"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Aerell was practically giddy as she walked beside me through the Dregs.

  I'd expected her to be furious

  after getting kicked out of Elise's, so her happy demeanor had thrown me

  off my game. To recover, I figured I'd go for some bawdy humor. She

  usually liked that. And torturing people. "Oh, what didn't I do?"

  She chortled. "Hah!" Smacking

  my arm, she said, "Not that, though I want to hear all about it later.

  No, your little stunt in the market yesterday has ripped through town.

  Do you have any idea how much money I'm going to make off you? I'm not

  even mad you got me thrown out of that mansion so you could fuck that

  prissy little slut in private. Alex, you're going to be my golden

  goose!"

  Wait? Was that it? Money? Was

  everything she'd put me through and her shitty deal all about money?

  "How much money are we talking?"

  "So much money," She purred

  next to me. "And you will, too." She wove her arm through mine. "I'll

  take care of you after it's all said and done. You can trust me."

  Yeah, as far as I could throw

  her... which was pretty far these days, but still. My skin prickled at

  her touch. I hated it so much, I nearly shrugged her off; I really

  wanted to, but I held off. She'd never been in such a good mood like

  this before. Maybe I could use it against her? "Well, tell me then. If

  you're going to treat me after, I'll get a whole lot more motivated if I

  know what's coming my way. How much money are we making?"

  She looked up at me and smiled.

  "Honey, you have no idea. The bets against you are twenty to one. If I

  put everything I have down, we'll make a fortune. That, plus the pay I'm

  getting from..." Her eyes narrowed. "I see what you're doing. Bad boy."

  She swatted my arm, and black tendrils snaked from her hand to my

  collar. My throat constricted just enough that it hurt, but not enough

  to be crippling.

  I shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about."

  Her normal slimy grin crossed

  her face. "You forget yourself, you villain." She stuck her nose in the

  air and pretended to strut around like the nobles did. "As the foremost

  handler in the Pit, it is my duty to ensure my goodest boy, my sweet

  Iron Sentinel, wins his upcoming battle. If that reflects well on me and

  rewards me with obscene amounts of cash, then that is the Goddess's

  will." She fluttered her eyes at me. "How'd I do?"

  "You nailed that." I was doing

  my best to keep my emotions in check. I hated her so much, but a part of

  me was screaming that this was my shot. I had to keep playing along.

  "You nailed being a shitty noble as hard as I nailed Elise last night."

  Aerell snorted, then started

  cackling. "Good. I hope she waddles to the fight this weekend. Fucking

  stuck-up bitch. I hope you broke her."

  "Oh, I did."

  "I'm proud of you."

  I was disgusted by her praise. I was even more disgusted that a part of me liked it. "I learned from the best."

  "You did, didn't you?" She

  looked up at me, clearly pleased with herself. "You surprise me, though.

  I didn't expect you to take her offer. I figured you'd be too proud.

  You'll be a good boy and fight for me, though, right? I'd hate to see

  what you'll look like if you try to get out of our deal. I'll break you

  before you go."

  I smiled at her. "I didn't take the deal."

  She snorted again. "You telling

  me you broke that bitch's back and turned her down? Damn, Alex, I

  really am proud of you. Between you trying to play me right now and you

  toying with a noblewoman, I didn't think you had it in you."

  I nodded. "Why would I become

  some prize horse when I've got what I need right here?" I wrapped my arm

  around her waist, pulled her closer, and did my best not to throw up.

  It worked, though. For the

  first time ever, I saw that I got the woman. Her eyes nearly doubled in

  size, and her sleazy grin fell. "Don't act like you can play me, idiot. I know you want

  me dead. After everything I've done to you, you'd be crazy not to, and I

  know I haven't broken you completely. Don't think I'm stupid.

  Otherwise, I'll show you what happens when people underestimate me."

  "Oh, I do. I'd kill you in a

  second if I could. Well, I would have." This was it. Come on, Alex.

  Don't fuck it up. "But I realized something last night. You're fucking

  smart. Way smarter than me. Smarter than Elise, too. And you're focused.

  You know shit. Even if I hate you, I could do far more with you guiding

  me than I could on my own, and certainly more than Elise. So why not

  just go with it? The Goddess led me to you after all. Maybe this is what

  I'm supposed to do?" I was right where I needed to be to drive a sword

  straight down your throat.

  Pointing to the ribbon on my arm, she said, "Then why are you still wearing that?"

  "She told me to keep it. Said she'd do anything to have me. I figured the next time I broke her in, I was going to throw it in her face after she offered me my freedom. I don't want a thing that bitch has to give. Plus, I already have my deal with you. What do I need her for?"

  "Mmm, I like that. You're a fucking idiot, but I like that."

  "Yeah, well, fuck that bitch." I grinned. Pretending to be chummy with her made my stomach twist in knots.

  "Dog." She looked me over. "Okay. Say, I believe you. What do you have in mind?"

  I shrugged. I had absolutely no

  idea what the angle should be. I'd been thinking that all of this was

  happening for some culty reasons, or maybe some holy divine plan, or

  something else big and important. Turns out, it was just money. Or maybe partly money.

  But the money made her happy, so why not go with it? A plan started

  forming in my head. A good plan, at least in my opinion. One that just

  might work. "You said my speech yesterday drummed up a lot of interest,

  right?"

  "Yeah. Everyone's talking about it. Why?"

  "Well... what if... "I paused,

  trying to think. "What if we did more of that? Like, what if I was out

  here every day, getting people excited?"

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "For what?"

  "To drum up interest... Imagine how much people would start talking."

  Her eyes narrowed. "Go on."

  "So... You know... Why make a good amount of money in my upcoming fight when you could make far more from it?"

  "A bird in the hand and all that."

  "Yeah, true, but here's the

  thing..." Think! What would get a greedy bitch like Aerell to trip herself up? "What if we made the upcoming match a big deal? Like, a really big deal."

  "How so?"

  "If you

  pushed our match back, we could get more people invested."

  "How long are you talking?"

  I shrugged. "Maybe a

  month. And you could have me doing exhibition matches. Let people see

  what I can really do? Then, when the guy who never wins his fights wins

  all his fights, don't you think people will want to see his match

  against the biggest badass around even more?"

  "Yes, but that would ruin the odds."

  "Sure, but what if far more

  money were changing hands? Wouldn't you make more in the end? Plus,

  maybe I could throw an exhibition match at the very end, right before

  the fight? Against the Count or someone strong. Wouldn't that work to

  get the odds back in your favor?"

  The wheels were turning behind

  her eyes. "I like how you're thinking, but I have an agreement with some

  people. They won't be happy if I break it."

  Okay, so it wasn't just money.

  Who were these people? Is that where the culty stuff was tied in? What

  was I missing? "So? Make something up. You're good at that, right?

  You've made it this far. You always say you said and did whatever you

  had to do to survive in life. What's another lie?"

  "Wait a minute," she said,

  stopping in the street. "You think I can just tell my... associates...

  that we're changing the schedule? These aren't people you disappoint,

  Alex. They have... expectations about how things are done."

  "Then why go through all of this? Why not kill her and be done with it?"

  Aerell's lips quirked. "It has to be public. Otherwise, I'd have slit her throat ages ago."

  "Why public?"

  "No idea. It just has to be."

  "Okay, but... I mean, if it has

  to be public anyway, what's a few more weeks? She still ends up dead,

  and you'll make more money. I'm sure you can come up with something."

  "This little plan of yours might get us both killed. You better have a damn good plan for why it's worth the risk."

  Using her words from the day

  before, I said, "Didn't you say the Dregs were all about people being

  honest with their natures? You want the money, right? And I want to be free. Free free. Not fake free, like with Elise. What else

  matters?"

  She looked at a nearby merchant's wares. Her eyes were hungry. "Let's say I entertain this idea of yours. What's the catch? And how are you going to get strong enough to fight the Slasher without my help?"

  This was it! "Simple." Shit! Think! What could I do? Ah! That would work. Maybe. "Let me train with Vral."

  "Absolutely not." She let go of my arm.

  "Hold on, hear me out. She's—"

  "That psychotic bitch nearly

  killed three guards just last week. You think I'm going to put you two

  together so you can, what? Plan my murder?"

  No. I just wanted to use the opportunity to get stronger. Then, I'd carve my own path. Ideally, straight through Aerell's chest. "That's not—"

  "Bullshit! I know how you scumbags think. You're all the same."

  "Aerell, stop. I've got a good reason for suggesting it."

  "No."

  I held my hands up. "Just listen. She won't do anything if I'm around."

  "You think too highly of

  yourself. That little murder machine won't think twice to slit your

  throat and run faster than you can blink."

  "You said it before. You kept our cells next to each other for a reason. You know she'll listen to me." I hoped.

  Aerell groaned. "Just say your stupid plan so we can be done with this."

  I looked at her and pretended

  to gather my thoughts. Inside, I was completely winging it. "Look. She's

  stronger than me. Much stronger if what everyone's been telling me is

  true. If she and I train together... You know... I can get stronger.

  Then, we'd be able to give the people a better match, and you won't have

  to break her knees or anything like that to slow her down. Don't you

  think people'll notice if she's not in top form? What happens if you get

  caught? They'll tear you apart. Don't take the risk. Let me train with

  her. If you set extra guards when we do, that's fine. Or maybe you can

  lock us in the arena at night after the fights are done or something? Whatever

  you do, it doesn't matter. All that matters is that I get as strong as I

  can. Then, I'll give you the fight of the century. You and everyone else. And until then, you can set

  me up to fight Kalnari and Garl. Kotz, too. Show me off. Show off how strong

  I get. I'll fill those seats. Hell, once I'm done, I'll be the talk of Istaera."

  She nodded along to what I was

  saying until I hit the end. "Those protected matches won't create much

  buzz. It's just not the same. People like the gore and death too much. That's why

  we didn't use to allow favors, but then the nobles got all up our ass,

  so we compromised. Terrible decision."

  "Then fuck the protected

  matches. Put me up against some monsters or something. I know you do that with the

  murderers. Why not me, too?" That way, I could gain some fighter ranks. I'll get so strong, even Aerell's magic won't work on me anymore.

  "We could pull them from the dungeon... some of the newer inmates, too. The ones who haven't earned names yet..."

  Deal. But..." I had a problem with that. "... No one who's innocent. I'll fight murderers and all that, no problem. They deserve it."

  She sighed. "Fine. But make it bloody."

  "I can do that."

  She played with her hair. "What if you die?"

  "I won't."

  "But what if you do?"

  "It's no loss for you, right?

  You have other fighters. If I go down, you can have them kill Vral. Hell, the odds'll be even more in your favor if I go down."

  "True." She looked me over again. "What's in this for you really?"

  I laughed. "It's not like you

  were ever going to let me go anyway. I don't give a shit. Either I stay

  in prison with you on my back, or I survive and make you rich." I added that last

  part as an extra. I'd wondered for a while if she actually was going to

  let me, anyway. Maybe she'd give the game away.

  Her eyes searched mine. "You finally figured that out, huh?"

  Now I did. "Yeah. But hey, it

  doesn't bother me. I get it. I wouldn't let me go if I were you either."

  Pulling her close, until we were hip to hip, I said, "But, if I make

  you rich, I figured you might reconsider it. I wouldn't even need

  anything from you. I'll make you richer than anyone, even little old

  screamy bowlegged Elise, and you won't have any need for me anymore. Hell, you

  won't need anyone. At that point, you can decide whether you want to

  keep me around or not."

  She grinned. "Yeah... yeah. I might let you go if I got rich." She pulled her earring. She did that when she was lying.

  "See? This is a win-win. Plus, if

  you decide you don't want to let me go, fine. I'll be good. Fuck it. I'm already used to you. Keep the collar on. I don't care. If you pay

  me well, I'll do whatever you want. My life was shit back home, and it's been shit here too. I'd like a taste of the high life for once. You could give me that."

  That last part wasn't exactly wrong. It would be nice to treat Tristan

  once in a while. Shit, I'd treat the whole Temple if I were rich.

  Her eyes lit up. "You make me rich, and I'll set you up with your own damn castle next to mine. You don't want to be a prize pony? Fine. I'll buy you a fucking harem. You'll be a stallion surrounded by brood mares. And you won't have to deal with some prissy cunt whose only real value is her daddy's title."

  "Deal."

  She grinned. "You know something, Alex?"

  "What's that?"

  "You're more shrewd than I took

  you for. Stupid, but shrewd. If you think for a second I believe you

  thought all this up, I've got a mansion to sell you in Saern." Her grin

  spread. "So, here's the deal. When we get back to the Pit, I'm going to

  break you into tiny little pieces and put you back together. And if I find

  out Elise put you up to this, I'll have that dwarf break every bone in

  your body, we'll heal you, then I'll do it all over again."

  "Bring it, bitch."

  She chuckled. Then, her face

  twisted up so much, she started looking like one of those freaky Japanese demon

  masks. "However, if you did think this all up and are telling the truth,

  I might just consider this plan of yours. The amount of crystals I

  would make off you now would easily buy me a castle in Volkash. If you pull this off, I'll buy a title and lands for myself. And, I'd be far

  enough from those bastards that they wouldn't ever find me." She held

  out her hand to me. "So, here's to hoping you're being honest, partner."