LOGINTraci’s POV I stood in the center of the arena with my hands still raised, every muscle in my body trembling from the power that had poured through me. The weight of it hadn’t disappeared when I lowered my arms. It still buzzed beneath my skin, racing through my veins. Slowly, I let my hands fall to my sides. Nothing changed. Thousands of enemies remained exactly where they were. Every single one of them was still on their knees. Not one dared to stand. Not one even attempted to fight whatever invisible force held them in place. A grin tugged at my lips despite the exhaustion pulling at me. “I told you it would work,” Aurora said proudly before laughing. “Bow down, big boys.” A snort escaped me. “You’ve been waiting to say that, haven’t you?” “For centuries,” she replied without the slightest bit of shame. She wasn’t wrong. When the first wave of enemies poured into the arena, I honestly believed we were finished. They came from every direction until I couldn’t even see the ar
Raiden’s POV The only thing on my mind was getting to Traci. The second that blue powder exploded into the air, my heart dropped. Roman had already slammed into the mountain of a man before I could even react, taking him to the mat with enough force to shake the entire ring. Ronan was right behind him, securing the bastard before he could make another move. I didn’t stop. I shoved through the ropes and climbed into the ring two steps at a time. “Traci!” I shouted. She didn’t answer. She was standing perfectly still. A silver glow surrounded her. It wasn’t faint anymore. It wrapped around her body, growing brighter with every passing second. Her bright golden eyes seemed to shine with a life of their own, drawing everyone’s attention. I froze for half a heartbeat. My mark. Heat spread across the side of my neck. I reached up instinctively and felt it pulsing beneath my fingertips. Before I could make sense of it, Zayden stepped up beside Traci. Without saying a word, I moved to h
Traci’s pov. I stood across from the mountain of a man as the entire arena seemed to hold its breath. Thousands of eyes were fixed on us. Conversations that had been filling the building only moments ago slowly faded until an uneasy silence settled over the crowd. Even the announcer stepped back, giving us the center of the ring. The man across from me smiled again. It wasn’t friendly. It wasn’t nervous. No. It was confident. He rolled his shoulders once before raising both fists, settling into a fighting stance like he’d been waiting for this moment all morning. The bell rang. I didn’t move. My brows slowly pulled together as Aurora became unusually restless. Something wasn’t right. My opponent shifted his weight from one foot to the other, preparing to come at me, but my attention wasn’t on his stance anymore. It was on him. No… Not him. Something around him. Aurora kept pacing. “Traci…” Her voice wasn’t calm anymore. She was panicking. I swallowed hard. “What is it?” She s
Raiden’s pov. We finished getting ready and met in the war room. The conversations were kept surprisingly short. Nobody stood around making speeches or wasting time discussing things we already knew. Every person in that room understood exactly what today meant. Today wasn’t just the final day of the tournament. Today was the day they planned to attack. Kael and the teams he had put together had searched nearly every inch of the arena yesterday. The amount of explosives they uncovered was honestly more than I ever expected. Every update he gave somehow sounded worse than the one before it. The bombs hidden beneath the royal booth had been bad enough. The explosives buried near the entrances had been even worse. But the ones hidden beneath the ring… Those were the ones I couldn’t stop thinking about. I slowly shook my head. These sick fucks had been willing to blow up their own people. Their own contacts. Their own warriors. None of them mattered as long as they reached whatever
Zayden’s pov. The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes was the warmth resting against my chest. I looked down and smiled. Traci was still asleep in my arms. Her breathing was slow and steady as one hand rested lightly against my chest. Strands of her hair had fallen across her face sometime during the night, hiding part of her cheek beneath soft waves that caught the early morning sunlight spilling through the bedroom windows. Raiden was still asleep on the other side of her, one arm draped protectively across her waist even in his sleep. For the first time in a long time… Everything felt peaceful. I closed my eyes for another second, taking in the quiet around us. Something felt… Different. Not bad really. Just… Different. My entire body felt lighter than it had yesterday. Every muscle seemed relaxed, yet there was a strength humming beneath my skin that I couldn’t explain. My senses felt sharper. Even the faint sound of birds outside the palace seemed clearer than befor
Ralph’s pov. I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that they postponed the fights. Why? Why would they do that? Could they be onto me? Did they find something? Did somebody make a move before I did? They blamed everything on Traci getting hurt, but I knew better. Those kings weren’t the type to throw an entire tournament into chaos over one injured competitor. They’d spent months preparing for this event. There had to be another reason. I replayed every move I’d made over the last several days, searching for one mistake. One slip. One careless decision that could have exposed me. Nothing. I hadn’t made any mistakes. At least none that I could think of. Maybe I was overthinking everything. Tomorrow was another day. The tournament would continue, the final match would happen, and everything could still fall into place. I leaned back against the headboard and let out a long breath before finally stretching out across the bed. I could wait one more night. Sleep came quicker
Raiden’s POVThe steady scratching of my pen against paper filled the office while morning sunlight spilled through the towering windows behind me. Stacks of reports covered nearly every inch of my desk. Territory disputes. Border patrol updates. Financial summaries. Supply inventories. Apparently
Traci’s POVBy the time Calvin and I finished training the sky had barely started turning gray. Dawn stretched across the mountains in thin streaks while cold mist clung to the training field like it refused to let go of the night. Sweat dampened the back of my shirt, my muscles screamed from exhau
Ralph’s POV“So Travis, the elite warrior tournament is in two weeks. Tell me something useful for once. Did you get in contact with them?” I asked while leaning back in my chair, swirling bourbon through the crystal glass like I didn’t already know the answer.My beta stood across from the desk wi
Traci’s POV“Traci, you need to rest. You’re pushing too hard.” Corbin’s voice cut through the sharp morning air while I drove my fist into the padded target again. Sweat slid down my spine despite the cool breeze rolling through the clearing behind the old patrol cabins.“I’m fine,” I muttered, th







