He was breathing the water, it wouldn’t matter if I crushed his trachea completely, he could breathe underwater. I had to destroy his gills. Mother goddess help me.

I shifted my hands up his neck and slid my fingers into the fluttering flaps of fleshy material. Cool water rushed over my skin, the movement of tiny bits that felt like layered leaves, as I stared into Mako’s eyes. A flash of fear danced over his face as I drove my fingers in deep. I tried not to think about the burning in my lungs, the pain of holding my breath as I fought with everything I had.

Mako grabbed at me, raking his fingers down my arms, his reach just an inch short of being able to hook into my face. So instead, he grabbed my vest and yanked the buckles, baring my chest to him. No, that was not going to happen. I tucked my feet up between us and kicked at his hands, barely keeping him from grabbing my breasts and tearing them from my chest.

I had to end this fast.

Hooking my fingers deep into the gills on the right side of his neck, I felt for the connective tissue. I didn’t think about what I was doing, didn’t think about anything but stopping him as his fingers brushed my sensitive skin, clawing at me. Curling my fingers around the tissue, I pulled, yanking the gills on that side of his neck apart. His mouth opened and blood pooled out around us. I lost sight of him completely, but I didn’t let go.

I worked my left hand into the gills on that side of his neck. His foot caught me in my gut, and he pushed off. But he was too late. I had my fingers into the edges of his gills and as he pushed, he ripped his own neck apart. I kicked away from him, fighting to get to the surface.

The water stilled and I shot up and out of it to suck in a lungful of air. In my hand was not only his gills, but a huge section of his trachea that came with it. Gulping a lungful of air and treading water I waited to see if another attack would come, but nothing did. The water lowered once more until I could stand. Only then did I start to take stock of my own body: open gashes along my thighs, the punctures in my stomach, and a spinning in my head from holding my breath too long.

The water around me was dark with blood. Did I move and hope I could at least put my back to the wall, or did I hold still and pray Mako couldn’t see where I was any more than I could see him?

An air bubble popped up across from me and I tensed. Mako’s back floated to the surface and bobbed, face down. A ruse?

Above us, the crowd I’d forgotten about cheered. The water drained completely and the footing I stood on began to rise. Mako stayed face down, chunks of meat and gills floating around the sides of his neck, his trachea in my hand. I threw it to the ground and refastened my vest.

The slow clapping of one person turned me around. Requiem smiled at me, his teeth bright white and far too big for his face. The smile was cold. “Well done. I must say I am surprised. Where did you learn to fight? Enders always play by the rules but that . . . that was truly impressive.”

“I did play by the rules, though he didn’t. He raised the water. I suppose that means you owe us.” I knew no such thing, but I was pissed. Not to mention the fact he’d said he was looking for a way to kill us both.

Dolph, headed my way with a blanket, stopped in his tracks. His mouth moved over three words. Don’t do it.

I glared at Requiem. But it was Belladonna who spoke. “Your champion cheated. We all saw it.” Her color was slowly coming back. Ayu was at her side and obviously had been helping her. “What will you give us in compensation, Requiem?”

Requiem looked from Belladonna to me, then back to her. His button black eyes were thoughtful, a calculating mind behind them. That much was obvious. “Well played, Ambassador. Well played. We will have a dinner in your honor tomorrow night, and you shall be our guests of the highest standing. There, I shall give you your . . . gifts.”

I gathered my weapons, doing my best to attach them as we walked from the coliseum. Dolph helped me out of the arena, and Ayu helped Belladonna. Around us, the other Undines parted. Without fail, each Undine we passed gave me a quick bow, a few reaching out to touch me. A mark of honor; I had done what none of their Enders had been capable of. I should have felt proud, but I wasn’t. We were in so much hot water I couldn’t see the way out, and the death of one violent bastard wasn’t about to save us.

No one spoke as Dolph and Ayu took us to a sumptuous room decked out in pearls, silk sheets, and carpet made of a material I couldn’t identify. Some sort of sea moss was my guess by the way it gave under my feet. All I knew was it was soft enough to lie on and sleep for days.

Ayu helped Belladonna into bed and then gave me a vial. “Drink it, your wounds will heal faster and you will be ready.”

I held the vial to my lips. “Ready for what?”

She looked to Dolph behind me, and just shook her head. They left me standing, staring at the large double doors as they shut behind them. The not so subtle click of the door being locked chilled my spine. I downed the vial of potion, the salty and sweet taste refreshing me even as my body slumped with fatigue. I should have stayed awake, should have forced myself to guard her. The exhaustion though was too strong for me.

I flopped onto the bed next to Bella. “I guess we’ll find out tomorrow what we need to be ready for.”

She opened one gray eye and looked me over. “Let’s hope we can go one day here without getting injured. Shall we try that?”

I dropped a hand over hers, surprised to feel her fingers tighten around mine. “Sure, I’m game to try anything once.”