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I should have recognized him immediately, but I had so convinced myself that I wouldn’t see him there, that I would in fact never see him again, that I had not seen what my eyes were trying to tell me.
Ohara stood on the far side of the pit in loose-fitting leather armor and a sword at his side.
“Oh my God,” I said. “What is he doing?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Gpidod said, a dreamy look returning to her eyes, and she cupped her chin on her hands and watched with her eyelids fluttering. “He’s come to rescue you. Again.”
“Rescue me?” I said. “But I’m not in danger!”
“He doesn’t want anyone else to Claim you. He wants you to himself. And he’s going to risk his life to get it.”
“But… But…” I sputtered. “He’ll get hurt!”
My concern for him and his well-being greatly outmatched that of my own. I didn’t want to see him get injured. And fighting the jjizzik was one thing — he hadn’t expected Ohara to be such a good fighter, but now, everyone knew it.
He couldn’t take them by surprise.
Yesterday, he had to defeat a single opponent. Today, he had five he needed to defeat, one after another, round after round.
I glanced up at the scoreboard and saw Ohara at the bottom. With zero experience, he wasn’t expected to do well. My stomach churned when I peered at the Champion at the top…
Druin.
Even the sight of him in that moronic picture made me feel disgusted. And yet, he would be my fate if someone didn’t step in to stop him. The truth was, Ohara was the only one who could save me.
The only one who truly cared.
And as the siren wailed and the opponents came together, my heart would have been in my throat… if it wasn’t already stepping toward its opponent in the pit…
18
OHARA
I’d seen many fights during my ten years, but I’d never set foot in the pit. I liked to bet on the winner and had pretty good success.
I was in the first round of the contest and paired with one of the easier opponents. He was a young sleejak from the outer rim. His arms and legs were tattooed with ancient symbols that no one but the sleejak could understand.
He pressed his fist into his palm and bowed his head respectfully. But that respect would end the moment we came to blows. The sleejak were known for their agility, moderate strength, and incredible speed.
After his motion of respect, he performed a short pattern by fighting an invisible opponent, designed to warm up his body and muscles while at the same time demoralizing his opponent.
But it wasn’t going to work. I had too much to fight for.
I didn’t look up at the Prize Pool. To see Lily there, watching from behind her prison bars, would have made me angry, and I needed to maintain my calm. Still, I thought I felt her eyes on me.
If I didn’t win, the fate that awaited her would make the one from last night seem like playtime.
I filtered out the sounds from the audience and focused on my opponent. He wore light armor like me and no helmet. He didn’t need anything to slow him down, so I assumed he would attack first, and attack fast.
I met him in the middle of the pit. I didn’t want to reveal my ability — not yet — and maybe, if I was very lucky, I wouldn’t need to reveal it at all… But I would have to play it by horn and see how things panned out.
The young sleejak looked me over and shrugged his shoulders. “You’re the one everyone’s talking about?” he said. “Who took down the Champ last night?”
I just looked at him and gave no response.
“You don’t look so tough,” he said. “This time, you won’t get the jump on nobody. It’s just you and me, fair and square.”
Fair and square…
