A sickening, horrible feeling unfurled in Brynleigh’s stomach.
“It is my pleasure to welcome a newcomer to Horizon’s stage.” Dimitri paused, clearly a showman, and Brynleigh felt like she was going to throw up.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
How had she not seen this coming?
Two realizations slammed into her at once.
First, Jelisette had sent her to a fight club. In hindsight, that seemed obvious, and she probably should’ve realized that the moment she walked through the doors.
Second, and probably more important, considering her current circumstances, she was absolutely fucked. Dimitri had just pointed to her and called her name.
CHAPTER 18
The Crimson Shade
Why did these types of things always happen to Brynleigh? Why couldn’t she live a regular life where she wasn’t constantly being thrown into dangerous situations?
Granted, she had put herself in this situation, but still. This didn’t really seem fair. And Brynleigh knew all about unfairness. After all, that had landed her here in the first place.
Just because she was a vampire didn’t mean she enjoyed fighting others. Especially not in an arena for other people’s enjoyment.
She briefly considered slipping into the Void, but when she tried to pull on her shadows and step into the darkness, she realized she couldn’t. The gods-damned wards surrounding the warehouse must have ensured that no one could shadow in and out.
Damn it all.
“Well, Miss de la Point?” Dimitri stood on the edge of the stage and stared at Brynleigh, his orange eyes twinkling with what she was sure was amusement. “Your Maker said you were eager to show off your talents.”
Wishing she had a stake to shove into Jelisette’s cold, black heart, Brynleigh clenched her fists. Unfortunately for her, there was only oneclear path forward. Dread mixed with anger as she moved through the crowd towards the stage.
Even though she didn’t want to participate in this, her inner vampire yearned for her to spill blood. Her fangs burned, and though bloodlust seemed worlds away, her shadows throbbed in her veins. A reminder of the darkness in her soul.
She would have to be careful not to give in to the bloodthirsty monster living within her.
Brynleigh still wasn’t sure what the witch had done to her to stave it off in The Pit, but she knew that falling into her Fledgling need for blood in a packed place like this would only result in copious amounts of bloodshed and probable death.
Jelisette had undoubtedly already thought about that. Maybe that was the reason for this test. It was just like the older vampire to throw her progeny headfirst into a situation where she could only sink or swim.
As Brynleigh approached the platform, whispers rippled through the crowd.
“Is that…”
“Is she one of us?”
“Wasn’t she in the Choosing?”
Brynleigh felt the weight of hundreds of eyes on her back. She hated being the center of attention, hated being in this place, hated being used as a pawn.
With every step she took, Brynleigh cursed her Maker.
The whispers continued as she drew closer to the stage.
“I know her.”
“What the fuck is she doing here?”
“Her husband is a snack.”