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Syn snarls at my side, his huge wolf nudging me with his large head to get me going. He’s right, but something is bothering me about the arena.
“Where are the other guards?” I ask with suspicion, glancing around as though they might pop in from thin air. “It’s too quiet.” They could all be fighting up in the stands, but as I count their numbers, I’m convinced there were more than that originally. Not to mention, where are the ones who escorted us here?
We just start to jog towards the end of the arena and the door that I’m assuming leads up to the stands when a huge, booming noise fills the arena, the ground shuddering beneath my feet. Gasping, I throw my arms out to catch my balance, and I look around for the cause. A flash of colour makes me grin as a wingless dragon bursts into the arena with a terrific roar that makes my ears ring. Belua is here.
Screams fill the air as the creature twists and leaps up into the seated area and weaves through the fighters, seeming to know which ones are fighting for the council. Her body is huge as she slowly works her way towards us, jumping back down into the arena and chomping something in her huge maw. It’s only as she reaches us, her long, scaled body covered in blood, that I see an arm bone hanging out of the side of her mouth, and I realise she might be behind some of the missing guards.
Young one, she greets in my mind, something I still can’t get used to.
“Belua.” Dipping my head in greeting, I gesture towards the council and queen, who watch us. “We need to get up to the platform. Will you cover us?”
Slowly, in what I think is the closest a dragon can come to smiling, she exposes her teeth, and a growl rumbles through her body as she narrows her golden eyes on her captors.My pleasure, she replies before jumping back up to the stands, leaving mayhem in her wake.
“Of course she’s friends with a dragon,” Luna mutters to herself, staring at the creature. Glancing at my father, I see he’s doing the same, shaking his head.
I grip his arm, and gratitude warms my chest as he switches his attention to me, ready to help me in whatever way I need. “Did you see where they are keeping the others?”
It’s something that’s been niggling at my bond since we arrived, needing to know my mates are safe. The nagging pull tells me they are close, but I have no idea where, or if they are safe and unharmed. From the state of the three before me, I’d guess the others have received the same treatment. I don’t want to have to fight the council without knowing they are safe, yet I know deep down that this is about more than just us, so I might have to do this alone.
“There are cells beneath the arena where they locked us up.” My father frowns. “They were down there last time I saw them.”
The doors we’re moving towards suddenly slam open, and we’re faced with row upon row of werewolves, both in wolf and human forms. From the looks of hatred they throw our way, I’m guessing they work for the council and are out for blood. Cursing, I skid to a halt, the others doing the same. I could use my magic on them, but there are so many that I doubt I could take them all out. If they all stayed in that small, enclosed area, I might be able to—
I don’t have time to complete my thought, as they start charging towards us with howls that make the hair on my arms stand on end, and my thoughts turn to simply surviving.
Star and Syn leap forward and meet our attackers head-on, tearing and biting at the wolves. The sounds they make are horrific, but it’s now my turn to fight as our attackers charge towards me. I raise my hands, and magic flows into my palms, creating daggers of starlight. I’m exhausted from my sleepless night and fight with Bates, each movement making my muscles cry out with fatigue, yet I don’t stop, slashing and throwing my magical daggers. All thoughts of disarming and disabling our attackers goes out the window, and my body count slowly rises. This is war and kill or be killed.
For each werewolf I take down, two more appear.
There’s a shift in the atmosphere, and I realise something is happening in the tunnel leading into the arena, the attention of our attackers turning to whatever is occurring behind them. Their distraction gives us an advantage, and it’s only when I feel an almighty tug in my chest that I realise what’s happening.
My mates are here.
Somehow, they managed to break free of their cells and fight their way to me, the tugs on my bond acting as a beacon for them to follow. Now that I know they are on the other side of the wall of werewolves, I fight harder.
“Laelia!” Atlas calls out, our eyes locking above the mayhem.
A relieved smile pulls at my lips as I push away the body of a male I just killed. I’m going to need a lot of therapy after this, but all that matters at this moment is getting to my mates. Joy spreads through every cell in my body, and hope that we could make it out of this alive blossoms. We still have to face the council and queen, which will be the hardest part of this, but even so, I feel so much stronger now that I know my mates are safe.
Joel and Scott are in their wolf forms, and our three borrowed werewolves bring up the rear. Nicolai and Atlas fight with fists, utterly ruthless despite the disadvantage of not having claws or blades. Our bond is open, and with me acting as a conduit, the guys can feel each other too, making it easier for us all to work together.
Seeing an opening, I barrel towards Atlas and throw myself into his arms. The urge to do the same with the others is strong, but that could be deadly as they are all still mid-fight.
“We have to get up there.” The urgency inside me is growing, and my instincts are telling me that if we’re not quick, we’re going to lose our opportunity.
Nicolai overhears and whistles loudly to get our attention. “Laelia, take Syn and Atlas with you. We’ll stay here and take care of this. When it’s clear, we’ll join you,” he calls out while holding a male in a headlock. With a vicious snarl and a bulge of his muscles, he twists his opponent’s neck, the snap telling me his neck is broken. Nicolai drops the body and hurries over to press a kiss to my lips, and then he moves on to his next opponent.
For a moment, all I can do is focus on his departing back, completely in shock that Nicolai is casually snapping necks. Why is that such a turn-on for me?
Atlas clears his throat, and my cheeks shine beet red. Avoiding his amused gaze, I call out to Syn, and the three of us fight our way through the tunnel. We don’t come across many more guards, most of them already out in the arena fighting the others, and Syn makes quick work of those we do find. The tunnel opens up into a large room that seems to curve, making me think it runs around the edge of the arena. Thankfully, we don’t have to look too hard for a way up, as there’s a twisting metal staircase on our right.
The stairs seem to go up and up as we climb, passing what must be several floors, only there’s no way to access them from this staircase. Instead, this one only appears to access one floor at the very top.This could be it, I think to myself, and as we reach the landing, we slow down and pause outside the single door that awaits us.
The closed door is very unassuming and looks no different from any other door, yet behind it could be the people who might take our lives. I press my ear against the door. The sounds of shuffling feet and pacing reaches me, so I know thatsomeoneis behind the door, I just don’t know who. Turning to look at Atlas and Syn, I open my mouth to ask what they think we should do when someone begins talking.
“I warned you this wouldn’t work!” a voice I recognise as one of the councilmen snaps, his voice shaking with anger. “We need to leave now before things get worse.”
Eyes wide, I remain still as I listen to the conversation, knowing we found the right door.
