“Back the hell up,” he snarled, lowering his aim. “Now. And before you start wondering if I have the balls to splatter your brains across the trees, let me put your minds at ease. I do.”

Kaia stilled, panting and blood-splattered. The women quickly backed away from her. As fast as these winged stunners could move, they could have charged him, attempted to kill him. They didn’t. Either they realized he’d take a few of them out before they managed to reach him, as promised, or they feared his demon.

Defeat hummed his approval, tiny sparks of pleasure warming Strider’s chest. More sparks than usual, considering he hadn’t exactly won yet. Then Strider recalled the very first challenge his demon had accepted regarding Kaia and these women.

Anyone who tried to hurt her had to suffer. Nice.

“You,” he said to Kaia. “Come closer.”

She, too, obeyed. He brushed his free hand down her arm, a caress meant to calm, to comfort. But, shit! Touching her was like touching melted steel. Blisters immediately formed on the pads of his fingers. Did he care? Hardly. What was a little pain when her well-being was at stake?

Eventually the raspy fury of her breathing decreased and the black faded from her eyes, the flickering flames dying. Her skin cooled.

“First-class work out there, baby doll,” he said.

“Anytime, sugar muffin.” Though the words were raw and ragged, she spoke with only one vocal inflection. Her Harpy had been contained.

He shifted his gaze. He and Kaia were still surrounded, but now the circle had grown even wider and he could make out individual features. Harpy after Harpy scowled at him. Dread poured through him as he moved in front of Kaia. His protectiveness probably bothered her, but he wasn’t going to let her take the lead in this. These were her people, and as her sister Gwen had once proven, family had a hard time killing family.

Strider never had a hard time killing anyone. Call it a gift.

Kaia moved to his side and threw the baton at…her mother’s feet. He wanted to curse.

“Hello, Tabitha,” she said evenly.

The dark-haired beauty stepped forward, her expression blank as she pondered him rather than her daughter. “Put the gun away, demon. For all your crowing, we all know you won’t use it.”

Kaia moaned. “You shouldn’t have said that.”

Grinning pleasantly, Strider angled the line of the barrel and squeezed the trigger. Boom. A high-pitched, disbelieving scream. He’d nailed the Harpy beside her. Blood spurted from a gaping thigh wound. The now-injured female hopped up and down before her strength drained and she fell to the ground.

Win! Defeat giggled like a schoolgirl.

More sparks of pleasure erupted in his chest as he notched a brow. “You were saying?”

Tabitha peered at Kaia and cursed, then switched her attention to her trembling clanswoman and shrugged. “You merely grazed her, missing everything of importance.”

“Did I? Well, then, let me try again.” Once more he squeezed the trigger. This time, the bullet grazed Tabitha’s thigh. She wore ankle-length black pants, and the material concealed the evidence of what he’d done. Nothing could hide the coppery tang saturating the air, however.

A slight baring of her pearly whites was the only indication she gave that she’d been hit.

“Oh, damn,” he said. “Missed everything of importance again. I might have to keep practicing. Who’s next?”

Gasps of outrage abounded.

Tabitha held up her hand for silence. Even the night birds obeyed, their chirps evaporating like mist. “Of course it would be you who fell for the old campfire trick,” she said to Kaia. “I’m not surprised.”

“That makes two of us. You fell for the old your-enemy-has-fallen-for-the-old-campfire-trick trick.” She settled two fingers in her mouth and whistled, loud and high-pitched.

Suddenly leaves rattled above him. He watched, wide-eyed, as Sabin, Lysander, Taliyah, Bianka, the Harpy called Neeka and several other females he didn’t recognize revealed themselves. They were high up in the trees, arrows notched and pointed at the competition.

Defeat started humming again.

What are you so happy about? They’d been there all this time and he hadn’t known. They could have slaughtered him before he’d even realized he was under attack. And he’d thought himself so skilled, so…undefeatable. Well, there was no need for any ego checks today. He more than sucked. He blew chunks.

No reason to blame himself, though. Kaia and her Booty Camp had ruined his concentration.

“This is a first,” Tabitha gritted out. Murmurs of admiration circled her, mixed with a few snorts of disbelief and several gasps of fury. “Now I am surprised.”

“How?” His jagged tone matched her mother’s.

Kaia didn’t pretend to misunderstand. “I texted them before we left the motel.”

Good thinking, but he hadn’t known that, either, which meant he more than blew chunks. “And you couldn’t have clued me in?”

“No.” So simply stated, as if the thought had never entered her mind. “So, Mother Dearest,” she said, tuning him out. “Are you regretting your choice to cut your daughters from your team?”

“No,” Tabitha said, as flatly as Kaia had and with no hesitation.

Ouch. Kaia stiffened, but only for a moment. He didn’t dare glance over at her, didn’t dare wrap his arm around her waist and offer any more comfort. Now wasn’t the time. But later…yeah, later, despite his raging bodily needs and the danger to his self-control. Comforting her was part of his consort duties, and for the next four weeks, he was her consort. In all the ways that mattered.

Sex didn’t matter.

At least, that’s what he was going to tell himself. Over and over again, until he believed it. Or until a backlog of semen poisoned and killed him. He could plan to sneak off and indulge in a few one-night stands, he supposed, but he knew he wouldn’t. And not just because Kaia would permanently maim any females he so much as flirted with, but because, well, he didn’t want anyone else.

He’d tasted Kaia’s sweetness, had felt the wickedness of her curves pressed against him, and knew no mortal woman could compare. But he’d get over this infatuation, of that he had no doubt. Even Haidee hadn’t held his attention for long.

Haidee. Huh. He hadn’t thought about her much today, though she had consumed his brain for weeks. Classic Strider. Over the centuries, he’d been a major contender for the World’s Shortest Attention Span.

“Do you truly think you can win the games?” Tabitha asked Kaia.

“Yes.”

“Against me?”

“I hate to repeat myself, but yes.”

That’s my girl. Well, his girl for now.

“Juliette might have won the last eight games, but that’s because I wasn’t allowed to fight. As you know, I’ve never lost,” Tabitha said, stroking the medallion that hung from her neck.

Again, Kaia stiffened, a wave of hurt blasting from her. A wave quickly suppressed. Did the necklace hold some significance? He made a mental note to ask Gwen, as he was certain Kaia wouldn’t give him a straight answer. She never did.

“There’s a reason you’ve never lost. You’ve never fought me,” Kaia replied haughtily.

She is going to be killed.

The feminine voice stampeded through his head. Tabitha’s voice. The same voice he’d heard during orientation. Her attention hadn’t transferred to him, but he knew. “Like hell,” he muttered.

Kaia threw him a disbelieving, offended look. “It’s true.”

“I know that, baby doll. Wasn’t talking to you.”

“Oh. Well. Okay.”

Win! There was a tremor in Defeat’s tone, but still, the little bastard wasn’t going to back down. They’d decided to aid Kaia, and they would. She would not be killed.

She is going to be killed—and there is nothing you can do to help her.

“Stop it,” he commanded, gaze narrowing on the woman responsible.

Tabitha blinked innocently. “Why is your consort speaking to me without my having addressed him first?” she asked Kaia. “Have you not taught him the proper order of things?”