When morning came on the day of our first battle, I woke with one thought on my mind.

Win.

Seeing Lea again had made me even more determined to put my heart and soul into winning my freedom. There had been enough dark days in my past where I had wished for death. Begged for it. But today was not one of those days.

“Are you ready?” Rushon asked as we ate breakfast in our room. A group of servant girls had appeared a few minutes ago with trays full of warm food, a rare treat for us prisoners.

I was glad we weren’t having to eat with the other teams today. It was nice to have these moments alone together with just the five of us. I wasn’t sure what would happen to our team after today’s round was over. Would we still be allowed to share a cell? Or would we be labeled as competitors after this? And how would they split us into groups of two for the next round?

The guards hadn’t explained what would happen to our fifth member for the second round of the games. Either they all expected that at least one of us wouldn’t survive the day, or they had the intention to let someone back out of the games.

I hoped it would be our choice who to take as our partners. These other demons cared for Trention, but I doubted they would put their own lives at risk to keep him safe in the heat of battle.

My hope was that Trention would be excused from the second round after today, and even though he would most likely be condemned to spend the remainder of his life in slavery, at least he would be alive.

“I’m ready,” I said. “How are you feeling?”

“Scared, to be honest,” Rushon said. “I’ve been a prisoner of the king for five years now, but I still have a small family here in the city that I would love to see again.”

“A mate?” I asked.

He nodded. “And two small shadowlings,” he said. “I’m afraid they’ll be in the crowd today watching. I don’t want them to watch their father die.”

I held his gaze. “They won’t,” I said.

“They said they won’t let us die,” Perrick said. “I’m still hoping we’ll survive even if we lose.”

“I wouldn’t count on that being true,” Trention said. “And even if it is, they’ll lock us away and we’ll spend the rest of the years we have left mining gemstones. I’m not sure that’s a life I care to live anymore.”

“Well, I would rather take my chances in the mines than be dead by nightfall,” Perrick said.

“None of us are going to die today,” I said. “We have a solid strategy. Just remember what weapon you’re searching for in the armory and locate it as quickly as possible. They might not give us much time to look around, and each of us having the correct weapons is a key part of our success today.”

“I wish they would allow us to watch the other matches of the day,” Trention said. “We could gain a lot of good information from that.”

I’d been thinking the same thing, but there was no use wishing for things we had no control over at this point. All we could do was wait until our round was called and it was our turn to battle.

Half an hour later, Reynar appeared, telling us it was time to choose our weapons.

“You’ll all be paraded in front of the crowds during the opening ceremonies,” Reynar said. “After that you’ll be escorted back to the ready room where you’ll await your turn in combat. I imagine your battle will be swift. Do me a favor and try to at least make it seem like you have a chance. It will make a better performance for the crowds. I was up half the night with anticipation.”

The evil guard laughed and sneered at the same time, and I couldn’t wait for the chance to prove him wrong.

The five of us walked down to a room I hadn’t been in since I was a young demon. My arms broke out in chills as I stepped over the threshold. My father had brought me down here to choose my first real weapon after years of begging him to let me train with more than a stick or a rock.

Back then, I’d been as in awe of the demon steel and obsidian weapons as I was today. The flames of the weaponsmith’s workstation pumped heat through the room, and I was surprised to see the master demon working here today.

He looked up as we entered the room, and I noticed a flicker of recognition in his eyes as they travelled over my face. He placed the weapon he’d been working on back into the fire and stood.

Reynar cleared his throat. “You’ve got five minutes to make your selections,” he said. “Each of you can choose up to two weapons and a shield, if you want to use one. The only armor available to you are the helmets along this wall and the chest pieces here along the opposite wall. They will provide some protection, but they’ll also slow you down when you shift. Choose wisely, not that I think it will make a difference.”

He laughed and stepped out of the room, leaving the door slightly open as he stood guard.

Trention chose a small dagger that he placed in the belt of his pants. We’d decided his best asset was his casting, so it would be best for his hands to be free and his body to be as light as possible to make shifting easy in case he got into a rough spot.

Rushon quickly selected a light buckler and then tested several of the short swords on the rack in front of him, while Perrick went for the heaviest, deadliest morning star he could find. He gripped it in his hand and smiled at me, nodding.

“This has a good weight to it,” he said, swinging the chain around a few times. The ball on the end of the chain was covered in large spikes that would do some serious damage if anyone dared to step into its range.

Morway chose a long spear with a deadly point on the end and a smaller rapier that he stuck through a leather sheath strapped to his side.

I searched the room for anything that resembled the axe I’d loved so much, but as I stepped toward the display of weapons, I realized nothing here would even begin to compare. These were all much smaller and most only had a single-sided blade.

The weaponsmith cleared his throat. I glanced over at him, and he made a subtle nod for me to follow him.

The weaponsmith threw a nervous glance at the guard in the doorway, but Reynar wasn’t paying any attention to us. I followed the demon to the back area of his workshop. Most of the weapons back here were deformed or incomplete, but my eyes widened in shock as he lifted a green blanket from the end of the table, revealing an axe that looked like an exact replica of my old one.

“I think what you’re looking for might be here,” he said, glancing again at the doorway. He lowered his voice and leaned closer. “The princess sends her best wishes for a victorious match today, Sir Aerden.”

A lump formed in my throat, and I swallowed it down.

Lea had said she had a surprise for me, but I never expected this. What risks had she taken to make sure I had a weapon I could be proud of in my hand when I faced my first challengers?

“This was exactly what I was looking for,” I said, wrapping my hand around the hilt of the axe and lifting it easily. The incredible weight of it made me feel stronger than I had in a century. “Please, tell the princess she has good taste.”

The weaponsmith smiled. “She said you’d be able to wield it with one hand, but I told her that was nearly impossible,” he said. “I’ve only ever seen one demon use an axe this heavy with one hand, and he was twice your size. I wish you luck in the games, but something tells me you’re going to be just fine.”

“Thank you for this,” I said.

He nodded toward the door, and I knew he was worried the guard would notice our exchange. I didn’t know if Reynar would have the authority to punish the weaponsmith, but I didn’t want anything to tie this axe to Lea, so I nodded to the demon and quickly moved back to the rack of weapons, acting as if I had simply found this axe there among the others in a twist of fate.

“Time’s up,” Reynar said. “Let’s go.”

He stared at the massive double-headed axe in my hand and although his eyes widened in surprise, he didn’t appear to question it. This room was full of every weapon imaginable. There was no reason for him to believe it had been forged for me and me alone.

As we walked toward the ready room, shouts from the crowd roared above us. The battle must have come to an end, which meant it was our turn next.

I clutched the axe tighter, feeling more powerful just for having the weight of it returned to me. God, how I had missed it. There was no other weapon in the world with the same heft and strength of a double-headed axe, and even though this was not the same axe I’d loved before I was captured, it was almost exactly the same. The fact that Lea had taken a risk to make sure I had it meant more to me than I would ever be able to tell her.

When we stepped into the room, though, some of my confidence faded as we caught the eyes of the team we were about to face in the arena.

They stood in a line along the left wall of the room, and we were instructed to stand in a straight line on the opposite side, leaving a small stretch of space between us. None of us spoke, because there was nothing to be said. We were innocents pitted against each other in a gruesome battle for the entertainment of the crowd that roared above us. It was barbaric and unfair, but it was where we had found ourselves.

Sometimes when life gave you no choice in the matter, the only real choice was to accept what you could not control.

And then kick some ass so that later, you could create new choices for yourself.

The losing team must have been carried through another doorway, because the only team that passed through the ready room where we stood waiting was team three. They were battered and bloodied, but they were alive.

They kept their eyes to the ground as they passed us. All except Yuron, the massive demon who posed the worst threat. He looked straight at me and raised his weapon into the air. He laughed and spit blood onto the ground at my feet.

I looked away, knowing that if we managed to win today, we might be facing Yuron next. I wondered what kind of shape the losing team was in and what had happened to them. Were they still alive? Were the healers working now to keep them alive? Or had they been asked to give their energy over to the glory and power of the king?

The only thing I knew for certain was that I would have my answer soon.

Ezrah stepped into the ready room and nodded toward both sides of the aisle. His gaze lingered on me for a moment longer, and I nodded, letting him know I was ready.

“May you fight with honor,” he said simply. “Team five, lead the way inside. Team six, follow behind, please. Take your spots in the center of the arena to be presented to the king. The fight doesn’t begin until the king commands you to begin.”

My hand gripped the axe at my side, and I sent up a prayer to the gods as we followed our opponents into the arena.

Make me strong. Make me quick. Make me victorious.