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    Chapter 0775


    Enzo


    "Today is the day, my love."


    M''s voice, soft and sweet, pulled me out of my reverie. I found myself sitting beside those pools of unfathomably deep water again, although this time, I couldn''t quite remember how I had gotten here. Furrowing my brow, I turned to see M''s face smiling down at me. She reached out and touched my cheek, and... Yes. Right. I was just rxing here before my big fight. The arena waited for me now, and I couldn''t have been more excited. After all, once I won the fight, the ceremony would begin and after that, M would finally be mine.


    And I would be hers.


    I smiled, pressing my hand against hers. "I can''t wait," I said softly.


    "It''s a good thing you don''t have to, my dear. It''s time for you to start getting ready."


    I followed her gaze to the doorway, where a servant waited for me. I already knew what was in store: a ceremonial bath, during which they would likely scrub my skin within an inch of its life, just likest time.


    And that was exactly what happened. Within a few hours, I was seated on the edge of my bed, wearing a in cloth shirt and loose pants. My skin was red and a little raw from the scrubbing, and the room smelled like fragrant salts. I was ready; and in just a few short hours, I would be preparing for the fight.


    But I couldn''t deny the way my leg shook, my heel bouncing on the ground.


    Maybe it was nerves, or maybe just anticipation. Either way, with hours to spare before the fight, I knew I couldn''t wait here the whole time. I stood and decided to wander, then, to help pass the time.


    The walk started out innocently enough. I wandered the halls, tracing my fingers along the smooth obsidian as I mused to myself.


    But halfway through, something changed. I felt myself no longer wandering, but instead moving toward a specific location, even asionally evading guards, as though drawn by an invisible force.


    Then, rounding the final corner, I found myself in a strangely familiar location.


    The dungeon.


    I wasn''t sure why I hade here, but I knew that it wasn''t entirely an unconscious decision. And that was why, as I pushed open the door, I didn''t fight the urge to go further.


    The thick, heavy doors creaked open, and I slipped inside. Wandering down the narrow corridor, nked on either side by silver and iron cells, I came to the cell at the very end.


    I peered through the gap, my gazending on the hulking form of my opponent a brutish shifter with wild eyes and matted fur. The panther.


    Something inside of me stirred at the sight of him, an inexplicable urge pulling me forward until I was mere inches from the bars. It seemed as though that same urge had taken him over, too, and he padded forward, the light hitting his ck fur.


    I did something unimaginable then. I reached out and touched his muzzle.


    And then, our eyes met, boring into each other with an intensity that stole my breath away.


    Suddenly, with no warning I heard a gruff voice reverberate inside my mind.


    "You are in grave danger."


    I felt myself go rigid, my pulse thundering in my ears, but for some reason I didn''t pull away.


    "You... You can speak?" I murmured, my voice barely more than a whisper.


    "Listen closely," the shifter''s gravelly voice responded in my mind. "M forces these arena fights as part of her sick ceremonies, all in pursuit of an heir. But she cannot produce an heir."


    I furrowed my brow. "What?"


    The panther almost seemed to sigh, although it came out as more of a low, throaty growl. I felt the urge to pull back, but once more, I didn''t.


    "She is infertile," he replied. "And when a would-be mate cannot give her what she desires, she unleashes her fumes and poisons upon them until they are little more than mindless thralls, twisted beyond recognition."


    A tremor of revulsion ran through me at his words, followed immediately by something more solid, more guttural as the fog in my mind started to part. Of course I knew that her ceremony was a sham. I already knew about her treachery, her evil nature.


    Nina... How could I have been so blind? Something was happening to me here, something dark and twisted. It was as if I had realized it a thousand times already, but each time I came close to breaking through the fog that had taken over my mind, M would suddenly appear and then the fog would return.


    But not this time. No, this time M didn''te. And maybe that was why I hade here, to see the panther, when I did; because deep down, I knew that she wouldn''t find me here.


    "What should I do?" I asked, speaking telepathically so as not to be overheard.


    The panther paused. We both knew I couldn''t simply run; M would find me, and even if I somehow managed to slip out of her pce without being caught, there was no knowing what would happen then. Perhaps she''d wreak havoc on innocent people.


    Perhaps she had Nina, and I had no idea. No, I had to be smart about this. And the panther knew that.


    "Not all who serve her do so willingly," the panther replied. "Some only obey through fear, shackled to her will like dogs on a leash; those, like me, who were able to resist the insanity that she inflicts on us. If you can start an uprising during our battle, turn the tides and attack the guards instead of me..."


    His voice trailed off, but his piercing gaze remained locked with mine. I felt something akin to hope re in my chest as the possibilities began to take shape.


    "very well," I replied, feeling the panther''s slick fur beneath my hand. "Here is what we''ll do.."


    I paced back and forth in my room, my hands curled up into fists at my sides. The n felt haphazard and quickly put-together, but it had to work. If it didn''t work, then...


    Then I didn''t even want to know what would happen after that.


    Suddenly, the sound of the door opening snapped me out of my trance. I turned to see a fully-d guard step silently into the room, spear in hand, and felt my heart begin to pound. It was time.


    "Could I have a few more minutes?" I asked, trying to force the tiniest shred of confidence into my voice. "I''m not quite ready."


    But much to my chagrin, the guard just stood there, nkly staring at me or at least, that was how it felt through the helmet thatpletely hid their face. I felt my shoulders slump as I realized that this guard, like so many others, was just another thrall. And thralls had no pity, nopassion, no logic.


    Or at least, what was what I thought at first; until, with a deft flick of their wrist, they pulled off their helmet-and a cascade of long, dark hair came tumbling free.