“Ouuu, we’re like Charlie’s Angels,” Jinx said, flipping her cape dramatically. Blair rolled her eyes, her lips twisted.
“My ancestors hate me right now,” she muttered under her breath.
Grim, Crash Out, and a few other masked men rounded the corner to escort us. Crash Out grinned wide, eyes sliding up and down our suits. “I love black on black. Hello, beautiful queens,”he said, licking his lips. Grim mean mugged him. “Stop acting like a chump!” Grim barked, elbowing him hard in the ribs.
“It ain’t my fault my mother taught me how to greet women!” Crash Out replied, bucking back.
“Your mama is dead,” Grim replied.
“I see her in my dreams,” Crash Out said, unfazed.
“Where is War?” I asked Grim, ignoring their argument.
“At the stadium,” he answered.
“And he sent y’all to come and get us?”
“Yeah, he trust us,” Crash Out said.
Blair folded her arms, glaring. “I don’t trust them.”
Crash Out grinned, undeterred. “I ain’t gonna do anything to you. I just wanna get to know you. You into young niggas?” He rubbed his hands together, eyes glowing as he looked Blair up and down.
“No, I’m not. I don’t date outside my kind,” Blair replied.
Grim chuckled, clapping Crash Out on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, her kind will be extinct after we’re finished with them. Them fairies and elves ain’t got our game, you feel me?”
Crash Out’s face fell a little, like he wasn’t used to getting curved.
A portal ripped open behind them, swirling with black and gold energy, the edges sparking like live wires. The warriors behind Crash Out and Grim stepped aside, making a path for us.I walked toward it first, glancing back so Blair and Jinx would follow.
Grim leaned in close to Jinx. “I’m gonna capture you, and when I do, you better not run from it either.”
“Please don’t make me gag,” she said.
“I got something you can gag on,” Grim said, grinning wickedly.
“You’re lucky I have this thing around my neck. I fight real dirty,” Jinx replied, tugging at her collar.
“I can’t wait. I hope you cut me deeply,” Grim flirted.
I stepped through the portal. The world spun, and suddenly I was standing in a stadium straight out of a nightmare. The place was massive—stands rising up in jagged tiers, packed with masked warlocks. The air was thick with sorcery, heavy enough to taste. All around, enormous gears spun and clanked, some as big as houses, grinding against each other and spitting out sparks that rained down over the arena. The ground beneath my boots was black stone, etched with the Hex13 symbol, glowing blood red like it was fresh cut and bleeding.
War stood dead center, hands lit up, orbs swirling in his palms like miniature storms. He wore a black hoodie, the hood shaped sharp like a wizard’s hat, shadowing his eyes. A heavy medallion caught the light at his throat, glinting every time he moved. His cape billowed behind him like a strip of midnight silk, catching the wind with every move he made. He looked dangerous as hell—dark, magnetic, and alluring. He gave true meaning to his name: War—wicked and reckless.
Blair leaned in, her voice barely a whisper. “My stomach is bubbling… what are they ready to do?”
“It looks like they are ready to fight,” Jinx replied.
We took a seat in the front row. Grim, Crash Out, and the other masked warlocks sat off to the side. When they pulled off their cloaks, they stood tall and shirtless, showing off physiques that looked sculpted from stone and glided with honey. Their skin was marked with glowing sigils and tattoos. Grim’s back was a masterpiece—a colorful dragon, scales gleaming, its jaws open wide as it blew fire that looked so real, the flames seemed to flicker and curl right off his skin.
“War’s brother hid all of that underneath that cloak? My ancestors, please forgive me as I might betray all of you,” Jinx whispered, eyes glued to Grim.
“It’s not all of that,” Blair said.
Jinx shot her a look. “Are you a lesbian? Not that I’m judging, but geesh, you can still admit these men are beautiful, masculine, and overpowering.”
“Of course not. I like men, just not ones who killed my people,” Blair shot back.
