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A sprawled form on the ground catches my attention. I realize it’s a man. His rusty hair spreads around his head as if he’s sleeping, but there’s a dark stain spreading around him, and his eyes are open and empty.
Syphe catches the direction of my stare and falls back, nodding at the body. “I intercepted Errot on my way to find you. He tried to kill me, so …”
We fly past Errot’s body, leaving him behind without another thought. I call out to Syphe. “Where is the Challenge?”
She jerks her head to the northwest. “There’s a natural amphitheater in the foothills at the edge of the valley.”
We fly straight toward the arena, and a sharp pull tugs at my center.
The bond.
Pain and sorrow that are not mine scrape along our connection, and it’s like I’m being pulled to Kemremir by a physical tether.
I push through the pain and fly faster.
We skim the tops of the trees, aiming for the foothills. Frantic, I scan the skies, but there’s no movement. Where is he?
Specks of color flash against the landscape, and the theater comes into view. There, in the center, Inchel leans over Kem.
The tether of our bond frays as Inchel closes his jaws around Kem’s throat.
Syphe cries out in despair, but my roar drowns her out.
“KEMREMIR!”
16
KEMREMIR
Tatha’s outraged and pain-filled roar echoes against the mountains and spears into my heart. My Mate.
I can’t see her. Where is she? Why is there so much pain in the bond? I need to see her.
Inchel’s eyes go wide, and I roll us, shoving my claws into the flesh of his belly, my other hand reaching for his heart. Inchel tries to clamp down harder on my throat, but magma rumbles from my gut, spilling from the punctures in my neck before dripping from my mouth. The smell of burning bone wafts down my nose, and Inchel rears back, screaming in pain as my claws rip a hole in his chest. His fangs turn black, and a few of his teeth turn to ash as he whips his head back and forth, trying to get the molten fire out of his mouth. The tears in my throat burn, as they cauterize, but at least the bleeding has stopped.
“Kem!”
My head snaps toward Tatha’s voice. Her brilliant purple scales are an intense midnight blue in the evening light. But the strokes of her wings are shallow, and her right wing bends at an odd angle. She hitches, her face drawn up in pain as she drops, and Syphe is there to catch her, keeping her from slamming into the ground.
A whoosh of air warns me, and I spin, ignoring every screaming stab of pain. I grab Inchel’s tail; the barb sinking into the flesh of my right claw. Yanking, I pull him to me.
“No!” His scream of terror hangs in the silence, as every dragon seemingly holds their breath … waiting.
My teeth close around the back of his neck. My shadows hold him still, his muscles trembling under my grip.
Tatha has shifted, and Syphe stands at her side, propping her up. My Mate’s eyes bore into mine, her bruised face pulled back with determination. She hobbles forward a single pace, and rage floods my body as I take in her injuries, but she holds my gaze, standing tall.
She nods.
My teeth crunch into scales, flesh, sinew, and bone. Inchel roars, then with one hard jerk of my head, his roar cuts off. His neck snaps, and his limp body hangs heavy from my jaws. It’s not enough. I grind my teeth, shaking my head until his spine severs in two. I chomp down once, twice, and Inchel’s head flops to the ground. His long tongue hangs from his open mouth, and his quickly paling eyes stare into the void. I spit out his blood and chunks of bone with a wet splat onto the ground.
A chorus of roars lift into the night sky. “Long live the King! Long live Kemremir!”
I lift an eyebrow at Eris, needing this to be over—NOW. He steps forward, raising a hand. “The Challenge is completed. King Kemremir is the victor.”
The roars grow louder in celebration, and I catch the flash of amethyst hair from the corner of my eye. I’m not done here. Not until Tatha is safe.
Turning a quick circle, I scan the crowd until I find the coral scales I’m looking for. She is skirting the outer edge of the theater, and her wings unfurl, ready to take flight.
