18. CHAPTER 13
SAYLOR
Our world knows power, money, and sex. Money is the least exciting of the three.
The stone bench is cold under my thighs through the thin white dress.
This place has been owned by the Ravens for centuries, and it looks like it.
It’s a Gothic fortress of dark stone and iron arches with ceilings so high they disappear into the dark above us.
Talons have been fighting and dying on this floor for as long as our world has existed.
I’ve never been inside before tonight, but I’ve heard about it my entire life.
It smells like death and sweat, which is fitting for what’s about to happen here.
The Ravens don’t usually let everyone watch when they kill someone.
Most of that shit is handled quietly by the Talons.
Nobody outside the Council ever knows it happened, unless they have a reason to make it public.
But tonight is different. Tonight is about reminding hundreds of masked faces who the fuck is in charge, and these fights are how they do it.
The founding families have their own section with the best view.
The Sinclairs are right in the center of it since they run this entire shit show.
Every face is covered because the Ravens love their traditions even though we all know exactly who’s sitting behind each mask.
That’s the thing about our world—everyone pretends they don’t recognize the judges, the senators, and the men who run this city sitting in these seats.
The masks just make it easier for all of them to watch men die and then go home to their families.
The Doves don’t get masks. We sit near the front in our white dresses, put on display so that the Talons know what they’re working for. The chance to claim one of us in their final year. There are only eight Talons moving to the last year of the service tonight, if they all survive their fight.
I sit among eleven other Doves. Any of us not claimed will go on the roster for the next auction. That’s our motivation to ensure we’re caught since we all made the choice to serve a Talon over the auction block.
“Rough night?” Kynlee asks, nudging me. “You look like shit.” She’s pressed against my right side, watching the line of Talons get into position.
“Thanks a lot, Kyns.” Not exactly what I want to hear when I’m finally about to get the man consuming my every thought.
“I’m not trying to be a bitch. Your eyes are puffy, and you look like you haven’t slept in days.” She glances at me. “Are you that worried about tonight?”
“I’m not worried.” I’m more exhausted than anything.
I shift on the bench, my entire body sore like I spent the day in the gym.
I don’t know that I have the energy to run through the woods.
“I think I’m just hungover. Justin and I finished off the wine after everyone went home last night. I barely remember going upstairs.”
She nudges me with her shoulder. “Did you mix it with pills?”
“No.” I press my knees together because the ache between my thighs hasn’t let up since this morning. “But I got off on a toy in the bathroom with Axl. Then I must have been drunk and horny in the middle of the night because I woke up with my vibrator in my hand.”
“Sounds like a great night.”
I slap her thigh. “It’s not funny. I’m sore as fuck.”
I leave out the part about how I still had Axl’s cum caked on my pussy and thighs this morning.
“You know what your problem is? You should have saved that shit for tonight. That man is about to take out every bit of pent-up aggression on your cunt.”
“You aren’t wrong about that.”
She digs into her clutch and pulls out a small plastic bag with pills in it. She drops a couple into my palm.
“Do you think we should?”
She nods, grinning at me. “You want to spend the next six hours sober and sore, or do you want us to have the night of our lives?” She pops hers and dry swallows it without blinking. “Your choice.”
I look at the pills in my hand. My hips and thighs ache, and I’m pissed at myself for getting so drunk last night. And now my solution is to get fucking high.
I pop them into my mouth and swallow. Sounds like a fucking plan.
“This is going to be awesome.” Kynlee grins and shoves the plastic bag back in her clutch. “That’s going to make running through the woods way more fun.”
The crowd is called to attention as the first fight begins.
A masked Talon walks onto the arena floor from the archway at the far end.
He’s alone. The crowd shifts forward in their seats, and two men are brought out from a door on the opposite side of the arena.
They aren’t masked. They’re in ratty clothes like they’ve been held captive for a while.
I don’t know where the Ravens find the men they throw in the cage with the Talons.
I’ve heard they’re usually men who crossed the wrong people, but I’ve never asked and I don’t want to know.
What I do know is that if a Talon loses, his family pays for it.
The Council will exile them if they’re feeling generous, or wipe out the bloodline entirely if they’re not. The Ravens don’t keep weak links.
Once they’re all locked into a big cage together, a bell rings.
The masked Talon moves first. He closes the distance on the first man and hits him so hard in the throat that the poor guy drops to his knees, choking.
The other one tries to run, but there’s nowhere to go.
The Talon catches him by the back of the neck and gives it a rough twist, breaking it.
The sound carries through the cathedral.
He goes back to the first one, who is still on his knees trying to breathe, and finishes him with a boot to the temple.
Two men are dead on the stone floor in what feels like under a minute. The Talon reaches up and rips his mask off. The crowd applauds. Attendants come out and drag the bodies through the far door while the stone is mopped for the next round.
I don’t flinch at all the violence. I’ve known what the Ravens are my entire life.
“Is it wrong if I found that hot?” Kynlee asks, leaning closer to me.
A couple seats down, one of the Doves is crying. I’ve never seen her before, so it makes me wonder if she’s from a first-generation family. If you weren’t raised in this world, you can’t as easily rationalize this fucked-up shit like the rest of us can.
I focus back on Kyns waiting for the drugs to kick in. “Then I would be wrong too.”
The fights cycle through the lower years.
The Talons so far have all won each of their battles.
We continue watching as one Talon gets his arm snapped at the elbow by one of his kills before he manages to put the man down with his good hand.
He finishes the job and stands there with his arm hanging wrongly at his side, and the crowd applauds.
The medical team tries to take him away, but he waves them off, pointing out the woman he wants to fuck.
He bends her over the table on display next to the ring and fucks her with his arm hanging at his side.
The women they fuck after the fights come from Velum. They’re paid and willing, which is more than most women in our world can say about the men they end up with.
The Talon is still going at it, smacking her ass while her body rocks across the table, and the crowd cheers.
The Ravens love to watch each other fuck.
Most ceremonies involve public fucking in some way.
When Axl catches me, he’ll fuck me in front of all of them.
And whenever I get married, my husband will fuck me in front of everyone too.
I’m not sure what the point is to all of it, other than they must get off on reminding us that the men rule our world.
As if we could forget. I’m sitting here about to serve a man for a year because two generations ago, my family decided to sell their soul to the Ravens. At least if I marry into an established Raven family, my children won’t have to serve.
The Talon grunts a few more times as the woman moans. I question whether she’s getting off on it or if it’s just for show. He groans as he thrusts deep into the woman’s ass. They get to choose which hole they want.
He pulls out, and the woman uses a cloth to clean his dick. A man with a long needle steps forward and gives him a third piercing on the underside of his shaft.
The man doesn’t even flinch. He raises his non-broken arm, and the crowd cheers again. He exits through the archway, and the next Talon steps forward.
“That’s Priest,” Kynlee says, nudging me to make sure I’m paying attention.
“How do you know?”
“I just saw him before he put his mask on.” She nods toward the archway.
“Ah, so you’re watching Priest, huh?” I lean against her, resting my head on her shoulder.
“It’s not what you fucking think.” She casts me an annoyed sideways glance, then shoves me away. “Don’t start, Saylor. And if you want to play matchmaker, do you remember that stalker I told you about? I’m pretty sure I’m not imagining it.”
“What in the fuck are you talking about?” The drugs are kicking in, and I’m wondering if I heard her right.
“I’ve been noticing little things.” She keeps her voice low and her eyes on the arena. “Someone is watching me.”
“Kyns, what if they’re dangerous? Have you told Kase?”
“It doesn’t feel unsafe. It feels . . . kinda hot. Like when Axl was stalking you.” She pulls at a thread on her dress. “Kase doesn’t know. If he did, he’d lose his shit, so don’t fucking say anything.”
“I don’t know, Kyns. Axl didn’t hide that he was there. Why wouldn’t they let you see them if they didn’t have bad intentions?”
“I’m about to be your brother’s Dove.” She shrugs, waving off my concern. “What can my so-called stalker do to me if Justin is there?”
It doesn’t sound like nothing. But the fights are starting again, and the drugs are making it harder for me to focus on what she’s saying.
Three men come through the far door. Two are unbound, and one has his wrists tied in front of him. The unbound men are big. One of them is shirtless with tattoos covering his chest and arms. He’s already bloody, which means someone already worked him over before they brought him out here.
Priest walks into the cage and just stands in the center of it with his hands at his sides and waits. The bell rings, and he doesn’t move. He just tilts his head to the side and watches them.
These masks are far hotter than I ever noticed before. I’ve never seen my father or brother wear theirs, or I might feel differently about it. But I’m already wet thinking about Axl fucking me in his.
The tattooed man comes at Priest first. He sidesteps, catches him by the back of the neck, and drives a knee into his ribs.
The crack echoes off the walls. The man folds, and Priest hits him in the jaw, then the temple, and he drops.
The second one rushes him from behind, and Priest turns and catches him with an elbow to the face that sends blood spraying across the stone.
The man stumbles, and Priest grabs his head with both hands and twists. He drops and doesn’t move.
Kynlee’s hand closes around my wrist. Her rings dig into my skin, and she doesn’t know she’s doing it.
The third one, the bound one, hasn’t moved.
He’s standing against the cage wall with his tied hands in front of him.
He’s watching Priest walk toward him, and he knows how this ends.
Priest doesn’t drag it out. He grabs the man’s head and snaps his neck.
He lets the body drop and stands there with three dead men on the floor around him.
He rips his mask off. Dark hair stuck to his forehead, jaw tight, and he doesn’t smile.
He doesn’t act like he gives a fuck about the crowd.
He scans the stands once. His gaze moves over to where we sit, and then he focuses in front of him, pointing at one of the women.
I could comment that she has dark hair like Kynlee, but I keep that to myself, biting back a laugh.
“What?” Kyns asks, gritting her teeth.
“I didn’t say a fucking thing.”
I can’t help but notice that Kynlee looks through her clutch and doesn’t watch Priest fuck the woman’s mouth. It’s not long before he’s finished. He gets his piercing, and then he walks out.
We watch a few more. The Talons win each time, and the pile of bodies must be getting high in the back.
After the current fight is over, Kase rips his mask off and spits blood onto the floor. His knuckles are split open. He holds his arms out and turns for the crowd. His face says he’d kill every man in this building if they let him.
“I’m not going to watch him fuck,” she says focusing on me. “No matter how fucking high I am. And I hope he offers me the same courtesy.”
“Where is Veronica right now?” I ask, distracting her like a good friend.
“I’m going to get her tomorrow. I figured she can deal for a night while we figure out what the fuck our lives are going to look like. At least you and I will be there together.”
I loop my arm in hers. “Thank fuck for that.”
The crowd cheers, signaling that Kase is done. I look up to see him getting his piercing, and then he’s walking out.
I glance to where my parents are sitting and wonder if they actually enjoy this.
I wouldn’t know it was them if I hadn’t seen where they sat when we arrived.
My father gets up from his seat, and not even a couple seconds later, another man scoots closer to my mother.
He’s wearing a mask, so I don’t know who he is, but his build is big enough that he fills the seat next to her.
The mask is the same as the Talons with lit-up green neon slashes. I’ll get my own mask once I’m married.
My mother leans closer to him. Her shoulder is pressed against his, and her chin is tipped up toward his ear like she’s speaking to him. I look away because whatever my mother does isn’t my problem.
The noise dies, and the crowd goes quiet as the next Talon appears. Now we’re getting to the fights with the Talons who will hunt tonight. They will face the toughest tests, and if they survive, we’re their reward for proving their strength and devotion to their training.
Every Dove in my section sits up. I feel the shift in the room, especially with the drugs heightening my senses.
Kynlee’s hand finds mine. Her fingers thread through my own, and she squeezes until her rings bite into my knuckles. My pulse beats in my throat. Somewhere behind one of those masks is the man who’s going to claim me tonight.
“Don’t let him catch you too fast,” Kynlee says. She’s grinning but her hand is shaking in mine. “Make that fucker earn it.”
I squeeze her hand back. The drugs make my whole body hum, and I stare at the blood coating the arena floor. My pussy is already wet, knowing I’m about to watch him kill for me again.