ChaPter 2 - Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr

48
same caliber of fighter as Sol or Flynn, but he was the best that
Kaleb had faced in a while. Skill wasn’t everything though. If
it were the only determining factor, Kaleb would be dead by
now. Information on the opposition had been essential. Spies
reported on injuries, fighting weaknesses, and any number of
little details that could change a bout. Equally game changing
was the willingness to do things that would disgust one of the
upper classes. Those of better breeding castes didn’t use claws
or teeth; those of the highest breeding castes didn’t fight dirty
against women.
Curs, on the other hand, didn’t fight by caste rules. Such
luxuries were reserved for those who had learned their skills in
fight clubs where they sparred for bets or trophies. Kaleb—and
his opponent in this match—had learned to fight in order to
survive, to eat, and to avoid being meat to every predator in the
shadows. It made for a different degree of ruthlessness.
The sounds of the carnival were raucous this late. The
evening hours between the carnival and the Night Market were
often the quietest part of the day, but the hum of energy hadn’t
yet died down from the day vendors. Instead, it was almost
as busy as it was midday. Several of the other fighters were
out still. Aya, the only highborn female to ever fight, stood in
the shadowed enclosure of a weapons vendor. Sol was leaving
with a pair of trades-class girls. As Kaleb passed the stalls, curs,
midclasses, and a few of the ruling-class girls stared boldly
at him, but he wasn’t so naive as to believe it was about him
personally. They were intrigued by his brutality, or they were