"Neil," Mer new better than to call him a schnauzer here, but she was excited to see him. It hadn't been hard to catch the glow of his white hair under the lantern lights as he crept up the way. The crowds were thinning out as Rush had aside, heading to the open sky coliseum to watch or participate in the fights.

He excitement was a little dampened by the man who turned on her voice first. It was expected that Damien would not be welcome here, but Ares Arc gave her the chills. The man wouldn't know how to smile if she wrote him directions. The copper in his eyes rusted when he saw her, and he stood up stiffly like he was preparing to fight her.

"Meredith," Neil greeted her, but he had a firm frown pinching his expression in and darkening everything about him.

"Did someone pop your birthday balloon?" Mer asked, and Neil's scowl didn't even waver. Trying to lighten these vampires' moods was impossible. "Are you all right?" She tried a more direct approach.

"I'm fine," Neil finally answered, but his gaze redirected toward Rush at her side. "Are you all right, Remus?" Neil's scowl flipped to a smirk for just a moment.

Rush stiffened, something she could only tell because her arm was wrapped around his. Visibly it was almost invisible. She hadn't noticed anything different with Rush, so she was intrigued.

"Don't tell me you've been lax in training?" Neil purred. "Not looking forward to being beaten up in front of your blood slave?" Neil cackled, and Ares was between him and Rush in an instant, his tail of red hair rolling with him.

"Rush didn't even move." Mer growled at the guard. "Do you really think Rush would accost Neil?" It was quite defensive for what she was used to from Neil's generals, even if they were wary of the Shades.

"The Arcs have made innumerous attempts to cement our alliance with the Shades, and they have refused outright with each attempt," Ares responded in a tight tone. "There is no reason other than that they are our enemies."

"Ares, tone it down," Neil said, pushing his general aside, but the man barely budged more than to let Neil through. "Please don't take what Ares says to heart, Darius. I don't regard the Shades as my enemies... even if they are." Neil's expression dipped, and Mer didn't know what to say.

He'd been trying fervently to get Darius to commit to an alliance, and the Shade leader had danced around it for a long time. To say that he didn't regard them as enemies even if they might be was a little more mature that she remembered him being. It also wasn't good for him as a house head to say such things. Mer wasn't a genius when it came to house head affairs, but she understood Vampires 101 enough to get that.

"I'm surprised you aren't more worried about yourself," Darius said,

"Why should I be?" Neil asked seriously.

"Neil, this is the first time you've represented your house as its leader," Rush said almost as if he was chastising him. "If you fall easily in the skirmishes, your house is going to fall with it."

"Good thing I won't then," Neil said with a chuckle. "You should get going so you don't miss your match, Darius. See you in round two, Remus." Neil saluted him and turned around with Ares to head off to the waiting area for the people fighting in the first few matches.

Rush headed to the stands with her, leaving Darius to head off on his own, and she sat in the area set off for the Shades. The seats were layered on ledges all up to the colosseum top, but they had elegant cushioned chairs for every section. It wasn't in house heads to lower themselves to sitting on bleachers, so it was good that it was set up as tiered levels of earth with furniture for each area. What poor servants had set this up? And what did they do if it rained?

Elevated lights lit the place up from the side of the arena line the bottom of flying saucers shining down on them, and each section had its own magic lantern that illuminated the house heads in a gentle glow. They had enough space to have their own air, but little enough that they could walk to another house if they wanted to converse. The closeness was notable as a man pulled a chair up and sat down nearer to Rush than she expected.

Blue hair flowed through the air, tied at the very bottom to hold it together, and Mer blinked a few times at a similar pair of sky blue eyes. Why was his hair dyed such an obnoxiously bright color? It rolled on his head with a few spikes before draping down past his ears to his shoulder blades where it was loosely tied up. He and Darius could do L'Oréal ads together with their thick waves of meticulously styled locks.

"Lorenzo de Fleur," Rush greeted him with distaste in his tone but not the sort of apprehension that would have him pulling her closer. This man wasn't well liked by Rush, but also not a threat. It wasn't like Rush liked anyone outside of his house really.

"My territory was sat next to yours and Asmodeus is in the first few rounds. Do you mind company?" The man was very polite for his size. With his wound muscles and bigger frame, he had size on Rush but seemed friendly.

"These rounds won't be long, so it makes no difference," Rush said with a sigh, and Lorenzo grimaced before relaxing lazily back into his chair. Rush, himself, was doing his rendition of The Thinker and would likely not move for some time.

"Yes. Chance has a way with laughing at us this year, it seems," Lorenzo replied.

Before Mer could say anything, the crowd quieted and the doors opened on either side of the arena. They were huge arched slabs of metal and wood that connected in a peak and ground against the earth as either opponent pushed them open.

The Shades were the first house to fight and Darius exited on their side, which made Mer all the more nervous. Next to her, Rush's stillness did little to calm her. Since they'd arrived at the gathering, he'd become even more still than normal, not even displaying the slightest of emotion in front of his potential enemies. Ares had probably sensed that about him and been extra cautious because of it.

Since there wasn't much to gain by looking at Rush, she returned her attention to the arena. It was a huge oval to accommodate the clash of magic and surrounded my magic nullifying walls. This fighting was clearly for show, but if what Rush said held true, it was a way to show which houses had the stronger heads.

Darius stood tall, his hair braided firmly behind his head and dressed in combat clothes that she'd never seen him in. The man preferred to roll around in fancy robes that she imagined the clergy might wear if they were not solid black. His fashion sense was outdated to say the least, but before her now, he was dressed in the finest the vampires had to offer.

Sleek black silks covered by thicker shoulder guards with chains that draped over them and clinked against other pieces of steel that were just house emblemage. No armor would protect them from vampires, so it was all just vanity. Darius's shirt was tucked in and taught against his muscles, which Mer had never seen so defined. Rush's father was every bit as muscled as he was, and the black cloth that wound around his legs showed how tall and sturdy he was. With all the robes, she hadn't realized that Darius was just as formidable and fit as Rush.

His opponent barely bothered with clothes. The man across from her had dark hair and bright crimson eyes just as Darius did, though his hair was cut short around his face with a tail of it that ran to his ankles, tied neatly behind his head. It was very similar to Ares except that Ares had it cut a little more tightly to his head. All he wore was a pair of white pants that ran loosely and layered to his feet where they tied over his unadorned slip-on shoes.

This guy was ripped. Perhaps not Caelan level, but he had shoulders as broad as Rush's but thicker arms and a much bulkier top half than she'd seen on a man in a while. His skin was also the smooth color of coffee if diluted with just a splash of milk, and she blushed awkwardly as he smiled at Darius. The expression was so teasing, as if he knew how this was going to go, but it made him look attractive. Not like, she wanted him attractive, but more like he was good at luring his prey in.

The look in his eyes was warped and his dark magic swirled around him with such force that it lifted the sand at his feet and wrapped it around him in a thin veil of power. Darius was flaunting no such power, and it made her anxious. She tugged on Rush's sleeve, and he met her eyes with no emotion, but he did shake his head.

"This is an unfortunate first paring," Rush said quietly. "Talamayas Sol is from the north and one of the most powerful house heads. My father is no match for him. You needn't be concerned long."

Rush was true to his word, and the gong went off that started the fight. Darius darted away but collided with an explosion of dark magic that burst flames into the air, accenting the overhead lights with a red hue as the fire at the air around them. The force pushed him across the ground, and Darius lifted a dark shield spell just in time to clash with a glaive as Talamayas smashed into it.

It shattered Darius' defenses, and Mer covered her mouth as Darius rolled but didn't make it. The crunch of bone echoed in her ears as Talamayas grabbed Darius's arm and forced it back. Slamming Darius into the ground on his back, Talamayas dropped his hand into Darius' face and a spell circle formed around his wrist, lighting up the area around him. Mer held her breath but released it as a small puff of smoke emerged from the spell and Talamayas stood.

Cheers went up in the crowd of vampires as Mer's stomach sank. This was just one of the vampires who they would be up against if they challenged the coalition against Neil, and Darius had barely stood a chance. That wasn't even mentioning who the lords here favored to win, whistling and chanting his house name as he retreated back into his doors.

"That was unusually brutal," Lorenzo said as Talamayas walked back out the way he'd come. "Usually Talamayas plays with his opponents, giving them enough time to show how weak they were. I've never seen him end a fight that quickly."

"The man had a point to make," Rush said, folding his hands into a tight knot under his chin. "Anyone who rises against him will be decimated. Everyone here knows of the shift in power and opinion, and they all feel it their right to make their claim known."

"Yes," Lorenzo rubbed his face with a hand. Two other vampires came out to their names being mumbled among the vampires around them, but Mer didn't know either. "Neil Arc has created quite the issue with his antics and everyone is choosing sides."

"Which side are you on?" Mer shouldn't have asked, because Rush gave her a quick look that told her to keep her mouth shut. With a sigh, she looked down and away from both of them in what she hoped looked like an apology. Rush had warned her not to speak to the lords here. Everyone had an agenda and she just wanted to know what Lorenzo de Fleur wanted and why he'd sat near Rush.

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Word Count: 2054