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Chapter Three
Erik
“A magical duel?” I echo.
Astrid’s smile is wicked. “If you beat me, I’ll let you in out of the cold, and accept your help.”
I shrug. “Okay.”
“But if you lose,” she continues, “Then you have to leave. For good.”
I spin it around in my head for a moment. She’s probably very good at spellcasting, or she wouldn’t look so superior right now. But she doesn’t know something quite vital to her little plot—I’m aces at spellcasting myself. She’s not wrong—most shifters don’t bother with the nuances of their magic. But I’m not most shifters. Plus, I’ve had over a thousand years to practice.
“Do you accept my challenge?” she asks, one brow arched dangerously.
“I accept.” I offer her a small bow, then gesture for her to walk ahead of me out into the snow.
It’s been full dark for a while now, the night black and glittering with snow. Astrid’s house is situated on the edge of a clearing next to the woods. She doesn’t have any close neighbors—I can see the twinkling lights of the closest one through the trees a good ways off.
Astrid closes the door behind her and walks out into the clearing. Spruce trees loom over us like sentinels, bearing witness to what’s about to happen. Hopefully this witch doesn’t try to actually kill me… part of me wouldn’t put it past her the way she’s been acting. Or at least, put an eye out or something.
But she’s about to be in for an unpleasant surprise. Because I don’t go down easily, whether the fight is fists or magic.
When she reaches the center of the open space, she turns to face me, and we back up a dozen paces away from each other. “Any rules of engagement?” I ask her.
“Rules?” Her smile is sharp as a blade, and she tosses that dark hair of hers. “You’re welcome to forfeit, you know.”
“Just checking,” I say with a shrug. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
She lets out a laugh which rings through the snowy night, and then she launches a ball of magic at my face.
I call my own magic and throw a shield spell. But instead of merely a flash of silver light like a forcefield, which is the basic way to cast such a spell, I make my shield look like an actual shield, with an insignia and everything. The symbol of the Order of Nobilis Draco, my dragon shifter clan. Astrid’s ball of golden light bounces off harmlessly.
Her brows go up and I throw her my own wicked smile. Then I offer a counterattack.
I want something that shows her I’m serious but doesn’t actually harm her. And sometimes the simple spells work best. So, I send a cyclone of wind and snow up around her, punctuated by some impressive-looking lightning. I stop just shy of adding a boom of thunder, remembering at the last moment that her daughter is probably asleep.
The wind swirls around Astrid, lifting her hair, tugging at the blue sweater she’s wearing. There’s so much snow kicking up that I almost can’t see her. With the poor visibility surrounding her, I don’t see the golden arrow shoot out from my mini hurricane until it’s too late.
It pierces me right through the heart.
It’s not a real arrow of course, so it doesn’t break flesh. I have less than half a moment to wonder what it does before my body locks up and I fall sideways to the ground. My limbs are rigid and pinned to my body as if invisible ropes have bound me. Snow flies up around me where I land with a thud. The cold burns against the bare skin of my cheek.
A soft sound hits my ears as Astrid marches toward me through the deep snow. I can’t see her since I’m nearly immobile. My eyeballs are just about the only thing I can move. Damn it to hell. I cannot let this witch take me down so easily. Her shadow falls over me, and then she steps into view.
Astrid’s arms are crossed over her chest, and her lips turned up in a triumphant smile. “You lasted longer than I thought you would,” she says. “Don’t feel too bad. But a deal’s a deal, so don’t forget when I release you.”
“Our duel is not over,” I say.
She laughs. “I’m sorry, what? You’ve clearly lost—” She pauses and shakes her head. “I just realized I don’t even know your name.”
I summon my magic again and send a strong pulse out against my bonds.
Astrid rolls her eyes. “Honestly, you’re not going to be able to—”
The second pulse breaks my bonds and flips Astrid onto her back in the snow next to me. I’m on her in a moment, rolling to the balls of my feet, straddling her, and throwing magical ropes around her wrists. Or, trying to. Astrid already has a dagger made of glowing golden light at my throat, and by the burn against my skin and the trickle of blood I feel, it can do some real damage.
“You cheated,” she growls.
