She gave a heavy sigh as she glanced at the mirror. “There. Much better.”
I held a vacant expression. Emma might look better, but she didn’t have me fooled. I bet she still felt awful.
“Why do your eyes do that?” she asked. Her gaze narrowed. “Turn purple when you cast?”
“Oh, that? I’m not sure,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. “It’s just something that happens.”
“Hmph. Odd.”
Kiara handed a glass bottle to Emma, one that had a sparkling blue substance inside. “Here, drink this. It’s one of my sister’s potions. It’ll give you energy for the task ahead.”
Emma popped the cork and started chugging. The potion was gone in mere seconds. A smile brightened her face. “Thanks, Kiara. I can actually feel it working.”
“Don’t thank me. You need it.” Kiara led the way back to the Field. The doors were closed to the arena this time. Steward Soloman stood outside of it while contestants and sponsors chattered in low voices outside.
An earth-shattering roar silenced the contestants and caused the crowd to cheer. That didn’t sound like it came from a dragon. Several contestants blanched— Steward Soloman proceeded forward.
“For this task, contestants shall enter the Field one by one, with their chosen mates,” he began. “Inside are several monsters, each hand-picked by officials. All mated pairs will have to fight a different monster, one that the officials believe challenge your and your mate’s weaknesses. Slay the creature, and you shall move on to the next task. Surrender, or lose your life… and you shall not proceed beyond this point.”
There were three other mated pairs beside Emma and I. Gabby and Elijah were one of them. The only other people who’d made it this far were a dragon couple and an alicorn. Everyone else had been eliminated.
“Order shall be determined by your placing in the last round,” Soloman finished. “Prince Ethan, Miss Sosna, you’re up first.”
Hell of a lot better than going last. Lord Lucien strode beside us. His expression was pale and grim. I was shocked when he drew both of us into a tight embrace.
“Stay safe out there,” he said gruffly. “You can beat this thing. Use what I taught you.”
When he let us go, I could tell by the look on his face he was worried. That wasn’t a good sign at all. Lucien rarely lost his courage unless there was something to be concerned about.
Emma drew her sword. I drew my own as the gates opened to let us through. They shut behind us with a resonatingthud.
The Field was completely empty, save for a cage that had been placed at the opposite end. The cage was made up of thick walls of steel, so we couldn’t see what was inside. The box wavered violently on its place on the ground, as if whatever was inside was trying to break out.
My heart jumped up to my throat. What kind of a monster had the officials picked for us to battle? What creature inside could possibly challenge the weaknesses between Emma and I?
The door to the cage was yanked upward by the magic of sorceresses, and from within the darkness sprang a monster I’d prayed we wouldn’t get.
The monster stood nearly twenty feet tall. It walked on four reptilian legs that ended in sharp claws, grey, matted fur all over its body. Its tail was long and feathered, and around its shoulders was a black mane of fur. The face was goat like, with large nostrils and pointed ears. The creature had four yellow eyes, two on each side of its head, and large antlers that were red with dried blood. There was something oddly humanistic about its features that only added to its bothersome form.
It was abiez— a type of demon. They were commonly referred to as minions of Droga, and originated from the underworld. How had the Circle managed to get their hands on one?
Thebiezopened its mouth and bellowed, revealing three rows of jagged sharp teeth. It pointed its antlers down and charged at us full-speed.
Emma and I both scattered in different directions. It took thebiezseconds to cross the arena. When it missed both of us, the monster rose up on its hind legs and screeched again, crashing down to the earth.
The ground quivered beneath us. I lost my balance and went down, although Emma managed to stay on her feet. The monster turned and faced me. Staring into its vicious eyes was like looking directly into the pit of hell.
Emma gave a wild scream and charged at thebiez. She jumped onto its back with her sword raised, and stabbed it near the base of the spine. Her blade connected, and dug in. Thebiezscreeched and kicked her off. She went flying several feet, her sword rolling away from her.
When I saw that the monster had hurt her, white-hot rage flooded my system. I didn’t care that this was a monster I’d never fought and didn’t think I could kill. All I wanted was to destroy it, and teach it to never touch my mate again.
I brought my sword up and hurtled myself at thebiezhead-on. I aimed for cutting the tendons in its legs, but the monster lashed out with its front claws. I had to jump and duck to avoid getting sliced open as thebiezattacked. I felt its hot breath swarm around me as I rolled out of the way of its sharp teeth. My cloak got caught in the monster’s fangs, but it ripped so I could get free. Any closer and the monster would’ve had me in its jaws.
Thebiezgave out another great scream. I dove out of the way as it spun completely around, so I wouldn’t get crushed by the monster’s giant feet.
I noticed on the other side of the arena a long blood trail, along with the feathery remnants of a limb. Emma stood smiling about the pile of feathers. She’d cut off the monster’s tail.
Now it was pissed. Thebiezcompletely forgot about me and charged after Emma. It lowered its antlers and picked up speed, shaking the ground in a thunderous charge.
