Rapture (9 page)

Raine felt the heat of her face
flushing at the sight of his adoration. She hastily turned away and glanced at
her sword.

“And it is a pleasure to make your
acquaintance as well,” he finished, causing her to peer at him as he turned on
his heels and exited the tent.

Before she knew what she was doing,
she hurried toward the opening. “Ferox,” she called, “perhaps I will have some
time to go to the market after the banquet.”

His face lit up, giving her a quick
peek at what his eyes looked like when overfilled with joy. At the sight, she
spun around and reentered the tent. She would not react to the attentions of
the male. She wouldn’t. No matter that he was handsome and had finely toned
muscles, with large shoulders and a thin waist. The only male she’d been around
her entire life was her father, and on very rare occasions, her half-brother,
Thor. Any male would seem appealing. Not that males were of any importance. As
Father had repeatedly told her, males were a waste of time, and were no more
than passing fancies—but victory and honor … those would stay with her for
eternity. Victory and honor were all she knew. She’d proven that well enough in
her first battle, and wouldn’t stop until she reigned Immortal Champion.

She wouldn’t think about Ferox
again. She would certainly see him at the banquet, but no more time would be
wasted thinking about those radiant eyes and strong arms, or the way stubble
dusted his jawline.

She glanced at the tent opening
where he’d just stood.

Right.

Chapter Eight

“What is that?”

The vendor looked at the food Caleen
pointed to and picked it up. “This is lachan. It’s a delicacy.”

Raine eyed the fish dubiously. It
looked fully cooked, steam wafted from the yellow and black skin, and on the
side there was some sort of vegetable, but she had no clue what kind. Never
having been one for fish, she shook her head at Caleen. “Uh, I don’t think so.”

Her sister returned the look, but
was quickly replaced by one of confidence. “Well,
I
am going to try it.” She
whipped out some coins and handed them to the merchant before grabbing the
plate of hot, steaming fish.

Raine turned away with Caleen
following closely behind. That had been the tenth tent they’d been to, and the
fourth one hocking some type of food. As for her, she was waiting for the right
kind of grub. There were countless other tents ahead of them, still much to
see. Besides, she was still full from her dinner at the winner’s banquet. It
had reminded her of the banquets her father enjoyed, though it was nowhere near
as plentiful. She had spent the entire time avoiding Ferox’s gaze, talking
herself out of responding the way her body wanted.

Damn her, she’d promised herself she
wouldn’t think of him.

Caleen swallowed down the last bite,
somehow having eaten the entire fish and vegetable in the amount of time that
it took Raine to glance over three more booths. “I guess I should get back to
ours. You sure you don’t want to help?”

“Positive. I want to see what everyone
has while I can.” Caleen had yet to fight her battle, but Raine was most
assuredly in for the second round. She wanted a chance to see everything before
the second round began, especially since no one knew what the two other rounds
held in store.

“Alright,” she replied, giving a
slightly pouty face. “You know where I will be.” She sauntered off, looking
over her shoulder and waving before she disappeared into the crowd.

Raine turned toward the next tent
and peered at the contents on the table. They appeared to be no more than knick-knacks
so she hustled on to the next. Only, before she got to see what they offered,
her gaze settled on an attractive male as he turned away from the tent.

He spotted her in that instant and
inclined his head. “Good evening, Raine.”

“Ferox,” she replied, still
surprised—not excited—to see him. There went her plan not to see him.... And,
look there was another. His identical twin turned then as well and stood by his
side. “And Ferox’s brother.” Dear Odin, could they look more alike? They
appeared exactly the same, even wearing their hair the same way, by tying it at
the nape with a cord.

“Damion,” his twin supplied, bowing
low.

Another male stepped up, and Ferox
gestured toward the newcomer. “I’d also like you to meet my cousin, Raider.”

She inclined her head. “Hello.”

“It is nice to meet you, my lady.”
He bowed low just like the others had done earlier, and Raine couldn’t help but
notice the male’s friendly, calm demeanor.

“Damion?” a female called. Raine
faced in the direction the voice had come from as a female rushed toward them,
dodging through the crowd. When she reached them, she spoke in a language Raine
couldn’t understand, and Damion’s expression told her he wasn’t pleased with
what she’d said.

He responded to the woman in kind,
only his voice was gruff. Then he faced her and the others. “I had hoped to
spend more time getting to know you. Unfortunately, I am needed elsewhere so I
must take my leave. Will you join me, brother?”

“No,” Ferox replied. “I think I shall
accompany Raine through the market.”

Damion seemed none too pleased with
that answer, but he stepped forward anyway, taking Raine’s hand into his.
“Until we meet again.” He turned on his heels and huffed off, following the
tiny woman through the throng of demons. Twice, he turned and looked at her
over his shoulder.

“What was that about?” she asked.

Ferox returned his gaze to her after
Damion disappeared. “My father summoned him. Would you like to join me in
seeing the booths?”

“I’m sure nothing would be amiss if
we just happened to view them at the same time,” she teased. “Raider, are you
joining us?”

He flicked his gaze to Ferox before
returning it to her. “Yes, thank you.”

Together, the three of them
meandered down the rows of tents, inspecting items, trinkets, weapons, and food
the different factions offered for sale.

“This one is ours,” Ferox said when
they reached a bright red tent. “
Bethany
,”
he greeted the female inside.

Raine nodded at the female in
greeting before peering at the items on the table. There were some weapons and
a few other things, but her eyes settled on a vibrant purple flower encased in
glass. “What is that?”

“That,” he replied, picking it up
and holding it out to her, “is an
alexiolus
.
”

She took it from him, admiring the
delicate flower. “It’s beautiful.”

“Wait until it has bloomed
completely.”

She flicked her gaze up at him.
“This isn’t already?”

“No.” He shook his head. “The magic
happens at night.”

So, it would probably bloom soon.
Outside, the light was waning, which meant that nighttime would come soon. “How
much longer?”

“A few hours. The real beauty comes
when the moon is at its highest point in the sky.”

She set it down on the table, a
little disappointed that it would take so long.

“Should we see what else the others
have to offer?” he asked, turning toward the exit. “Perhaps we can make it back
in time to see it.”

“Perhaps.” Raine stepped out of the
tent with his hand guiding her by the small of her back. She shivered from the
contact, as if a spark of electricity had shot through her limbs. Raider had
remained outside, and he fell into step beside Ferox as he and Raine continued
exploring tent after tent.

“Ah, here are my sisters,” Raine
said a while later, seeing Caleen inside, sitting at the table and looking as
though she were about to fall over with sheer boredom. “Where is Lenora?”

Her sister perked up at seeing her,
and then cocked an eyebrow at Raine’s entourage. “She left a while ago to check
on Lisette and take her some dinner.”

Raine gestured to the males next to
her. “This is Ferox and Raider. They are accompanying me around the market.”

Caleen inclined her head at them,
but her gaze stayed trained on Raider. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Raine looked between her sister and
Ferox’s cousin, in no way missing the sexual tension that sizzled. The air was
charged with it. “How much longer do you plan to stay in here?”

“Not long. As soon as Lenora returns
I had planned to find you.”

Raider stepped closer to the table,
feigning interest in the items her sisters were selling. Ferox did find
something he seemed interested in and held it up, inspecting the breast guard.
“Who made this?”

“We did,” Raine replied. “My sisters
and I.” She wouldn’t tell him that there wasn’t much to her day besides making
weapons, shields, and training for battle.

He seemed impressed and set it back
down. “What about those?”

“Display only,” Raine replied,
eyeing the daggers, swords, and other assorted weapons in the glass case. She
and her sisters planned to keep them as visual interest only to display their
weapon-making talents. No reason to sell off weapons that could cause more harm
to Valkyries than most other weapons in existence.

“You made those as well?” Raider
asked.

“Of course. We are well trained in
everything related to war.” Caleen stood from her seat and opened the case. “I
made this one myself.”

Both males inspected her handiwork.
“What about you? Did you make any of these?” Ferox asked Raine.

“Of course she did,” Caleen said,
sounding overly excited. “Most of the blades in here were forged by Raine. Hers
are widely prized by our father and sisters.”

“Really?” he said, facing her. His
eyebrows were raised in surprise, and the guy had a wide grin plastered on his
face.

Gods damn it, why was her heart
pounding? Raine cleared her throat and shrugged, ignoring the urge to fan the
heat spreading over her face. “Uh, yes. Why don’t we uh … go look at the other
booths?”

****

Raine and her sisters slipped out
through the opening of their tent, blinking at the warm glow of the morning
sky. They kept their pace slow, allowing for Lisette’s injuries as many demons
passed them on their way to this morning’s games. It was the eighth day of the
tournament, and the last day of the first round. Four victors had won in each
game so far. Ferox’s cousin, Raider, was one of them, and the winners of
today’s games would be the last to join her and the other champions in the next
challenge. Caleen and Lenora were participating in the first battle, which
would begin within the hour. That time would seem short, since the two had to
sign in with the officials, suit up, attach their heart-guards, and prepare for
battle. It was the minutes and seconds leading up to the sirens that seemed an
eternity, as Raine well knew.

The throng of beings passing them
separated momentarily, and she spotted Ferox, Damion, and Raider near the
entrance of the stadium. They were in a circle, speaking with other beings,
laughing and smiling at whatever they discussed.

“What exactly are vampires?” she
asked as they stopped at one of the beverage booths.

The haggardly old female running the
booth sported a brown cloak today. The only thing that really stood out about
her was the strands of blazing white hair that peeked through the opening of
the hood. There were two others standing nearby, the three seemingly always
together.

Caleen accepted a goblet from the
woman. “Well, only our two favorite males here at the tourney.”

Raine rolled her eyes. “No, what are
they? What are their race’s characteristics, do you remember?”

“No.” She shook her head and handed
the drink to Lenora.

Well damn, Raine couldn’t remember
either. There were so many different factions at the games it was hard to keep
track of them all. “Next time they should provide a list.”

Lenora snorted. “It would have to be
a massive tome to get every type of creature listed.” She tipped her drink to
her lips.

“And not every faction is even
here,” Lisette chimed in.

Raine’s eyes narrowed. “I am not
asking for a full-detail, minute-by-minute account of each attendee’s life. I
just think it would be nice to know some of the … attributes of the races we
are slumming with.”

Lenora finished draining her goblet
and handed it to the hag for more beverage. “Is your interest purely as a
competitor?” This was clearly meant for Raine, as her gaze rolled subtly toward
her.