They had to carry me out of the arena. Not surprising as the mage with the guards made one attempt to heal me then shook his head.

It was a moment where regret could have filled. Did I regret jacking my Toughness so that magic barely worked on me anymore? Not a fucking chance. I'd killed the yo-yo dickhead, and in that moment, that was all I cared about. It nourished me in a way that healing never could.

The guards carrying me didn't dump me in the antechamber. They took me straight to my room, and to be fair to them, even though I'd antagonized them for weeks, they actually set me down on my bed with care.

One of them even spoke. "The Able will be down after the post-fight meetings."

"Good," I groaned through the pain. "Hopefully, they won't take too long."

I didn't get a reply as they both left as soon as the words were said, but that was fine. I needed to deal with the pain. I did the only thing I could and tried to sleep. It wasn't easy. But then nothing worth doing was ever easy.

My hard work must've paid off because the Able was stepping into the room a few moments later, but my eyes were sticky with blood and sleep.

"A solid fight against a very tough opponent, Earl. You took a beating, but if it's any consolation, he was the favorite by quite a margin. I made quite a tidy sum betting on you."

"Yeah, well, fuck him and fuck your winnings. You gonna heal me up or what?"

"I will, soon. I wanted to have a little chat first. We have things to discuss."

"Let me guess," I groaned. "I'm in trouble for killing him?"

"Oh, no. Not at all. Due to the nature of the fight, there are no repercussions for your, let's call it, cold-blooded murder this time. From the perspective of the crowd, you had no choice. From the perspective of our close-up viewing stones, you definitely did."

I grinned and threw him a thumbs up. "Sounds good to me."

"But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. I have a rather sensitive issue to cover."

"Mm-hmm."

"After that fight, House Besas has had a change of heart, and they have agreed to match the offer from our mysterious benefactor."

"Fucking hell, I didn't think I fought that well."

"From where I was sitting, you didn't," he admitted. "But then Wisl made all of his fights look like that. The difference is that you won where none of the others could. That said, I have no idea why they've changed their stance, but the offer is too good to reject."

I tried to sit up, pain ripping through me. "You fucking what?"

"We've accepted the offer." He held up a document. "All that's left is for you to sign."

"I have to sign?"

"You do, yes. Union law. Once you were ascended, you gained rights. As a pool fighter, you also have rights."

I laughed. It hurt, but it was worth it. "I love it. And in that case, tell them to eat shit and die. They're a bunch of wankers, and I want nothing to do with them."

His face wrinkled up with so many different emotions that it would take an age to describe them, but none of them were positive. "Just go, Earl. They'll give you a better life than you have here."

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

I rubbed my stubbly chin for a moment, then laughed again. "Fuck 'em. Anyway, didn't you expect other buyers to step in?"

"We did."

"Well give them time! What's the rush?"

"The Monarch and I considered it, but quite frankly, Earl, you're exhausting. You've been so much more trouble than you're worth. This offer? It's more than we could have ever hoped for given the circumstances."

"Well, you're gonna have to suffer me a little longer because I'm staying." I gritted my teeth through the pain. "Where's your fighting spirit? We're in the last eight—the quarterfinals. You'll quadruple your money if I go to the bitter end at least."

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. I will bet on you anyway, if you're well enough to fight. But you should take the offer, Earl. I will give you this final warning. The Monarch wants you gone, and the Monarch gets what she wants."

"Not this time, because I'm not fucking signing it."

The Able exhaled sharply, frustration thick in his voice. "The Monarch has instructed me not to offer any healing until you sign." He shoved the contract toward me.

I batted it away. "Go fuck yourself. You want to let me rot? I couldn't give a rat's ass."

He heaved a tortured sigh. "I knew you'd be like this. I warned her you'd be like this. And yet here I am. Still here dealing with you."

"Why did you come if you already knew?"

He leaned in close. "Because, one day soon, Earl, you will be gone. No longer my problem. And my life will return to the blissful ease it was before I met you. I cannot wait for that day. You are worth a fortune, yet you have not been worth the cost."

He turned and stormed out. The contract fluttered through the air and landed on my bed.

I crumpled it up, dropped it on the floor, and then at great personal cost, I rolled onto my side, wincing like I'd just been smashed to bits by a lump of metal the size of a cricket ball, wriggled into position, and pissed on it.

"Fucking blackmail me, will you?" I muttered as the hot bloody stream soaked the paper.

Anger kept me sane as I fell back asleep.

I woke to my stomach growling. A miserable, hollow ache that clawed at my insides. My first thought was to check if they left food.

Nothing. No tray. No plate.

I hooked the foot of my good leg around the recently replaced desk chair and dragged it toward me so that I could use it as a crutch. Pain flared through my busted leg as I rose, but I gritted my teeth and hobbled over to the door.

Cracking it open, I found no food outside either.

Furious, I shouted to the guard standing post. "Oi. I'm starving here. Where's my fucking meal?"

Nothing.

"Hey, hippo-face? I'm talking to you!"

He didn't even twitch. Still as a statue, eyes fixed down the hall.

I seethed. "You absolute bellend."

Leaning on the chair, I forced my way through the doorway and staggered down the hall. I wanted to hurl abuse, but it took everything I had just to get down there. Each step sent pain lancing through my body, but I didn't slow until I reached the guard.

I stood there for a second, catching my breath before I spoke with deliberate slowness. "Where is my food?"

Silence.

I reached out to grab him. He moved like lightning, gripped my wrist with one hand and punched me in the chest with the other. I hurtled down the hall like I was made of foam. The ground did not feel like foam and pain detonated across my already injured body as I collided with it, bounced twice before skidding to a miserable stop.

Before I could recover, he was already on me. A meaty hand gripped my shirt., He dragged me up and threw me back into my room.

The door locked behind him.

Flat on my back, embracing the pain as I stared at the ceiling, the first coherent thought that came to my mind was why not lock me in to start with.

Did they plan this? Let me stagger down the hall just to rough me up some more and make me more likely to give in?

Motherfuckers.

Time blurred. Hunger gnawed. My body healed at a ridiculous rate compared to my post portal abilities but it wasn't nearly enough to deal with the massive amount of damage I'd taken.

I reckoned six days had passed before my door next opened. Estwin walked in, file in his hands that looked suspiciously like a dossier.

The Able followed holding another copy of a contract, clamped to a wooden board. I lay on the bed, weak as a newborn kitten.

The Able spoke first, a dirty smirk creasing his stupid face. "How's your belligerence doing today, Earl?"

I spat at him.

Credit where credit was due, the old fucker was fast. He dodged the viscous missile with ease. I didn't mind missing, the important thing was that the message had been sent.

Estwin stepped forward. "We have the dossier for your next fight."

"And you can have it," the Able added, "when you sign this."

He held out the contract again. I sighed, took it from him, rested it on my knee, and then took the proffered pen.

I missed the smarmy piece of shit by an inch as I lunged to bury the pen in his leg.

Estwin caught me mid-motion, and slammed me back onto the bed.

The Able dusted off his robes. "Is that your final answer?"

"You bet your fucking ass it is," I rasped.

"Very disappointing, Earl. Very disappointing. Is it worth the price of your life? Do you really think House Besas is going to be worse than this place?" He gestured to my current quarters.

"Principle." I grunted. Though it probably wasn't. I closed my eyes and ignored them until they gave up and left.

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