Sera hid her hands behind her back, squeezing them together. If Blackbrooke found some way to make Kai fight her in the Games, she’d be screwed. It took everything she had—every shred of magic, every punch, every trick—just to hold her own against him. She couldn’t fight him and protect her mind from Blackbrooke too.
Kai glanced at her, then back to Blackbrooke. “I cannot fight Sera. It is against the rules of the Games.”
When he reached over and took her hand behind her back, she squeezed it in appreciation. If her heart hadn’t already stopped at the beginning of this conversation, it would have stuttered in relief.
“Yes, yes. You’re right.” Blackbrooke’s face crinkled, the lines writing out the story of his displeasure. “As her coach and sponsor, you cannot be compelled to fight her. However, if you truly care about her, you will agree to do it of your own volition.”
“I guess I don’t really care about her,” Kai said, glancing sidelong at Sera. His magic tickled hers.
She struggled to keep a straight face as she looked up at Kai and replied, “I knew it all along. You only agreed to help me so I’d have to kill monsters for you.”
“No one decapitates monsters like you do, baby.”
Sera choked down a snort—mostly.
“Oh, yes. How amusing,” Blackbrooke said drily.
Kai nodded toward the door to the backstage area. “Sera, let’s go.”
Blackbrooke pushed out his hands, blocking him.
“Move,” Kai said, giving him a look that could have frozen lava.
“You’re not allowed back there.”
“I’m going.” He pushed his phone in Blackbrooke’s face. “Look at this.”
Sera looked too. A slideshow with all of Finn’s messages to her was playing on Kai’s screen. Of course he’d copied them to his phone.
Blackbrooke’s eyes went wide as he watched the slideshow. “Finn sent all of these?” He glanced over at Sera. “To her?”
“Yes, your lost prisoner is coming for Sera.” He paused, and the room grew so silent that time stood still. “I’m not going to let that happen.”
“Well, Kai, to be fair…” Blackbrooke’s nose scrunched up, repulsed yet embarrassed, like he’d vomited in his own beard. “Finn wasn’t really my prisoner per se.”
“I delivered him to Atlantis.” Kai stepped forward, his massive figure casting a dragon-sized shadow over Blackbrooke. “Gift-wrapped.” He took another step, practically running him over. “You were the one they called in to rehabilitate him. Now, I ask you this.” Pointing at the photos, his voice dropped to a near-savage growl, “Is he rehabilitated?”
Blackbrooke buckled before the dragon’s ire, his muscles twitching, his cool and clam demeanor scrambled. “Go. Just go with her.” He stepped aside, waving Kai through. “Keep her safe. She’s obviously an asset.”
Kai set his hand on her shoulder, nudging her toward the entrance.
“Just one thing, Kai,” Blackbrooke’s voice called out before they disappeared through the door.
They looked back at him.
“You are not to interfere with the testing,” he said, his tone more confident now that Kai wasn’t breathing fire down his neck.
Kai nodded, then swung the door shut behind them. They headed down the long corridor. A melody of thumps and roars, peppered with pain, groaned through the open door of the fighting pit at the end, echoing down the hall.
“It sounds like someone is setting off bombs in there,” Sera commented.
Kai made a noncommittal noise.
“So Blackbrooke is an ass, but it turns out he’s not completely unreasonable,” she said.
“Mmm.”
Sera tried again. “I’m thinking of fighting the next match topless. What do you think about that idea?”
This time, he stopped—and turned his angry dragon eyes on her. “That would be unadvisable. You do not need to pick up any more stalkers.”
She smirked at him. “I was just checking to see if you were listening to me.”
“I always listen to you, Sera. I just don’t always have something to say. I haven’t got your gift.”
“You mean my mouth.”
“Oh, I’ve got that, sweetheart.”
He did a quick visual scan of the hall to make sure they were alone, then turned toward her. He kissed her once, slow and easy, his hand lingering on her chin long after the kiss had ended. Her skin tingled from his caress; her blood surged with magic.
“You’re distracting me,” she managed to croak out.
He stepped back, shaking out his shoulders. Apparently, she hadn’t been the only one distracted. She liked that. She liked it a lot.
“Your opponent is called Weather Wizard,” Kai said, his momentary distraction over.
Sera made a concentrated effort not to comment on the mage’s name, even though it was practically begging to be mocked.
“He’s a first tier mage, his elemental magic ranked number twelve in the world,” he continued, an added edge in his voice. He’d probably guessed what she was thinking. “Fighting him will not be easy. It will require some extra finesse. Most elementals can only control one element. Some can control two. Only a select few can manage more than that. Even most first tier elemental mages cannot summon all the elements.”
“I know this already,” she said, motioning for him to fast forward. “Get to the good stuff. Tell me how to defeat him.”