Prologue
Carter
Fight and lose
That’s what I have been taught to do all my life — pretend you are good, fight till your whole body aches, and then lose. Nothing matters more than losing. It is what I am trained to do but as I face the man in front of me, losing is the last thing I want to think of.
His grin is malicious and the girl he has in his grip is scared. She is the girl whose eyes remind me that she is my home. She keeps those eyes fixed on me, moving her head from left to right, begging me not to do what I am thinking of doing — begging me to stay away and leave this place.
That’s who she is.
She knows sacrifice but she doesn’t know me. I have sacrificed too much to be denied the one thing which matters to me now. She has no idea what it will cost me to lose her too. She has no idea because she only cares that I stay safe, that I don’t fight. She wants me to turn on my heels and head back the way I came from. She wants me to leave her alone to fight the monster.
His grip on her neck tightens, his fingers curl around the soft skin of her throat, and I feel her pain even before she does. She digs her nails into his hand, to pry it off her throat as his hold contracts in an attempt to choke her. She closes her eyes for a fleeting moment with an expression of agony. When she opens them, her eyes are on me again and she forms a word that makes me want to gather her in my arms and kiss her senseless.
“Run,” she whispers.
Never
I feel my jaw clench and my fist lifts itself almost involuntarily as it collides with the man’s jaw with a loud crack. He lets go of her and stumbles back a step. When he looks up again, his eyes meet mine and I know he is ready to fight just like I am.
It is another arena, another fight. Except this time, I intend to win.
