ChaPter 2 - Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr

38
met at the opening, they used the mixture in their hands to
close the circle.
They stood face-to-face for a moment as the circle lifted
around them. In a low voice only she could hear, he offered,
“We can both win this. You can advise me, share my rule in
secret, and we can . . . abstain until you’re ready. All you have
to do is say how long you need.”
Aya slammed the flat of her palm into his face, breaking
his nose, drawing first blood. “Forever. No children.”
“When I win the match, I will offer again,” he promised.
“You’ve never beaten me before. You won’t do so today, and I
will not kill you.”
She didn’t answer, and Belias’ crosscut slammed into her
mouth, not with the force he could use, but still hard enough
that he drew second blood as her teeth tore her lips.
Betting-house hawkers called out bloodpoints as Aya and
Belias faced each other. Nothing mattered beyond this fight.
The pleasure of standing against her filled him with the same
thrill it had for years: she was unlike any other daimon he’d
met.
He blocked a kick, and she dropped to her haunches to
dodge a punch. They continued avoiding and blocking each
other’s blows for several minutes, and then Belias caught her in
the stomach with a kick that knocked her to the ground. She
rolled, and as she came to her feet, she ran to the edge of the
ring and lifted the falchion she’d left there.
“Do you really want to do this, Aya?”