Page 17 of Heir of Fire
Gianna’s eyes widened and she stood up to get closer to the ring, chewing on her nail. When the bell rang, Allister struck first, moving with a speed that the other man couldn’t match. He might have had a larger build, but he had no agility to help him against Allister.
Her brother stepped around the larger man, managing to kick his knees down to push him down to the ground. With one more punch to the head, Allister was declared the winner.
Gianna felt her shoulders relax. She cheered loudly, cupping her hands around her mouth to make sure he heard her. He sent her a grin, jumping out of the ring and giving her a hug.
“How did I do?”
“Surprisingly well,” she told him.
“Asshole,” he said, laughing. “That dude was no match against me.”
She snorted. “Yeah, he just had like 150 pounds on you.”
Allister shook her hair and messed it up, knowing it would annoy the hell out of her—and it did. He walked back over to where Dante stood now, watching as Valerio entered the ring. He took his time, keeping his gaze on Luna as she did the same to him.
Gianna walked over to her, knowing the last time they were in this situation, Luna was a wreck. This time, it seemed like there was some kind of secret going on between the two of them. Something gross, probably.
The moment the opponent entered the ring, Luna’s eyes widened. It was a big man, bigger than Valerio and bigger thatthe man Allister had just fought. Valerio didn’t let his smirk fall, even as he sized up his opponent for a moment before returning his gaze to Luna once again.
She went to open her mouth to say something, but as soon as the bell rang, it was too late. Valerio dodged the punch that was headed his way and sent one back, meeting the man’s head with such strength it sent him flying back.
A total knockout.
Valerio stood there for a moment, looking down at the man lying on the floor unconscious in front of him. The cheers started all at once, but it was like he didn’t care at all. Valerio jumped out of the ring and walked over to his wife. Gianna was sure the shock on her face matched the one on Luna’s, but it didn’t matter because he whisked her away without another word.
She shook her head, heading back to Blair and Cecilia now.
“Well, that was quick.”
“I don’t even want to know what they had going on with that,” Blair said, shaking her head.
“Well, this was a good night,” Cecilia said, standing up now. “I think I’m ready to go home.”
“What are you talking about?” Gianna asked, scrunching her nose in confusion. “It’s not over yet.”
“Trying to avoid the next fight?” Blair asked.
“Geez, what a lucky guess,” Cecilia said, her voice full of sarcasm.
Then that meant Augustus was on next. He walked out with a sick grin on his face. The way he enjoyed violence always made Gianna uncomfortable, but he wasn’t obsessed with her. He was obsessed with the girl with black hair that did everything she could to try to avoid his gaze.
He didn’t head straight for the ring. Instead, he made a pitstop by Cecilia, leaning close to her ear to whisper something.Judging Cecilia’s heated cheeks, and the way her mouth and eyes sprung open in shock, it was probably something vulgar.
“I hope you choke,” Cecilia spat out.
“Only if it’s on you,” he said before finally entering the ring.
There was no point in asking what was said because she wouldn’t tell. Gianna shared a look with Blair, before squeezing Cecilia’s shoulder in comfort. The bell rang once again.
Augustus lunged like a madman, tearing into his opponent and beating him with such ferocity it was frightening. Gianna looked away from the sight, going back to the drink that was still on her chair. She waited for them to call the winner before she turned around.
She wasn’t normally so squeamish around the blood and violence that Fight Night brought, but something about seeing so many fights and so much blood back-to-back left her feeling unsettled. Thankfully, there was only one more fight left of the night and then they could go to whatever after parties were being thrown around campus.
Augustus jumped out of the ring covered in blood as his opponent was carried out. The sight didn’t deter the crowd from losing their minds at the entertainment they witnessed moments before. He took his seat right beside Cecilia without bothering to clean himself up, forcing her to look forward the entire time.
Gianna caught her gaze for a second, and all she gave was a brief nod to tell her she was okay. She accepted it for now but still kept an eye out. Allister and Dante were still there too. If anything happened, they would jump in without a moment’s hesitation.
That was when it struck her. She managed to see everyone throughout the night but Finn. Hell, the night managed to distract her so well that she hadn’t even thought about him. Her brief lapse in sanity questioning whether something could happen between her and Finn was completely gone, it seemed.For all she knew, he was probably cozying it up with the secret girl Luna thought he was keeping before his big fight. Maybe Gianna would even get to see her.
