Chapter 11
eleven
GRAYSON
I'd been waiting outside the cage to meet whichever bastard thought they deserved my throne more than I did for nearly ten minutes, when the announcer finally apologized for the technical difficulties.
My baseball cap, grappling gloves, and shorts were all I had on. The hat would go, when I entered the cage.
I flashed the announcer a look.
Technical difficulties?
There was a cage, a couple of lights, a microphone, and a shitload of people. What technical difficulties could they be having? The stadium was pretty much idiot-proof.
The spotlights far above the cage I stood outside of brightened and shifted, sliding across the room until they were shining down on me. I gave the nearest camera an obligatory grin that I didn't allow myself to feel any way about, inwardly focused on this moment.
The crowd didn't matter.
My opponent didn't matter.
I needed to hold the throne if I wanted a shot to get my family out of the penitentiary, and I couldn't allow anyone to kill me when it would cost Merrily her sanity.
Given the blood loss I was currently trying to manage, along with the half-healed bruises scattered across my body, it was going to be a rough fight.
I had to assume Leon was behind the whole thing, which meant whoever I was fighting would be really fucking good.
It was going to take everything I had to keep myself alive yet again, but I'd figure it out.
The announcer winked at me before raising her voice again. It echoed through the speakers nearby, loud but not deafening. "On his home turf, we have our reigning champion fighting for his throne!"
More roaring sounded.
Everyone there just wanted to see me and my opponent bleed.
The spotlight slid across the room.
Though I never allowed myself to connect or feel for my opponents in any way, I always made eye contact. Let them see that I didn't fear them. Let them know that I was going to take them down.
The spotlight landed on the set of doors my opponent would be walking through. There was a large gap in the crowd, where there should've been people standing and watching.
That was a little off. Usually, it was less dramatic. My opponent would be announced as they reached the edge of the cage, on the opposite side from where I stood.
Gasps went through the room as the doors opened, fully visible across the empty space that created a path for my opponent to reach the cage.
When my gaze collided with my competitor's, I went still.
"Coming all the way from Fae Row, we have the Demon King's challenger: The Queen of Death herself. She'd like everyone to open their phones and take a moment to read the statement she put out a few minutes ago."
The stadium went silent.
I didn't look away from Merrily.
My female, who always kept her body covered from head to toe because of her magic.
The waves that fell below the middle of her throat were messier than usual, and she wore nothing but a black sports bra and a pair of tight, women's fighting shorts.
Her hundreds of scars and bargain marks were all on display. I wanted to fucking kill everyone in the stadium when I realized they were all seeing and recording an image of Merrily on display like this
Mine.
She was fucking mine.
My shadows danced lightly over her skin, barely there at all. Most of my magic had returned to me after Leon's bite, so there wasn't much of a barrier between her and the shitty price of her power.
It took longer than I wanted it to for my magic to gather around her, growing thicker. Her chin lifted and her shoulders relaxed as the shadows did their job, easing her overwhelm.
"I'll read the statement too, just for the hell of it," the announcer added, and cleared her throat.
"The fae royals would like to make it clear that Grayson Darke's throne will remain his own until they say otherwise.
Anyone who wants to challenge him for it will be fighting his mate, Merrily Fall, instead.
She will defeat him to earn her place as the throne's defender tonight. "
After a few moments of silence, a man hollered. Loudly.
My attention jerked to the side, and I found Darius pumping his fist in the air. Rae was beside him looking extremely annoyed, side-eyeing the fae king like she was seriously considering murdering him for drawing attention toward her.
She probably was.
Everyone was looking at him, though, and his enthusiasm spread like a wildfire. The crowd went from one person cheering to everyone full-on roaring.
I threw more of my shadows at Merrily in an attempt to block her from being overwhelmed by the noise.
She crossed the room, and someone opened the cage door for her. A man.
She met his eyes for a moment, and his gaze dipped to her tits.
I ripped my own door open and strode through the cage. Toward the man who had made it fucking obvious he was checking out my female.
Merrily met me in the doorway, her hands landing on my chest and pushing me backward.
I didn't move.
The glare I pinned the male with had him lifting his hands in surrender. My shadows gathered around both me and Merrily, whipping and raging.
"Looks like our king's mate bond is grating on him a little. Hello, possessiveness," the announcer purred.
I stared the man down.
He stepped back slowly before disappearing into the crowd.
I still fucking wanted him dead.
"Fighters, please take your places in the cage," the announcer said.
I didn't budge, finally looking back down at my mate.
There was fire in her eyes.
"What are you doing?" I asked in a low voice.
"Reminding you who you belong to, Gray." Her voice was innocent, but the wickedness behind the words was enough to make my cock throb violently. "After I win, I get to kill anyone who challenges you. Hurting someone's mate is a killable offense. Leon's bite on your skin isn't going to age well."
My magic rippled around me in a hot, fiery wave. "You don't get to fight my battles for me, Love."
"I'm a fae queen, and you're my fated mate. I get to do whatever I want when it comes to you," she breathed. "And I already announced it, so there's no going back."
"Unless I take you down."
She gave me a small, sexy smile. "You won't. You need me to fix your problems too badly."
She was right.
"Is the king going to forfeit to his mate this easily, or is he going to give us a show?" the announcer mused.
More cheers erupted.
"If we do this, we're sealing the bond," I finally warned.
"As soon as the fight's over."
"And you're not running away from me again. We're doing this the right way. As real mates, Merrily. You're going to stop denying that we have a relationship."
"Agreed."
"I'm going to make you fall in love with me," I stated.
Her cheeks reddened, just a tiny bit. "You can try."
I captured her mouth with mine, and my ears rang from the screaming around us as she laced her arms around my neck and kissed me back.
After I pulled away, I forced myself to release Merrily's waist. Then, I stepped back into position, and waited for the announcer to start the fight.
The volume in the room was still so high that I had every ounce of my shadow magic wrapped around my female, protecting her as well as I could without touching her.
Merrily's chin was high, and her eyes were bright. "Let's give them a show," she mouthed.
"If you insist," I mouthed back.
Her lips curved upward.
Merrily tried to mimic my stance, curling her hands into fists as she bent her knees. Without my shadows dancing on her skin, the woman struggled just to leave her bed. She had no idea how to fight.
The buzzer went off to sound the start, and I stepped toward Merrily.
She stepped toward me, too.
Taking a slow breath in, I connected with all of the shadows I had wrapped around her, coating my female's skin.
I obviously wouldn't be swinging at her, but I could take a couple of punches for the spectators' entertainment. My shadows couldn't really hurt me, so it wasn't going to matter.
Her body moved smoothly as I sent her fist cracking at my nose, and used my shadows to cushion the blow. I'd caught her entirely off guard, and the shock in her eyes told me she hadn't realized what I was doing until my head snapped backward with the light impact.
I'd dramatized the blow, but the people around us didn't give a damn.
Merrily's shock turned to understanding when she saw the shadows coating her skin, clinging to her in a new way. Her gaze lifted back up to mine, her lips curving slightly.
I winked.
The crowd exploded, and I vaguely heard the announcer's suggestive comment in the background.
I gave it a few seconds before I used my shadows to send Merrily's arm in a smooth uppercut, taking my chin. The shadows absorbed the impact of the blow, of course, preventing her from feeling a thing.
My head went backward again, and her smile widened as she shook her head at me, not sure whether to be amused or annoyed.
I could feel every inch of her with my shadows, and I could fight in my sleep. It took little effort to take my mate to the ground after a few more blows, cushioning her fall with my hands and shadows.
Her chest rose and fell violently against mine as she caught her breath while pinned beneath me, our eyes locked together and her lips stretched broadly.
"You're ridiculous," she said with a laugh.
"Maybe you need some ridiculousness in your life, Death."
"Maybe I do."
I barely heard the people around us.
Was barely aware of the massive stadium we occupied at all.
Lowering my mouth to hers, I kissed her.
Lightly.
There was still time left in the round, and she was supposed to beat me. She wanted to make a point, and she was going to make it.
I ended the kiss and rolled her on top of me.
The sounds around us were nearly feral, but I paid them no mind.
She straddled me with her hands on my chest.
"Are you going to let me win this easily?" she teased.
"Nah. You'll have to earn this victory."
She laughed when I took control of her again and raised her fist, sending it flying toward my face.
We rolled, and grappled.
It was wild and rough, but neither of us was injured, despite the way it must've looked on the screen.
Merrily held me pinned as the buzzer went off again, ending the fight, and I raised my voice loudly. "I submit to the Queen of Death. My mate defends me with her magic, and I defend her with mine."
I didn't release her from the shadows. Not immediately.
"Let's go, Darke. We have a mate bond to seal."
I grinned as I finally rose to my feet and hauled her out of the cage. Everyone could see that neither of us was injured, and I was positive the fighting looked more sexual than it did brutal.
I'd work through having my mate's nearly-bare body plastered all over the news tomorrow.
There were better things to do tonight.