Page 24 of Heir of Darkness

“Then you come with me to the cabin tomorrow night.”

Tomorrow was The Chase. She didn’t know where it took place, only that it was somewhere in the forest with plenty of space to run and hide. It was a wild bet to make, but she had full confidence in Finn.

“That’s all you want?” she asked. Her gut told her he was up to something, that there was no way Valerio would make such a bet. Unless he finally decided he didn’t want to be with her either.

“Simple bet,” he told her. “Do you accept?”

Luna nodded. “Sure.”

As long as Finn won, she would rid herself of Valerio. It seemed almost too good to be true.

He held out his hand, and she shook it. She ignored how warm it was and how perfectly it fit in hers, letting go after amoment. He turned back to the ring. “Huh, looks like Dante did get his ass beat. Serves him right.”

Luna looked at the ring. Sure enough, both men were bleeding, unwilling to stop fighting. They were pulled apart from each other, Allister grabbing Dante and Finn grabbing Augustus. They kicked them out of the ring, Finn continuing to stand there while they introduced him. Screams lit up the arena from fans of his.

Finn was good at what he did. She didn’t blame them for enjoying his fights.

Luna waited anxiously to hear his opponent get called. It was silent while the announcer cleared his throat. “Another first for the night and surely an epic fight that beats the one we just watched!” the announcer declared. “Give it up for Valerio Vitali!”

Her face fell as Valerio stood next to her. He took off his shirt, ignoring the cheers that erupted at the action. She felt like an idiot, her face heating up out of anger this time.

He leaned down, setting his shirt on her lap. His lips found her ear once again.

“I never lose either,” he whispered. His lips lingered there for a second before he stood back up and began walking toward the ring.

Luna watched him, dread filling her once excited body.

Fuck.

TEN

LUNA

The first punchwas thrown before the bell had even rung. Valerio blocked it, throwing one of his own at Finn. Just like that, everything around them disappeared and they were immersed in the battle between themselves, keen on destroying each other.

Luna could only watch in horror. She was long out of her seat, standing right beside the ring now while she watched the two massacre themselves.

This wasn’t just any fight; it was personal. She was nauseous as soon as the first drop of blood hit the already dirty floor. She didn’t know if it came from Finn or Valerio.

Allister stood beside Dante, an ice pack against his cheek. She stomped over to them. “Get Valerio out of that ring.”

“Why? He’s doing fine,” Allister told her.

Luna clenched her teeth. That was exactly the issue. He was doing fine and she needed him to lose. As long as the deal was still up that he would disregard the contract if he lost, Luna needed to do whatever she could to make him lose.

“Let them fight it out. They both need it,” Dante told her. “I just hope you didn’t bet against him.”

“I’m glad you got your ass kicked,” Luna said, walking back to the girls.

“I can’t explain it now, but I need Valerio to lose,” she told them.

“I don’t think there’s a single thing you could do to make that happen,” Cecilia said. “I feel like he’s got this in the bag.”

“Valerio is good, but my money is on Finn,” Gianna said.

“Bet on who you want. I need Valerio to lose.” She desperately tried to ignore all the thumps and sounds of fists meeting with flesh coming from the ring. “I need to distract him or something.”

“Well, kissing someone didn’t really work last time,” Blair said. “Just enjoy the fight. Seriously, what could be that bad?”

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