Lore took a few running steps, and the men both leaped into the air.
They crashed into each other with a resounding smack, hitting hard.
Madeline watched, heart in her throat, as Lore and the beast pummeled each other. Lore swung with lethal power, opening up bleeding cuts on the beast’s chest. She could tell he was trying not to kill the alien.
The blue beast roared his rage, getting in plenty of hard hits of his own, with his brutal fighting forks.
They were evenly matched. Madeline’s hands curled into fists. She knew they’d go on and on, wearing each other down.
She didn’t want the blue alien dead, but she wasn’t letting Lore die here. She glanced over at the women. “We have to help Lore.”
Madeline scanned the sand, and spotted something half buried nearby. A staff. She brushed the sand away and snatched up the metal rod.
The women flanked her, and they moved forward.
Madeline started to scream and shout, in an effort to distract the blue alien, and the other women joined in. As the beast-man spun around, Madeline swung the staff as hard as she could, slamming it into his back.
The blue beast let out a cry, stumbling forward. And that was just the advantage Lore needed.
Lore leaped onto the beast, driving him to the ground. He brought his sword down, skewering the alien through his shoulder.
“I don’t want to kill you,” Lore yelled. “Snap out of it.”
But the alien heaved Lore off, leaping back to his feet. He aggressively circled Lore, preparing to attack again.
“Stop!” Mia ran in, her blonde hair a tangled mess around her face. “Please.” She threw her hands up.
The alien went still, staring at her.
“Don’t hurt him,” Mia cried at Lore. “He helped me.” She slowly stepped closer to the beast-man.
Madeline held her breath. Mia neared the alien, and pressed her hands to his chest. Lore stood nearby, chest heaving, his gaze never leaving the alien.
The crowd began to boo. They wanted fighting, and blood.
“Please, join us.” Mia went up on her toes, the tips of her fingers brushing the beast’s strong jaw. “We’ll get you out of here.”
Madeline bit her lip. If he lost it, he could kill Mia with one hard hit.
But then Madeline saw something amazing. The beast relaxed a little. His arms shot out and he grabbed Mia, dragging her into his chest.
Lore took a step forward, but Madeline grabbed his arm, shaking her head.
The blue alien took a deep breath, burying his face in Mia’s hair. He was pulling in her scent, and something about the woman seemed to soothe him.
When he lifted his head, the wild look was slowly draining from his golden eyes. Then he looked at Lore, and gave a nod.
Madeline released the breath she’d been holding. Then suddenly, the crowd’s booing silenced, and a roar pulsated through the seats.
God. What now?
The sound of rattling chains signaled the opening of another gate, and a new fighter stepped out into the pit.
She smiled. Thank God. It was Blaine.
“Blaine!”
Blaine raised his head, lifting twin swords as he did. Madeline’s smile disappeared.
Like the beast, his muscles were straining, his veins standing out from his skin. And there was no shred of recognition or humanity in his dark eyes.
Inside, all she saw was a burning desire to fight and kill.
***
Lore stared hard at Blaine.
The man had been drugged. Lore recognized the signs. His chest was heaving, and he was fighting it, but Lore had heard about the kinds of drugs the Srinar used.
Blaine couldn’t fight off the effects forever.
Where the hell was Galen? If the imperator and the other gladiators didn’t get here soon, there’d be no one left to save.
Blaine’s dark gaze stayed on Lore and the others, like a predator assessing its prey. It wouldn’t be long before he attacked. Lore spun his sword around, adjusting his grip.
“Find a way out,” he growled at Madeline.
With a nod, Madeline moved toward the others, gesturing at the rock walls.
He looked back at Blaine, his jaw tight. He knew it was a lost cause. This pit had been designed to keep well-trained and powerful fighters from escaping. What hope did the four Earth women have?
A tingle at the back of his neck made him look up. He saw Vashto and Cerria sitting on a ledge above, smiling down at them. Sand-sucking scum.
When he looked back at Blaine, that’s when the man attacked.
The human hit with the force of a crashing spaceship.
Lore blocked the blows, his sword clashing with Blaine’s. They moved across the sand, metal ringing on metal.
Drak, the man was strong. Lore didn’t want to kill him. Blaine had already been through so much, and suffered far beyond what the women had. And Lore wasn’t sure how Madeline, Harper, and the others would look at him if he killed their friend, even in his own defense.