Kace felt a sudden change in Sonja's demeanour. Although she was being pummeled, he felt as though he were the one that had been caught out. A few minutes passed of him mercilessly beating her, being sure to keep her against the wall, so she had no means of escape.

He noticed that she suddenly slid slightly towards the ground between his latest blows, and this had him worried. 'What the hell is happening?' He wondered as he watched her slide slightly again before his next impact.

Then it dawned on him. She was not taking as much damage from each new strike as she once did. That, coupled with her inching towards being able to touch the arena floor was enough for him to piece it together.

'Fuck! I'm getting weaker!' He hastily checked his stats to see that they had indeed been affected even though Half-Life was not over yet. Then he noticed a small status icon that he had never seen before. When he focused on it, a small piece of information appeared.

[You have been cursed! -5% to all stats based on maximum with each stack. Current stacks 10/10]

'Fuck! I've lost half without me even noticing!' Upon this realisation dawning on him, he began to sweat heavily. He had been confident up until now because he had held the upper hand. However, this was obviously no longer the case.

Sonia let out a cheerful smile as she studied the change in his expression. 'Oh? So he noticed after all?' She was quite pleased that he had enough presence of mind to have already noticed the changes. At the same time, she was pissed that she could no longer play around with him.

"I guess that's as far you go..." Sonja's voice sounded happy to Kace's ears as she spluttered out these words. It made his skin crawl to think of what she would do now.

He leapt away from her as fast as he could. Afraid of what she may have been planning. A black spear appeared in her hand and just as suddenly it had shot forth and skewered him through the leg. 'The hell?' He wondered as he noticed there was no sense of extra weight being added to him from the projectile.

The only change he could feel was a slight numbness from where it had pierced. This soon changed though as the longer it stayed there, the more he could feel his remaining strength being sapped from him.

Before he could wrap his head around this new development, another spear appeared. This time it went through his waist. Staring dumbly at Sonja who was stalking towards him, he felt like he had been played for a fool.

'She's far beyond me; I was never a threat to her!' Kace felt severely dejected as he realised there was absolutely nothing he could do anymore. Sometimes it was better just to accept what would happen.

Sonja's smile faded as she watched Kace lay his weapon on the ground and close his eyes solemnly. 'Hmm? The brat also seems to be aware of when it is best to surrender. I didn't expect this, but it is a good surprise. It means I won't have to beat it into him later.'

She stopped just before him and looked at him carefully. His eyes were still closed and although he was not anything special to look at he did indeed have his own charms. That, and strength. Something that was sorely lacking in the younger generations.

"Do you have a final wish?" She asked, curious about what such a man may ask for in his final moments.

Kace opened his eyes and stared at her in wonder. He had never thought even for a moment that he would be allowed a final wish. He thought about it carefully for a moment before fixing her with his golden eyes.

"Just one, if you can grant it." He said calmly, the look in his eyes sent a shiver down Sonja's spine.

"Speak. If it is within my power to do so, then I shall grant it." Sonja watched him carefully. This would reveal the truth of his nature as a man.

"Grant my friends safe passage home," Kace said quietly. Sonja was pleased with this response, but his next words took her by surprise. "Of course, that includes Sophia."

Sonja was amazed that this young man seemed to hold her daughter in as high esteem as the rest of his group. Usually, men would angle to leverage her to get closer to the throne. Kace, however, was essentially asking her to set Sophia free of any obligations.

She felt an even greater sense of admiration for him. He far exceeded the expectations she had for him. 'Perhaps, in time, he may even be worthy of her hand in marriage.' Sonja pondered as thoughts of a few grandchildren running around played in her mind.

Kace reluctantly waited for her response. She looked confused at first, then happy, but the look on her face just now confused him. It almost looked... Doting? Before he could make sense of it she wiped the smile off of her face and looked at him seriously.

"I have decided to grant your request." She declared loudly. Everyone that heard this was shocked into disbelief. 'Who the fuck does he think he is!' Many of the male vampires thought as they realised this would mean that Sophia would have complete freedom to reject whoever she wished in the future. Essentially ruining the plans, they had begun to make with her return.

Up in the box, Celia sent a knowing smile to Sophia. Meaning to congratulate her on a game well played and earning her freedom. However, instead of seeing the gloating expression that she had expected Sophia's face was instead flooded with a steady stream of tears. This was the moment that Celia realised that they had not been playing them.

"Wait!" Celia screamed jumping from her seat. Just in time to see Sonja crack her mace over Kace's skull. Sending him sprawling in the dirt.