The underground fight pits were loud, chaotic, and reeked of blood and sweat. A perfect place to disappear.
Kael moved through the crowd, his hood drawn low as he scanned the arena. Somewhere in this pit of violence was Mira.
Beside him, Orin kept his stance relaxed, but his sharp green eyes missed nothing. "She's good," he murmured. "If she didn't want to be found, we wouldn't be here."
Kael nodded. Mira had spent years hiding from the Syndicate. But she hadn't stopped fighting.
The rumors were clear—a masked warrior with twin crimson blades had been carving through Syndicate enforcers, one by one.
Kael intended to recruit her.
But first, he had to know what she had become.
The Fight Begins
A loud voice boomed across the arena. "Next match—The Phantom Fang versus the Crimson Demon!"
Kael stiffened. There she is.
The crowd roared as two fighters entered the ring.
And then he saw her.
Mira.
She moved like a predator—dark red leather armor, dual curved blades strapped to her back. Her presence alone sent shivers through the spectators.
Her opponent—a towering brute wielding a massive warhammer—grinned, flexing his arms. He thought this would be easy.
He was wrong.
The fight began.
The brute lunged—but Mira was already gone.
She moved like a shadow, slipping beneath his swing and delivering a vicious slash across his leg. Fast. Precise. Lethal.
The brute roared, swinging wildly—but Mira danced between his attacks, every movement calculated.
Then—a single flash of her crimson blades.
The brute collapsed, unconscious before he hit the ground.
The crowd erupted.
Kael exhaled slowly. She was just as deadly as the rumors said.
Orin whistled. "She's not going to be easy to convince."
Kael's gaze never left her. "We'll see about that."
Watching from the Shadows
Mira left the ring, vanishing into the corridors beneath the arena.
Kael and Orin followed.
"She's careful," Orin murmured. "We need to approach her without getting stabbed first."
Kael nodded. He had no doubt that if they made the wrong move, Mira would gut them both before they could say a word.
They waited, watching her from the shadows as she collected her winnings and disappeared into the lower tunnels.
"She's staying underground," Orin observed. "Probably expecting the Syndicate to send someone."
Kael's jaw tightened. She was always on the run. Always expecting betrayal.
He understood that feeling all too well.
Now, he just had to prove to her that they were on the same side.
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