Ablaze in Mirth by Matthew Thompson

“The humans cheered and booed and bet on us blood suckers. And they enjoyed it too, watching us burn every year in the Nile Valley during the summer solstice, the sun beating down on us, incinerating us like bugs beneath a magnifying glass.” Once a year, the Ablaze Games attracts thousands of spectators from around the world for a two-week tournament, wherein the winner attains his or her freedom. Matias De Laurentiis is a contender, risking his life to gain a better one. And it’s not only in the arenas he must strive to survive; the underground Ablaze Complex leaves its competitors to circulate amongst themselves, including assassins. All of which is televised for the human populace, the current rulers of the world. Seven arenas separate Matias from becoming a victor. It will mean keeping out of the deathlight, and to kill his fellow kind. But he’s hungrier than ever, and willing to do whatever it takes to remove the shackles from himself and his loved ones.