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My eyes met hers, and her face was taut with terror.
The shadow passed over the Pit again, and I looked up to see the blue dragon wind through the sky, flames simmering at his snout.
“Good people of Veles!” Theron’s voice boomed across the Pit as he raised his hands for silence. “Today, we have our very own hero, my trusted, traitorous assassin, in the Pit, for our entertainment.”
The crowd booed loudly, and when I looked back at Elara’s face, I saw pure rage. She strained against her bindings, and looked up at Theron. She bared her teeth at him, like she wanted to tear his throat out at that very moment. He reached out to stroke her cheek, and she snapped at him. Theron jerked his hand back, and his shoulders heaved.
My fierce little Fae. I smiled when she met my eyes again. She wasn’t going to go down without a fight.
Neither of us would.
“Today your adversary is a cousin of yours!” Theron gestured to the sky. The blue dragon passed over the Pit again, then came to land in a shower of sand at the far end of the Pit. The dune it landed on gave way under its weight, a cascade of gold accompanying it as it moved towards me.
“Now,” Theron went on. “I have never seen a Night Demon under the shower of a dragon’s flames, but I am sure it will be a sight to behold. Do you suppose he shall burn well, dear one?” He titled his head, giving Elara a sideways glance as he grinned.
“Not as well as you.”
Even if I hadn’t heard the words, she mouthed them with such vicious intent I could not have missed them.
Theron laughed loudly, grabbing her chin and giving her head a shake. “Well, let us see shall we?” He turned back to me, raising his hands and giving a single, loud clap. “Let the Trial begin!”
I spun towards the dragon, who continued his advance towards me through the shifting sands. Lightning flashed above, and the first drops of rain landed around me, speckling the ground and sending up that familiar scent of rain on burned ground.
The dragon breathed out a jet of fire, but nowhere near me. He was showing off to Theron. The fire illuminated the eyes of the crowd, who all jumped in surprise, then burst into applause. Yes, he was giving them a good show.
I kept running, and he lowered his snout to the ground as I drew closer.
“Hello again, cousin.” He bared his teeth. “Shall we have a little scrap?”
“Wanting to show off?”
“I’ve no need to show off.” He chuckled low in his throat, smoke swirling from his nostrils. “We both know that in this form you cannot best me.”
I lunged at him, bringing the ax down as he raised his talons, as though wanting to swat me away. We both missed our target, and I spun under his raised claws, landing the ax in his leg. Fire exploded from the snout above my head, and the heat was so intense I immediately felt sweat break out on the back of my neck.
“Well done!” The dragon ambled sideways, away from me, his thick blue blood tracking through the sand. “You’re much faster than you look.”
“I’ve heard that before.” I spun the ax in my hands as I followed the dragon, trying to keep my footing up the side of a dune.
The dragon laughed, a deep rumbling sound that was caught by the crash of thunder above. “I’m sure you have. But you should watch out.”
There was a rush of wind, and I was thrown suddenly through the air as the dragon’s spiked tail struck me square in my stomach. I connected with the ground and skidded on my back through the sand. The ground quaked around me as the dragon rushed towards me.
“I’m more than just claws and fire, cousin.” He breathed out another jet of flames into the sky, and I thought for a moment I heard a horn in the distance. My ears must have been ringing from the impact.
I rose to my feet, brandishing my ax. “Well, why don’t you show me what else you can do then?”
The dragon’s claws pounded into the ground as he shot towards me, and he brought his wings up, the talons darting towards my face. I ducked down, underneath their reach, and traced a long slice through the right wing, leaving it flapping in the breeze that had sprung up.
“Oh you little bastard!” The dragon choked out a laugh.
I dipped out from underneath his reach, lunging at him again with my ax, but missing as he flapped his wings. He hovered above the ground, and with a shriek he sent a heavy black cloud of smoke towards me.
Out of sheer instinct, I raised my shadows, creating a wall of night between us. The smoke rose against it, and then died. The crowd exclaimed in surprise, and when I looked up at Theron, I was more than pleased to see his eyes wide in shock. Elara was still straining against the golden ropes holding her down.
A shadow skittered through the growing storm, and my eyes darted upwards. But there was nothing.
My attention diverted for a moment, the dragon advanced on me again, snapping his enormous jaws at me. Too late, I swung my ax, only for it to land in his teeth. His mouth slammed shut, and with a shake of his head he sent me flying through the air again, my ax still firmly wedged between his teeth.
