Chapter Five – Gylden
Over the next few days, Gylden felt something shift in Bianca. It was hard to put his finger on exactly what was happening. She grew stiffer in his arms every night, and during the day, she spoke less and less with him. It was almost like she was trying to distance herself from him. Not that the first twenty-four hours that they had been together was really enough for him to understand who she was. But he had hoped that she would relax around him, not become warier. She just tinkered with the various pieces of technology in his room, often ruining them while claiming she was trying to fix them.
He knew it shouldn’t make this much of a difference to him. It wasn't like there was anything between them. And even if there was, it wasn't substantial. Sooner or later, she was going to die in the arena because one thing was certain. He might be willing to take her punishments, like being whipped, spare her some pain, but he was not dying for her. Besides, if he was killed protecting her, she'd just be killed soon after anyways.
Or worse: given to one of the other gladiators who had already lost their mates. Well, some of them might not be so bad, but three women had been killed by the gladiator himself when they fought against him in their private rooms. Two others had taken their own lives, probably for the same reason.
If I knew exactly how much popularity Bianca had, I'd know how to use it to our advantage better.
He had considered giving the public what they wanted with her. She was a beautiful woman, and he couldn’t deny that he ached to see her naked form himself. But he knew she would never go for it, and undressing her against her will left him feeling sick to his stomach, dirty, and ashamed. No. He couldn't even bring himself to ask her to bare herself to him, let alone anything else. For some reason, it was important to him that her last few days alive be as pleasant as he could make them.
If only he knew of a way to make sure she survived… But there was no way to do that, and he had to resign himself to the fact that he was going to lose her. Just like he lost everybody in the arena.
***
Bianca slipping out of his grasp was what woke him.
At first, he didn't think much of it. She was often restless at night. But then he realized that the constant, familiar buzz of noise that the drones made was gone. Worse yet, there was no light streaming in through his lids. His quarters were constantly lit to give viewers the best shots of him.
His eyes snapped open as the door to his room opened. Gylden bolted upright. It was pitch black. What had happened? A power outage? But how could that kill the drones? Bianca's footsteps were disappearing down the hallway. A feeling of dread rose up in him.
She was trying to escape. Anybody who tried to get away was always killed. He dashed after her, heart in his throat. The only chance she had was if he got her back to his room and found an excuse for the dead drones. How had she managed to deactivate them?
The lights were all out in the corridor as well. An eerie feeling prickled the back of Gylden's neck. He hadn't been in utter and complete darkness since he was a little boy. But the sound of scuffling footsteps was coming from his left, and he followed them as quietly as he could. A faint light bobbed up and down the corridor. Bianca?
He hurried after her. Soon, the blue glow of a crackling energy field, which separated the gladiators from the rest of the Rayne Five Network, was visible ahead. It bathed Bianca's form in light. Gylden saw her raise a small device, aiming it towards the energy field.
What was she doing? He ran forward. Bianca jumped and turned, but before she could do anything, he was on her. His hand clasped over her wrist. She dropped her device, eyes widening, and he pulled her in against him.
"What do you think you are doing?" he hissed. "This place is set up to stop gladiators from escaping. If you try to step past those gates, you'll be killed by the guards. Not to mention the drones will show Taskus Draw exactly where you are as soon as they come back online."
"They won't." Bianca pushed against him, so he pinned her against the wall.
Rage bubbled in his stomach. How dare she risk her life and his freedom like this? "How can you say they won't?"
Her eyes narrowed. "I built an electromagnetic generator. Crude, but more than enough to knock out the drones and security and everything else."
Gylden's eyes widened. "How? How do you even know how to build one, let alone find the pieces?"
"I scavenged the supplies I needed when I said I was fixing your holoscreen and… That's not important. We don't have much time. You can come with me. We can escape this place."
"No. We'll just get killed."
His voice was heavy with emotion, a fact that surprised him. He snatched the small EMP generator from the floor and stuffed it into the nearest garbage disposal. There had been multiple ones installed every few feet down the corridors when viewers complained that the facility was too dirty. Bianca cried out, fighting against him, but he only gripped her tighter.
"I am not going to let you get yourself killed like this," Gylden said, gripping her arms. "Is it because you doubt my abilities in the arena? Do you think that I'm going to let you get killed like the other gladiators have let their mates be killed?"
"Let go of me."
"I won't let you die." I can't stop her from dying. Why am I promising something I know I can't do?
"You won't let me die?" Bianca glared up at him. "Because you love me so much? You would feed me to the wolves in a second if it benefited you, and now that we don't have cameras in our faces, you can go ahead and admit it. Admit it!"
His hands tightened on her hips. What was he meant to say? That he didn't want to care for her? That he was certain Taskus Draw would find a way to kill her no matter what he did? But then why did he stop her from getting herself killed while trying to escape?
"If you're too afraid to try to leave, at least let me go." Bianca clutched his shoulders. "Please. I can't live like this. And I think you know that. If I don't get out of here, I'm going to die. Please. Please..."
"It's not all a lie," he blurted. His heart hammered. Damn. He did care. And he was willing to die to for her. What was he going to do?
She bit her lip.
"I have come to care for you far more quickly than I thought was possible. I've never had to fight for anybody before. Just myself. But…"
Tears glistened in her eyes. He wanted to kiss them away.
"If you die, I'll die with you."
Bianca shook her head. "That's not very comforting."
"It's better than dying alone, isn't it?" Gylden stepped back from her. His hands remained on her hips, though. "They'll be looking for whoever killed the drones. If we're in my quarters when they come looking, we might still have a chance out of this."
Neither moved for a long moment. The blue glow of the energy field cast Bianca's face in a strange light. She wore an expression that Gylden couldn't decipher. Uncertainty, maybe. Hesitation. And yet, a strange sort of determination mixed in with it all. Her hands rested over his and slid up his arms. A strangely… erotic gesture.
Gylden swallowed hard. He released her and headed back down the corridor to his quarters. His mouth felt dry and his knees trembled as if he had just been fighting all day in the arena. What was wrong with him? Everything that had happened since Bianca came into his life was insane. He shouldn't be letting himself be whipped to spare her. He shouldn't put himself in a position where he might be caught looking like he was trying to escape. He shouldn't be doing any of this. And yet he was.
As soon as they were back in his quarters, Bianca kicked the drones out of the room and slammed the door shut. As the T'shav watched, she grabbed the medical kit and strode to the small port where replacement drones came from. She grabbed some fleshseal from the kit and slapped it over the opening. The material immediately sucked itself to the wall, sealing the port shut.
"What are you doing?" Gylden asked in alarm. "There was a chance that they might not trace it back to us, but if you do this—"
"You said that if I die, you'll die with me. Well, I'm not an idiot. Taskus Draw has it in for me because I talked back to him and stopped his first game from being a bloodbath."
Gylden reluctantly nodded. "But you're popular. He won't dare hurt you."
"Killing or threatening to kill off beloved characters often pulls in more viewers than the sideline people nobody cares about. I'm not a fighter. However this ends… chances are I won't make it. And if we're going to die together, I at least want to know if you're worth it."
He opened his mouth to ask her what she meant, but before he could, she was on him. Her body pushed against him, her arms around his neck. She rose a leg over his hip. With all of her lush curves flush against him, he felt something deep inside him stirring. A primal need he rarely got to satisfy.
With a growl, he flung her onto the bed.