Gladiator: A Scifi Alien Romance (Galactic Gladiators Book 1) Page 6

  Harper dropped, sliding under the blade, and skidding through the sand. Then she was up, grabbing a pair of short swords from the pile of weapons.

  She engaged a shorter, stockier fighter with a long staff. It was clear she was comfortable with the swords, although her fighting style was unique. Raiden watched her moves, fascinated. Despite her size, she was strong, held her swords with ease, and he could see the definition in her arms.

  She brought her opponent down and then slammed the hilt of her sword into the man’s temple, knocking him out.

  Then she turned and a second later was sprinting across the arena. Raiden frowned. What was she doing?

  She lunged into a fight to protect a giant Parinthian man who despite his size, clearly lacked any sort of killer instinct.

  “I may have been wrong about the female,” Galen said from beside him.

  “Her name is Harper.” Raiden didn’t take his eyes off her. He watched her leap into the air to attack another fighter. He tilted his head. She jumped higher than anyone he’d ever seen.

  Saff made an amused noise. “Ooh, don’t tell me our champion is enamored by the little fighter.” Saff grinned. “Yep, he can’t take his eyes off her.”

  “I’m just curious. I’ve never seen her species before. She’s from a planet called Earth.”

  His gaze went back to Harper. He watched as she pulled back from her opponent’s swing of an axe. She moved fast.

  But strength and speed weren’t enough in the arena.

  Raiden forced himself to assess the other fighters. The two giant aliens, one with scaled skin and the other with hair so long it reached his waist, instantly started fighting. Raiden could see they were both seasoned fighters. These two were arena volunteers, not slaves.

  Raiden watched the men fight, cataloging their best moves. The reptilian was clearly better, and soon brought the other man down onto the sand with a hard throw.

  He looked back at Harper. She was still fighting, and busy defending the terrified Parinthian. She called out to a gray-skinned man and the two of them moved closer, working together.

  “Interesting,” Galen murmured.

  They were too far to hear Harper’s words, but it was clear she was giving the man orders.

  “She has military experience,” Saff said.

  “She reminds me of someone else I know.” Galen looked at Raiden. “A young, angry, up-start gladiator who likes giving orders in the arena. And protecting others.”

  Finally, only Harper and the reptilian were left. Her two friends had dropped their weapons and pulled back.

  She stepped up, holding her twin short swords. She didn’t look nervous or concerned. Her face was calm and composed.

  She had guts and skill, but the reptilian was bigger and more aggressive. Raiden tensed. Rules be damned, he was ready to step in if the larger alien hurt her.

  With an intimidating roar, the reptilian moved in. He held a longsword, and had a far longer reach than Harper.

  But Harper used her speed and size to easily maneuver around her opponent, ducking his swings. As Raiden watched, she got in close several times, leaving small slashes on the other man’s shirt.

  The reptilian was getting frustrated.

  Raiden watched Harper pull back a few times, allowing the reptilian to attack first. Raiden wondered what she was doing. Then awareness struck him, and Raiden’s breath caught. She was testing her opponent. Finding his weaknesses.

  The rest of the recruits were on the sidelines now, hooting and hollering. They’d all expected Harper to go down in the first few minutes.

  She went in low, swiping out with one foot, toppling the reptilian like a tower of stones. The reptilian rushed to get back on his feet, and Harper left another neat slice in the man’s shirt.

  She moved back, bouncing on the balls of her feet, ready and waiting. The woman had a unique and effective style.

  Raiden watched again as she moved in under the reptilian’s sword arm, leaving the man’s shirt sleeve in tatters. If she’d been out to kill, the reptilian would’ve been dead long ago.

  She got in too close, though. That was the only thing that worried Raiden. If things didn’t go her way, she was close enough that her opponent could grab her and do damage. In the arena, most gladiators used their weapons and stayed out of reach of their opponents.

  All of a sudden, Harper leaped into the air, making it look easy. She landed on the reptilian’s back, twisted her body weight, and sent the man falling to the sand.

  As he hit, she pinned him down, bringing both her swords up, crossed and pressed hard under the reptilian’s scaled throat.

  The recruits all cheered. Saff shot Raiden a wide grin. “I like your little fighter, Raiden.”

  On the sand, the reptilian frowned, but when Harper stood and reached down to give him a hand up, he gave her a small, bemused smile.

  Galen nodded. “I think we know which recruits we’ll keep and which need to go.” He stood. “I’ll make arrangements. And the both of you can go down there and test them out a little more.”

  Raiden nodded, then vaulted himself over the railing. His boots hit the sand and he strode toward the recruits. He heard Saff following him, sensed her sharp, dark essence.

  Keeping his gaze trained on Harper, he moved right in front of her. “Well done.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Let’s see how you do against me.”

  Her eyes widened. Raiden had a second to mentally curse himself. He hadn’t planned to spar with her. He felt Saff watching him with interest, but refused to meet her gaze. She knew he never challenged recruits to a fight.

  Harper nodded. “Okay, gladiator.”

  Again, no fear in her. This woman had been kidnapped, torn from her planet, torn from her side of the galaxy, and tossed into terrible circumstances. Damned if it didn’t make Raiden respect her.

  He pulled out his short sword. The inscriptions gleamed in the sunlight, and a second later, similar inscriptions glowed on Harper’s swords. She blinked as she saw them.

  Yes, she’d chosen Aurelian short swords, just like his. Raiden circled her. He couldn’t afford to like Harper. He couldn’t afford to like anybody. Life had taught him that everyone you cared for was eventually torn away from you. Everyone he’d ever cared about had died.

  Eighteen years in the arena had taught him to care for nothing but his purpose.

  “Begin,” Saff called out.

  Raiden’s plan was to disable Harper quickly. But as he closed in, she moved, fast, out of his reach. Their swords clashed a few times, and he saw her struggle under the force of his blows. Then she lunged in close, and scraped her sword against the gauntlet on his forearm. But she was gone again, spinning away before he could make contact with her weapon.

  As they danced, metal rang against metal. She was putting a lot of effort into their fight, and he noted with interest that she was stronger than she looked.

  At first, their spectators had cheered them on, with hoots and hollers, but as the battle increased in intensity, the sound slowly died down.

  Raiden knew he just had to be patient. Soon, she’d get too close, and he could take her.

  As the minutes ticked by, he was surprised to find he was breathing more heavily. Damn, she was good. He also had to admit to being slightly distracted by the tantalizing brushes of her strong body against his. It was something he wasn’t used to noticing in a fight. She might be strong and toned, but she was also soft and smelled like a woman.

  Finally, she did what he’d been waiting for. With another wild leap like she’d done to the reptilian, she landed on his back, her legs clamping onto his sides from behind.

  Raiden dropped his sword. He reached back, knocking her swords away, even as he felt the bite of a blade in his bicep. He yanked her over the top of his head.

  She didn’t cry out, but he heard a startled gasp.

  He pulled her close to his chest, ready to set her down on her feet and call the win.

&
nbsp; But as her blue gaze met his, she lifted her legs, planted her feet to his chest, and pushed away from him.

  Raiden stumbled backward, teetering on the edge of his balance. He dropped her. Harper landed on her feet, then kicked out with a fierce circle of her leg. As he fell back, she leaped on him, slamming him into the sand.

  She pressed her knees hard against his neck, the warm core of her close to his face.

  “I win.” Her face was flushed with her efforts.

  “It’s not over yet.” Raiden rolled. They scuffled through the sand, but this close, he was the strongest.

  They ended up with her flat on her back, Raiden’s body pressed on top of hers, both of their chests heaving.

  This close, he could see a dark ring of deep blue circling her eyes, and the wild, turbulent blue-gray in the middle.

  “Get off me,” she snapped.

  “No one tells me what to do.” He tightened his hold on her. “If you let a Thraxian this close in the arena, you’ll never win. You’ll never be stronger than the other gladiators, but you are fast and stronger than you look. Use that to your advantage.”

  He saw her eyes darken, and then he pushed to his feet. He liked the feel of her way too much. He had to remind himself that he didn’t need a strange, little woman from Earth messing up his life.

  He held out a hand.

  She studied him for a moment, before putting her hand in his and letting him pull her up.

  Raiden pointed to the reptilian, to the long-haired fighter, and then to Harper.

  “Tonight, you will watch the House of Galen’s best fight in the arena. Watch and learn, because tomorrow, you will fight in the arena. Saff will continue your training today before you are taken for your medical checks. And be careful…she has a bad side you don’t want to rile.”

  Saff shot him a dark look. She didn’t like being reminded of the vicious temper she kept on a tight leash.

  Raiden glanced at Harper. “Be ready.”

  Chapter Seven

  Harper swung her swords through the air. The twin short swords felt like they’d been made for her. They had straight gleaming blades made of a warm metal that Harper didn’t recognize and they were the perfect weight. She often trained with dual swords in her spare time, just for the challenge of it.

  She remembered seeing the gleam of inscriptions on them.

  And answering inscriptions on Raiden’s sword.

  But they hadn’t glowed again since the initiation fight. She moved through some basic maneuvers. As she warmed up, she felt her skin and muscles loosen, and her blood begin to pump harder. Damn, it was nice to be outside and exercising. And the swords almost felt familiar.

  “You move well.”

  Harper glanced up at the dark-skinned female gladiator. “Thank you.”

  The woman’s smile widened. “I’m Saff.”

  “Harper.”

  “I’ve never seen your species before. You are very small and very smooth.”

  Harper screwed up her nose. “Where I’m from, I’m actually tall. I’m from a planet called Earth.”

  Saff tapped her chin. “Earth. Never heard of it.”

  “I’m not surprised. We’ve barely started space travel, and we’d never made contact with an alien species before. Well, before I was taken.”

  Understanding moved through the female gladiator’s dark gaze. “Getting snatched by the Thraxians must have been a shock.”

  “You could say that.” Harper studied the woman’s scarred leather gauntlets. “How long have you been in the arena?”

  “Seventeen years.”

  Harper’s heart stopped. “Seventeen years. You’ve been stuck here all that time?”

  “Well, I wouldn’t say stuck. This is my home.”

  Harper told herself not to say anything else, but the words tumbled out of her mouth. “And Raiden?”

  “He’s been here one year longer than I have.” Saff put her hands on her hips. “He’s of royal blood. A prince.”

  A prince? Harper blinked. “How did he end up here?”

  “His story to tell. Every gladiator has their own sordid story.” Something painful flashed in the woman’s eyes, then was gone. “Prince Raiden Tiago is the greatest gladiator the Kor Magna Arena has ever seen. Past or present. He’s also a decent man. They’re hard to find.”

  Harper smiled. “The same is true on Earth.”

  Saff winked. “Harper, I think that’s true of the entire galaxy.”

  “So you and Raiden…?”

  Saff snorted. “Oh, no. He’s like my brother.” She waved a hand. “Now, get back to your training.”

  Harper trained for hours on end, until her muscles were burning from overexertion. She noticed that Pax never appeared and Ram had gone missing now, too. Unease skated through her.

  She flicked out her arm, trying to get the mind-control shield Saff had given her to activate.

  Nothing happened. She glared at the thick, metallic band circling her wrist and forearm. She’d been told that the thing somehow connected with her thoughts, and with one flick and a thought, the shield would extend.

  But she couldn’t get the damn thing to work.

  God, she was tired. All day she’d trained hard, working with all the unfamiliar weapons, trying to get used to them.

  She flipped out her arm again, concentrating her thoughts on that metallic band. Activate. She had to admit, knowing there were weapons that could connect with her thoughts freaked her out a little.

  Nothing happened. Grinding her teeth, she kicked at the sand.

  “The tarion requires a finer touch,” a deep voice said from behind her.

  Great. Harper tried not to stiffen. This was just what she needed. Raiden had clearly been watching her failure.

  She glanced over her shoulder. “Oh? You don’t strike me as a finer touch kind of guy.”

  He raised one brow. “I do whatever I need to do in the arena to win.”

  Now that didn’t surprise her.

  He moved up behind her, and the next second, his muscled arms wrapped around her. Her pulse leaped, and she took a deep breath, pulling in the scent of healthy perspiration and man. He moved closer, his chest pressing against her back.

  No one had held her this close for a very long time. She’d spent so long locked up alone in a cell, she’d forgotten what being close to someone felt like. Her breath hitched. And before her abduction, after Brianna’s death, she hadn’t let many people this close.

  They both stayed there for a second and then his hands slid down along her arms.

  “You can’t force the tarion.” He turned her arm over, touching the metal band. “You need to flow with it. The harder you keep trying, the less likely that it will work.”

  Harper focused. She could do this.

  “You need to relax.” His breath puffed against her cheek.

  Her thoughts scattered. Relax? He was so damn big and intimidating, there was no way she could relax.

  “Remember, force won’t work here. Relax your muscles.”

  She released a long breath. Trying to relax with six feet and eight inches of hard man pressed up against her wasn’t particularly easy. Especially when that man smelled as good as Raiden did. Her gaze traveled over his tattoos. She’d never been drawn to tattoos before, but Raiden’s were so interesting and added to the badass package. Why did the man have to be so sexy?

  “Try again,” he ordered.

  She moved her arm again, flicking it out.

  “That’s it,” he said. “Imagine the shield extending up in front of you.”

  His deep voice made the image appear in her head, and the next second, the shield activated. It was an oblong rectangle of glowing, blue energy extending from the wristband.

  Yes! “I did it.” She arched her head back with a smile.

  The faintest smile touched his lips. “So you did.” His glittering gaze dropped, snagging on her mouth.

  Time seemed to freeze. The air between them turned ho
t.

  Then Raiden stepped back a few inches. “Okay, try to activate the shield’s weapon now. It’s an electrical weapon. It’ll shoot out the stream that will stun your enemy.”

  Right. Weapon. Here to fight, remember?

  She did as he asked. A bolt of energy shot out, harmlessly hitting the sand in front of her.

  Harper pumped a fist in the air. “Yes.”

  “We’ll make a gladiator out of you yet, Earthian,” Raiden said.

  “We actually say Earthling.”

  “That doesn’t sound very dignified.”

  A smile tugged at her lips. “I’ve always thought the same thing.”

  “What is Earth like?”

  “A lot of water.” A pang of longing hit her. “We have everything from icy poles, to deserts, to pristine beaches.” She remembered not wanting a beach holiday. “I’d give anything for the chance to wade out into the waves.”

  He regarded her. “You enjoy swimming.”

  “I love swimming.”

  “As do I. My planet was covered in lakes. I grew up swimming.”

  The pain was buried deep, but she heard it. “Thanks for the help with the tarion.”

  He nodded. “It is part of my role here at the House of Galen.”

  Harper’s smile dissolved. “Of course.” She scanned the arena again. “Raiden, two of my fellow prisoners, Pax and Ram, aren’t with the group anymore. Can you tell me where they are?”

  His face went blank. “They are not your concern.”

  Her chest constricted. “Where are they?”

  “Harper—”

  She grabbed his arm, felt the muscles flex under her hand. “What have you done to them?”

  He lowered his voice, crowding close to her. “For their benefit, do not ask about them.”

  What the hell did that mean?

  “Okay, everybody.” Galen’s deep voice echoed across the training arena. “Time for bathing and rub downs, as well as new recruit medical checks. Tonight, the House of Galen’s best will fight in the arena. New recruits, you will watch and take note.”

  Raiden gave Harper a nod, then spun and walked away. She watched him move across to Saff, Thorin, and a small group of gladiators. Together, they moved inside.