried about yourself, of course,” he added.
“If Finn wanted to come at me directly, he wouldn’t be sending me love messages,” she said. “Besides, I have a long history of killing monsters and madmen, and I don’t have enough sense to be afraid of anyone.”
He grunted in assent. “I’ve set guards on Riley and Naomi.”
“Naomi agreed to that?”
Sera’s friend was a tough mercenary. Maybe she wasn’t as mean as Sera, but she fought her own battles.
“I selected guards she would approve of,” he said.
“Oh.” She snickered. “You set Naomi up with some mage eye candy.”
“One of them is a fairy.”
“Even better.” She turned away from the fighting pit to look at him. “You’ve figured her out then.”
“She’s not as complicated as you.”
“Complex, you mean.”
“Do I?”
“Yes,” she told him. “Complicated sounds bad. Like I’m a really hard problem you hate to have and loathe even more to face. Complex makes me sound intriguing and mysterious.”
The shadow of a sigh escaped his lips. “You’re making things overly complicated, Sera.”
“And complex?”
“That too.”
“Speaking of bodyguards, what did the Magic Council say when you told them a hate group was gunning for them?” she asked. “Are they going to arrange extra protection for themselves?”
“That depends on their own egos,” he said, and this time, he sighed for real. “I looked into getting some protection for your sister too.”
“Alex can take care of herself. She’s even tougher and meaner than I am.”
“Even so, she cannot be on guard twenty-four hours a day.”
Sera didn’t mention that she and Alex had essentially been on guard their entire lives.
“It turns out, though, that she doesn’t need protection, not if she’s hanging out with the notorious assassin and thief Slayer,” he said.