Page 79 of The Demons in the Deep: Extended Edition
“Yes, yes,” panted the Sky-born. “I yield.”
Rake lurched off his opponent, bracing himself with one arm.
The horn sounded. And he had won.
He collapsed in the sand, his body exhausted from wielding the tail. As pain chased out his battle energy, he realized how much blood was leaking from his back into the sand.
Arms around him, hands gripping him—familiar hands, faces he recognized. Jazadri. Corklan. Baz.
They carried him out of the ring and into the champion’s area.
Flay was there. He clasped another belt quickly around Rake’s waist. “Mai insisted I bring an extra one, just in case.”
“Wise girl,” Rake murmured.
“Here’s a cloak. Jaza, pick him up, would you? Never mind the blood, I’ll replace your clothes. Yes, I know that’s your best suit. Come, boys, quickly as you can. There’s a carriage outside.”
Rake felt himself being lifted into Jazadri’s massive arms. Biceps like cannonballs, he thought muzzily.
“Jaza and the others will take you to the warehouse for a saltwater soak, so you can heal. You saved us, Goldfish.” Flay leaned in and kissed Rake’s cheek, quick and fervent.
“But they saw,” Rake mumbled as he shuffled along with them, half-carried by Jazadri. “They saw my tail.”
“My father is drunk,” Flay replied under his breath. “He thinks you can change form at will, from mer-male to man. He doesn’t know about the belt. If he did, he would not let us leave. I don’t think anyone realizes exactly why you changed when you did. They will only remember you fighting so beautifully with your tail.”
“But Feral knows about the belt.”
“He does. He was watching the match, and when the Sky-born champion tore the belt off you, Feral raised his cup to me and smirked, theasshole.” Flay huffed an angry breath. “He found out about you somehow, and planned this whole thing. I’m not sure what he intends to do with the knowledge, though. He didn’t correct the Magnate’s misconception. We need to stay alert and finish repairing the ship as quickly as we can. The final celebration is in two days. I’ll keep an eye on Feral whenever I can, and I need all of you to help me.”
“Aye, Captain,” said Corklan and Baz together, and Jazadri nodded.
Rake tried to answer, but his tongue felt thick. His breath dragged through his lungs, and his skin burned, chafed and dry from the sand and the exertion. He could feel his consciousness fading.
“It’s all right, Goldfish,” he heard Flay murmur. “We’ve got you.”
THE RUINS
23
Two nights later, the entire crew of theWind’s Favorattended the last event of the Meridian Games—a celebratory feast and dance, with a much broader guest list than the initial gala. Successful sponsors taunted each other with their victories, and crowds cheered the high-ranking crews as they entered the banquet hall.
Mai did not feel like celebrating. To her, the festivities felt like a waste of time. They should be preparing to leave immediately for the place Rake spoke of, the ruins of the mermaid city. It peeved her that it would take another day to complete the replacement of the lost sheet ofasthorefrom the hull of theWind’s Favor.
When she finally managed to sneak away from the others, she wandered out of the big ballroom into a small garden. It didn’t feel much like a garden, though—all the bushes had been clipped into unnaturally crisp boxy shapes, and they were spaced too far apart across a lawn that had been shaved nearly flat.
Mai wasn’t a gardener in the same way that Kestra was. Though she knew how to help plants grow, she was more interested in plucking them up, examining their root systems, and dissecting their blossoms or fruits. But she appreciated the exuberance of unfettered plant life, and seeing it shorn and restrained for someone else’s pleasure bothered her.
She swept a hand along the top of one low, square bush, ruffling up its leaves.
“So you won.” The deep voice could only belong to one man, a man she’d not spoken to since the day of the Hunt. A shiver scuttled along Mai’s spine, but she squared her shoulders and lifted her chin.
“We did win,” she said. “First place. And what did you get—third place? I think perhaps that was my fault. Ranking tenth in the Hunt certainly brought down your score.”
“Indeed.” Feral came into the garden, the light from the house windows casting dramatic shadows across his brutally handsome face. “Flay’s bargain with my father will stand. He’ll leave immediately to resume his usual route.”
“The sooner the better,” Mai said.
Feral tipped his head aside. “I thought you’d be disappointed. You won’t have the opportunity you longed for, to study at the university.”
