I sit in my dark and disgusting cell. It's one of the more comfortable ones, but that is only because I am one of Veles's best fighters. My bed lies in the corner of the room with white sheets and a red blanket. The red quilt is detailed with silver. I have a small shelf with books to keep me entertained. I enjoy reading the stories; they make me think that life could be better.

I stand up, scanning to see if any of Veles's men were coming down to grab someone. Luckily, no one was coming. I pace slowly around my room, trying to come up with a plan. Sometimes, one of us will leave this hellhole to go on quests the aristocrats pay for. Veles gets paid, so he lets it slide. I've never been on one. That could be an option.

Ever since I was captured, I never saw the forests, mountains, or animals people whispered that roamed Howlan's landscape. They always talked about the tyrant we had in power. One king ruled Howlan, and all he cared was about himself. Everyone living in Howlan was human because he killed every other species. If you had a pointed ear, you were executed. If there were any dark elves or fae found, they were tortured publicly, then killed.

Elves have small pointed ears, and Fae people have the long point. Some have the magic to hide their identity, but most don't. Veles finds many of us elves and fae, and he uses it to his advantage. He works around the law way too much. If a slave owner finds fae or elves, they are ordered to bring them to be executed, and Veles obviously doesn't listen. It's the only reason Meira, Kestrel, and I are still living.

"Ailith!" Kestrel's voice brings me out of my reverie, "it's lunchtime."

I shoot out of my bed, "Oh! I'm coming." Kestrel and I walk quickly to the dining hall, knowing the huge line for food. Arena fighters line up in groups, conversations heard in every direction. We rush towards the end. Unless you want a bar fight, do not cut in front of everyone.

I feel a tug on my clothing, and I look down to see Meira smiling brightly at me. My life is shit, but that warm, bright smile makes it worth it every day. She deserves better than this. I want her to arise from a comfortable bed, joyful. I don't want her to fight for her life. Every time a fighter steps into the arena, they fight for their protection of themselves. Meira should not have to do that. Ever.

"Hi, sweetheart. Are you ready for lunch?" I notice my voice climbs up an octave, but I couldn't care less. She nods excitedly, and Kestrel laughs behind me.

"Kids always want food. What makes you think your daughter is any different, Ailith?" He pats my child's head, and I almost wish that he was the father of my child. Kestrel is an amazing father figure for her, and it makes me question if he is the father sometimes.

"She's different than most of the poor children here."

"Not the point," he points with his finger.

***

"Ailith, you're on next," the familiar scratchy voice calls out to me as I fit on my clothing. A scrap of red cloth is fitted under a gold harness. According to Veles, nobles will be attending this fight. We're up against our rival barracks, so the crowds will be extra rowdy.

Other slaves come into my room, and I feel long fingers intricately braid my freshly washed hair. I don't know why I'm supposed to look beautiful for a fight to the death. Once my brown hair is braided into a half up half down, making me look somewhat like a warrior queen, I'm handed my twin blades. The slaves pushed me to Veles, and I watched as he inspected me.

"Good. She'll look amazing when she wins. Hopefully, it will impress the royals." He remarks, an evil glint lurking in his eye.

I nod and stand by the arch into the arena. There is not a single space open in the stands, and a feeling sparks not since my first fight, nervousness. I glance down, straightening my outfit.

"Look at all the people! Isn't this great?" I jump and punch someone in the gut, and I then realize it was Kestrel.

I make a fake sad face, "sorry."

"It's just a warm-up."

I nod, and we both stand next to each other, observing the shouts as announcers start to speak. My hand brushes my blades, nervousness dying down as I feel my grounding items. The gold hilts glimmer in the sunlight, and few people catch the glare reflecting off the metal.

"Our famous female fighter, Ailith Oriven!" The announcer calls, and I run towards the middle.

Wow.

More people are in attendance today. I scan the crowd, and I see some foreign royals staring down at me. They were all clad in white, gold, and royal blue. Those are the colors of Rivanerre.

Why the hell are royals from Rivanerre here?

The announcer draws back my focus, "Our other famed fighter, Elaxi!"

A woman walks out, strutting confidently. Maybe, she's a little too overconfident. My eyes run up and down the young woman. Her face was in a permanent frown, but a smile flashed on her features as she waved to the crowd. Her silver spear gleamed in the bright sun. Shit. I have shorter weapons; this fight will be more difficult.

The announcer motions for us to meet in the center. I walk towards my enemy, reaching out my hand for hers. She shakes it, and I look up at her and nod.

"Good luck, human."

As our fight began, we circled each other, waiting for the first move.

"What are you waiting for?" I smirked at our aimless walking.

"For you to fight me, human." She smirks at me.

My brows furrow and I look at her ears. They're pointed. Lovely. Elaxi is an elf, and she thinks I am a human. This is why I hide my ears. The lovely surprise. I roll my eyes and continue to circle, waiting for her patiently. She grunts and sprints towards me, missing me by quite a bit. I laugh and kick the back of her knees. She stumbles but quickly recovers back to her seat.

"You bitch!"

I cackled, "You're the one that missed!"

She huffs again and slashes against my blades harshly. My short swords catch her spear, and I push up, moving closer. As I step closer to Elaxi, she realizes that I'll soon take her weapon. We're in an arena, I'm not above taking my opponent's weapon away. She lifts it and hits the butt of it against my gut, making space.

Elaxi continued to make jabs at my upper body and swiped on my legs. She was trying to tire me out. This was a longer match, and something needed to happen or the people will become bored.

I hear a loud, happy scream. The crowd let out loud gasps, and I almost lost my focus.

"MOMMY!"

Shit.

I had a feeling she was running to me, and I had to get her away from Elaxi. She graced me with a sly smirk, and my anxiety rose to new heights. Meira needs to get out of here. What did Kestrel do to lose her? I pushed her away from me, making space.

As soon as she was far enough away, I sprinted for my daughter who was giggling in the middle of an arena. Leave it to her to do this. I picked her up mid-sprint and ran her to the archway. Veles was there, angry as hell, but that didn't matter. I dropped her off and turned around just in time to block Elaxi's jab at my stomach.

We made our way over to the center again thank goodness.

"Your daughter's cute," she commented.

I nodded, focusing on the task.

"I wonder what your owner has in store for her."

"I bet a man would sell her to the brothels."

"Maybe she'll train and do this."

I ignored her, and slashed at her upper arm, finally making a mark.

"I do know one thing for sure, Ailith. Your daughter will be just as weak and helpless as you," she huffed confidently, "mother like daughter."

As soon as the words left her mouth, I lost control.

***

The anger I felt was immeasurable. Something coursed through my blood, and I used the power. The white fire was in my veins, and the fire wanted to release. I saw red, and blood was going to spill.

I look at her with a glare. She realized her mistake once her eyes looked into mine. Something was off, but I liked it. I advanced at her with an unreal amount of speed. Elaxi had barely enough time to dodge.

"Why don't we fight old school? Who needs weapons to kill people?" I smirked.

She dropped her weapon involuntarily. I struck her face with my fist, and it felt amazing. Her body fell to the ground helplessly. Good.

"Get up you pathetic bitch!" I yelled, my voice lower.

It carried through the silent stadium. My opponent slowly got back up, and I picked her up with my throat. My hand gripped around her neck tightly, choking her.

"Elaxi, you are not fighting a human," I threw her far against the wall, walking slowly to her slumped, half-conscious self, "but a fae."

Suddenly, white fire burst through my hands, and I threw it at her body. Elaxi's screams could be heard across the mountains. The evidence of her pain was music to my ears, and I savored every note. I saw her body transform into ashes in a time of seconds.

I stared at the pile of ashes intently, "She deserved it."

People slowly started to clap, but I didn't care. All that mattered was the new feeling I had in my bones, blood, and stomach. My feet took me to the area right in front of the royals, and I awaited their comments.

The reactions were different. Fear was in all of their eyes except one. The outlier royal looked at me with surprise. Their silence was enough more me, and I left the arena, searching for Kestrel.

***

I find him in the waiting area. Other fighters clap at my victory, but Kestrel's face is painted with worry and concern.

"I won."

"I know. By the way, why are your eyes black and soulless Ailith?"

"They are?" I look around, and the fighters gasped at me.