Chapter 69:

Chapter 69 A Shadow Among the Stands

I Don’t Take Bull from Anyone, Not Even a Demon Lord


Patrona hated crowds.

The noise pressed against her ears, the stink of sweat and smoke clinging to every breath. Yet she and Revoli had no choice but to weave through the throng. Gildenreach pulsed with activity—markets spilling into alleys, hawkers shouting over one another, guards patrolling in polished steel.

Revoli skipped at her side, tail flicking with restless energy. “This place is huge! Think they sell candied fruit somewhere?”

Patrona pulled her hood lower. “We’re not here to snack. Eyes open.”

Still, even she couldn’t ignore the thunder rolling through the streets. A chant, low and steady, punctuated by cheers that shook the cobblestones beneath their boots. Curiosity pulled them onward until the buildings parted and revealed the square.

The arena.

It was vast, cut into the earth like a scar. Four layers of stands circled downward, carved steps twisting intricately, funneling thousands of spectators toward the pit.

Patrona’s lips tightened. A place for blood.

The crowd surged around them, carrying them to the rim. From above, they looked down into the sand just as a chimera crashed into view. Its lion head roared, serpent tail lashing, goat horns swinging like hammers. Opposite it stood a lizardman fighter, spear raised.

The battle began.

The chimera struck with crushing power, claws tearing sand and stone. The lizardman darted quick, spear flashing. For a moment, it seemed the reptile’s precision might overcome brute strength. But in a heartbeat, horns smashed bone, fangs pierced flesh, and the lizardman collapsed lifeless into the dirt.

The crowd howled their delight.

Revoli winced, clutching Patrona’s arm. “That’s awful…”

Patrona’s expression remained still, though her hand brushed the hilts of her twin blades. “It’s Gildenreach. They cheer for blood.”

The healers rushed too late. The chimera was led away like a champion.

Then came the next fight: a wiry young woman versus a towering Amazon. The smaller fighter’s agility stole the crowd’s breath as she twisted, flipped, and drove her larger opponent to the ground. But mercy proved her mistake. When she spared the Amazon, guards stormed the arena, chaining her as punishment.

Revoli’s ears flattened. “That’s not fair!”

Patrona only narrowed her eyes. “Mercy here is weakness. Remember that.”

She turned—too late.

A hand clamped over Revoli’s mouth. Another wrapped around her waist, jerking her back. Revoli squealed against the grip, kicking and twisting as a soldier and a familiar figure dragged her toward the shadows of the stairwell.

The armsman. The same brute who had taken Elijah’s daughters. His scarred face sneered as he yanked Revoli close. “Beastfolk must be registered. Can’t let her slip free. You, dark elf—you’ve nothing to fear. Elves aren’t property. Go on your way.”

Patrona’s blood surged hot.

She caught his wrist before he could turn. “You made a mistake.”

Her knee shot upward, smashing his face with a crunch. Blood sprayed as he reeled.

The soldier reached for his blade, but Patrona was already moving. Steel flashed—her twin blades knocked his sword aside before her foot hooked his leg and sent him crashing down. He toppled onto the armsman, both sprawling in a heap of cursing and blood.

Patrona seized Revoli’s wrist. “Move!”

They bolted, shoving through startled onlookers. Down a twisting flight of stairs they ran, deeper and deeper, until they spilled onto the lowest level of the stands.

The roar of the crowd swallowed them whole.

Patrona yanked Revoli down onto the stone bench beside her. “Head down. Act normal.”

Revoli’s chest heaved, tail lashing nervously, but she copied the spectators around her—clapping, shouting, stomping her boots against the stone. No one looked twice. Everyone’s eyes were on the sand below.

“See?” Patrona murmured, voice low. “Better lost in the crowd than hunted in the streets.”

Revoli nodded, though her hands still trembled.

Together they sat, feigning cheers as blood spilled below.

Neither noticed the figure across the pit, stepping through the shadows toward the handlers’ table. Neither saw Kai pause, his name given, his place in the coming battles claimed.

Patrona and Revoli only kept their heads down, praying the crowd’s hunger for blood would keep them invisible.

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