“My saliva heals the wound after I feed.” His voice was much deeper, a sexy rumble.

Abby swallowed hard and nodded fast. “Okay, it’s done. Let’s get out of here.” She had to because right now what her body craved and what she wanted was two entirely different things. Moreover, a nagging guilt filled her as if she’d done something wrong. Like she’d cheated on Alrik... She shook her head to rid the negative thought. They’d never done more than share a kiss, she reminded herself.

Aidan’s dark gaze bore into hers as if he could read her thoughts. “I’ll win this and then we’ll finish this,” he promised.

She almost believed him. Almost.

Because she knew Alrik would win and she hadn’t wanted anything so badly in a long, long time. The sooner he won, the sooner she could feel his mouth on hers. She wanted him, craved him, and needed him to appease the hunger stirring deep inside her. She froze, realizing her own thoughts. What in the world was wrong with her?

Aidan scowled. “You think of another now. Who? The king,” he spat the word as if it tasted disgusting.

Abby didn’t dare say anything.

Jaw clenched tight, Aidan grabbed her hand and led her back into the hall. The men were even more restless now.

Aidan made her sit in a throne-like chair at the front of the hall. “Stay here.” To the room he said, “Bring the fallen king up here.”

The men didn’t move and all conversation ceased. The blonde-haired demon who’d escorted her from her room this morning stepped forward. Disbelief marred his handsome face. “What say you?”

“The woman says she’ll not accept any of us under any condition unless he’s allowed to fight for a chance. So be it.”

“This is ridiculous,” cut another demon.

Aidan’s body stiffened in a lethal way as if trying to keep from physically launching at the man. “We are not rapists. We have her promise and she’ll abide by it. Besides,” now she could hear the taunting laughter in his voice, “we finally have our chance to beat the king once and for all. And fairly.”

Some of the demons started nodding and smiling. Another came forward. “I agree. Let him fight us. He won’t beat us. Too long has he sat upon a throne while we’ve battled. He won’t win against us.”

Others started murmuring their agreement and then the matter was settled.

Four guards split to go retrieve Alrik. Abby fidgeted in her seat feeling strangely nervous at the thought of seeing him again. A minute later Alrik came in. Each of the four guards struggled to keep hold of him. He lurched and jerked against them and the guards barely seemed to keep hold of him. She wanted to smile but kept her lips in check.

As soon as he entered the room, his gaze found hers. Fury burned in his eyes. She flinched thinking he knew what she’d done with Aidan then remembered it wasn’t aimed at her. Still, she had to fight the urge not to rub at the spot where she’d been bitten.

Aidan strode back towards her. He dared to rest his hand on her shoulder as if they were friends...or lovers. “We’ve reached an agreement, fallen king Alrik. You will fight in the challenge with us. Winner takes the human Abbigail.”

She could see the change come over Alrik. His body suddenly relaxed and an eager glint came to his eyes. A slow, cruel smile split his lips. “As you wish,” he said.

Abby shivered at the promise in his voice, but apparently nobody else heard the threat or if they did they weren’t bothered by it.

An hour later, Abbigail sat glued to the edge of her seat, her hands squeezing tight to the seat, and her entire body leaning forward at the action. She’d never seen anything like this. She’d thought the challenge would be orderly, regulated. Perhaps one on one and the winner proceeds to the neck round.

No, no, no. She was wrong, very wrong.

At the order “go” from Aidan, the men set loose amongst each other. Magic bursts flared, flashed, and scorched as punches, kicks and elbows were thrown. Blood splattered the floor making it look like someone had taken a bucket of fake blood and thrown it on the floor to make it look like a fake crime scene. Or even a real one. She’d seen a few that were this bloody. But to see the crime, so to speak, take place was...utterly riveting.

She didn’t know why but she couldn’t take her eyes off the sight of tall, strong, healthy men beating the crap out of each other. They fought as if their lives were on the line. Ignoring the fact that their lives weren’t on the line and they were fighting over her, Abby barely blinked. Time kept passing and those who were hurt and didn’t get up were dragged out of the makeshift ‘arena’ by others who’d been taken out.

Not only was it terrifying to see such brutal violence—the men held nothing back—they pummeled each other with all their mighty strength and called up deadly spells. Screams and grunts echoed in the hall. This bizarre excitement must have been what it felt like to sit in a gladiator arena. It was awful watching bones break and blood spurt but it was thrilling at the same time. Her heart felt like it could beat right out of her chest at any moment. After a while, she stopped wincing at every awful sound and bloody spurt and grew used to it.

And, Alrik was winning.

She couldn’t stop the swell of pride in her chest. Her man was winning!

Her gaze had barely left him the entire fight. Most ganged up on him at first, but he’d taken down many. He was surprisingly swift and lethal using a combination of spells, elbows, and knees to his advantage. He used the hardest of his bones and was probably responsible for most of the blood on the floor. The men eventually stopped targeting him as they turned on each other, each desperate for the prize. She stifled a nasty shiver at that thought.

Yet, on the opposite side of the arena, slowly working his way in was Aidan. He moved so fast she barely saw him. It was the vampirism that made him fast and agile. One man with short black hair stood against him, legs parted, knees bent, his fists clenched and a stoic expression on his face. They were at a face off.

Aidan swept behind him in a haze so fast she barely saw it. Really all she made out was the black blur of his long hair. He made it behind the demon and kicked out both the demon’s knees, but as the demon collapsed to the ground, he spun around fast, and with a scissor kick took Aidan down with him.

The fight turned brutal then, as if it already wasn’t. The men grappled hand to hand. Necks straining as one choked the other, knees and chests shifting each trying to gain the upper hand and toss the other below him. They flipped and rolled. Aidan came out on top. The demon squeezed tree-trunk sized legs around his waist and she sucked in a breath as if her own oxygen was being squeezed from her. Aidan’s face turned red, his nostrils flared.

Finally, he slid his hands up and through the grip on his neck, grabbed the demon’s wrists and bent them backwards. The demon below him howled at the cracking sound. Even Abby flinched as his wrists flopped uselessly. Aidan stood, ready to move on to another foe as the demon was dragged off by the other losers.

This was way too exciting. Just what was wrong with her? She shouldn’t enjoy these grown, handsome, scary men fighting for her, but she totally did. Sick as it was, this was the coolest thing she’d ever witnessed in her life.

The fighting continued and no surprise to her, but Alrik and Aidan were down to the last five. Three demons stood between them but she knew where this was going. Judging by the demon’s quieting around the arena as they watched, they knew it too. They halted their jeers and cheers to watch the fight.

Alrik spoke deep and low, fast. Black skeletal fingers grew out of the ground and climbed up the demon launching at him. The demon screamed, his eyes widening with terror at the black, bony arms. They were attached to nobody yet seemed to slow him down. He fought them, grabbing them and throwing them to the ground but they kept coming. Alrik must have known the man had just lost because he turned and engaged the next demon, this time using pure strength with teeth-jarring kicks and crunching punches.