Victor came in and this time Caelan had no room to manoeuvre, and the blow caught him across the jaw. He stepped back and Victor’s claws slashed open his chest.

The crowd roared its approval.

Caelan managed to hook an arm round Victor’s body, then heaved and twisted, slamming Victor to the ground. He kicked him while he was down there and Victor spun on his back and swept Caelan’s feet out from under him.

Both fighters scrambled up, but Victor was noticeably faster – they collided and Caelan was thrown hard against the curved wall of the pit.

Above them, bets were being shouted, and there were people wearing bright sashes across their jackets, furiously scribbling into notebooks. Bruno was shouting, too, struggling to have his voice heard. Valkyrie tried to wriggle from his grip, but he was far too strong.

Victor pummelled Caelan, knocking him round the arena, only letting him get up just so he could have the pleasure of knocking him down again.

When they broke away from each other again, the Promoter’s voice came blasting through the speakers. “How’re you enjoying the spectacle, folks?”

The crowd roared.

“This is indeed a special night, isn’t it? This night could not get any more special, now, could it? What’s that? It could?”

The crowd went almost quiet in anticipation.

Valkyrie could hear the grin in the Promoter’s voice. “Ladies and gentlemen, tonight, for our main event, we are not only giving you, for your viewing pleasure, a rare and thrilling vampire versus vampire match-up, but we’re also throwing a third party into the mix! Friends, family, colleagues, you’ve heard about them, you’ve heard the stories, you’ve heard what they can do, but you’ve never seen one in action… until now! Patrons of the arena, she’s young, she’s beautiful, she’s magical… I give to you our third and final fighter – the Sorceress!”

“What?” said Valkyrie, and then Bruno kicked her right in the ass, sending her stumbling over the lip and falling into the arena.

She landed on her knees, the sheer volume of noise from the crowd threatening to overwhelm her. She looked back at Bruno, who gave her a smile and tossed her a key. It glinted in the bright lights as it fell, and she caught it, spun immediately, making sure Victor and Caelan weren’t making any moves. The two vampires stood on the opposite side of the pit, both staring straight at her.

Her hands were trembling so much the key scraped against the lock of the shackles for an eternity before it slid in. One twist to the right and both wrists were freed, and she felt the magic flood her body. But the sound of the shackles hitting the dirt-packed ground was all the signal the vampires needed.