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Neretha (The Peirc Estate)
“Uh, sold to Lord Girsh,” my father said, which made Molly scowl. Gwen looked at Molly and she stiffened then nodded. Lord Girsh stormed out of the pit and joined his new bride on stage. He didn’t seem thrilled by the prospect, which was strange. Molly threw down her sword and leaped into his arms, which made the crowd cheer. He carried her backstage before my sister could cause any more trouble. Lena stood there, a wide grin on her face. I hadn’t gotten to know her, but I had the feeling that she was a badass.
“Five hundred thousand,” a short, skinny man said, waving his baton in the air like he was hailing a taxi.
“Sold to Lord Brick,” Lord Peirc said, and the skinny man dashed to Lena and extended his hand. She dropped her sword and took it. When the defiant pair left the stage, the crowd cheered.
“All right, let’s move on to the third bout,” my father said. “And for the record, since neither women competed, you’re free to place your money on the next bout.” I heard cheers, which was disappointing. How many people would go hungry because they got caught up in the event? One of Sheena’s foster dads had a gambling problem. His compulsive spending caused his family to go without food for long periods.
“The first contestant is Karen Peirc, who is brilliant, kind, and has a knack for painting.” Karen strolled onto the stage, clutching a beautiful gold sword that had its point covered. Her black hair was up in an updo, the curls framing the sides of her face. Her makeup was flawless, giving her a beauty that she didn’t possess without it. She wore a black gown that was knee length, but her beautiful gold studded boots were more sensible than Anastacia’s shoes had been. Karen stood there and appeared as though she had the competition in the bag. It didn’t take me long to understand the reason for her confidence.
“The next contestant is Nina, who loves cuddling small animals and loves caring for children.” Nina walked onto the stage, and a chuckle brought my eyes to the evil lady that had dragged me here. She pressed the button under her seat, and a robot came toward her. She pressed a button on the robot’s chest, and a screen appeared where its stomach use to be. I didn’t want to look, because I knew that she was betting on Karen. My father gave the audience plenty of time to bet, since it was obvious who would win this match.
“Ladies, commence,” my father ordered. Moments later, Karen ran toward Nina, who appeared petrified. I wanted to jump onto the stage and protect my fragile sister. The injustice pissed me off. What kind of person forced a sweet girl like Nina to compete with someone as cruel as Karen? Karen had to resort to chasing her around the stage. Nina was too quick to even be touched. Karen spun around, trying to keep track of Nina, whom I could barely spot, when Nina suddenly jabbed Karen’s chest with her sword. Most of the audience booed, including Lady Aneli. Karen scowled as sweat began pouring down her face. Nina used that tactic to trick Karen into receiving a second strike to the chest. Karen shouted, and before Nina could avoid Karen’s sword, Karen caught Nina in the chest. The audience gasped when the sword plunged into Nina’s body.
“No!” I screamed as Nina collapsed to the ground. Karen let out an ear-piercing scream and fell to her knees. Karen’s eyes grew wide, as if she couldn’t believe what had happened. I could tell by her pale complexion that her reaction was genuine. Anger filled my chest at the realization that Lady Aneli’s companion did something to sabotage the match. My father’s eyes filled with shock. I eyed Lady Valera, who appeared indifferent.
Gwen stood, her anger freezing my breath. Lady Valera must have said something fowl, because Gwen’s hands began to glow. I gasped at the sight of the king and queen dropping to the floor of the box to avoid Gwen’s wrath. My father’s mouth was moving rapidly, but Gwen wasn’t listening. She gestured at a frightened Lady Valera, and the woman turned to ash right in front of our eyes. My father’s expression grew horrified when Gwen suddenly vanished. I didn’t have time to think about where my sister had gone. Some of the members of the audience began shouting “No.”
I glanced at the stage just in time to see Karen yank out the sword. My eyes widened in fear as blood flowed out of Nina’s body. Karen stared down at the wound, then pressed her hand into it. Karen’s hand began to glow as Nina arched her back. Moments later, Karen removed her hand, and Nina slowly sat up. Lady Aneli let out a curse as the audience applauded Karen. Karen stood and glanced up at the box. She frowned, obviously concerned by the shortage of people in the box. She eyed my father, who was shaking like a leaf. Gwen’s angry actions had surprised him. Nina appeared frightened, her eyes full of fear.
“Bring Karen another sword. She... She is well enough to continue.” This man was so money hungry that he was going to force Karen and Nina to continue fencing? Even Lady Aneli seemed surprised by the development. The king and queen got back in their seats, their unamused expressions telling me that my father was going to hear an earful. I looked at the pit and was surprised to see an imposing man on his feet, his baton in the air. Lady Aneli sucked in a breath. She obviously knew this man.
“Five million credits for both of the women. To hell with the rules,” he announced. Nina obviously wanted out, because she picked up her sword and jabbed Karen in the chest. Most of the audience groaned when my father was forced to declare Nina the winner. “Five million credits for both women.”
“Going once, going twice, sold to Lord Rema.” Horror and excitement filled my stomach at the thought that Nina would be in the harem with me. But I wasn’t sure about Karen. She had been horrible to Molly. But she had also saved Nina’s life, which meant that she wasn’t all bad.
“Great,” Lady Aneli grumbled. Lord Rema strolled on stage and held out an arm for each woman, then glanced right at me. Surprise marred his face for a moment, but then he glanced over at Lady Aneli. The fury in his eyes told me that this hadn’t been a sanctioned trip. What was going to happen to the headstrong lady?
“Miss Peirc,” a male voice said. I glanced over at Zamire, who was stone faced. I stood, knowing that I couldn’t snub the prince. I had so many questions. Why had he been avoiding me? When was he going to marry Lady Aneli? Why hadn’t he been sitting in the box with his parents? He held out an arm for me, and I gladly took it. Moments later, six soldiers surrounded us and we headed for Lord Rema, who was still on stage with the women that he acquired. As soon as I had reached my sisters, we were ushered backstage.
“What in the hell are you doing here?” Zamire yelled.
“Lady Aneli ordered for me to come with her,” I responded, figuring that I could just tell the truth.
“Yeah. And I bet she had to beg you to come.”
“No. Your fiancée wanted to teach me a lesson, so she had her friend rig Nina’s fencing match to punish me. She knew that Nina’s death would hurt me,” I yelled at him. We stood there nose to nose, our eyes on one another.
“I don’t have a fiancée,” the prince protested.
“Yeah, of course. You’re the kind of guy that makes promises that he can’t keep,” I accused.
“Come on, Jade. No need to tempt the prince. For all we know, he’ll get you beheaded,” Karen urged as she pulled on my arm. I nodded and allowed Karen to take me away from the prince.
We were led up a flight of stairs then out into the humid air. The six soldiers that had escorted Zamire and I onto the stage stayed behind with the playboy prince.
“I’m completely healed,” Nina told me as she linked her arm through mine. Karen mirrored my sister’s actions, and we all walked together.
“Karen, thank you for helping Nina,” I said, and she nodded.
“I had no idea that there was something wrong with my sword,” Karen said.
“I think that Lady Aneli’s friend telekinetically did something to it,” I assured my sister. Lord Rema walked up ahead, content for us to follow him. As I walked toward the platform, I hoped that my sisters and I were heading toward a better future.