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Like it was alive. And hungry.
Bryce stepped into it anyway.
“What is this place?” Bryce breathed, daring another step into the tunnel that lay on the door’s other side. Azriel and Nesta quickly fell into step behind her.
A shriek of metal sliced through the air, and Bryce whirled—
Too late. Even Azriel, now mid-stride, hadn’t been fast enough to stop the door from sliding shut. Its thud echoed through her feet, up her legs. Dust swirled.
They’d been sealed in.
Bryce’s star flared … and went out.
A chill rippled up her arms, some primal instinct screaming at her to run without knowing why—
Light flared at Azriel’s hand—faelight, he’d told her earlier. Two orbs of it drifted ahead, illuminating a short passageway. At its other end lay a vast, circular chamber, its floor carved with symbols and drawings akin to those on the walls of the tunnel.
Nesta whispered, voice breathy with fear, “This is the place I last saw the star on your chest.” She drew Ataraxia, and the blade gleamed in the dimness. “We call it the Prison.”
* * *
It was like game day, Ithan told himself. The same restlessness coursing through his body, the same razor-sharp focus settling into place.
Except there would be no ref. No rules. No one to call a time-out.
He stood at the edge of the empty ring in the center of the fighting pit, surrounded by his friends and Sigrid. The sprites, unable to stomach the violence, had opted to stay away.
There was no sign of the dragon.
He hadn’t dared research how bad third-degree burns were. If he’d be in any shape to go help free Athalar and Ruhn. And the Helhound, apparently—what was that about?
Focus. Survive the fight, win, and they could be out of here tonight. He was good at winning. Or he had been, once upon a time.
“She’ll try to distract you,” Flynn said from beside him, staring at the empty ring. “But get around her flames, and I think you can take her.”
“I thought you had the hots for the dragon,” Declan muttered. “No pun intended.”
“Not when she’s about to toast my friend.”
Ithan tried and failed to smile.
“Ari won’t go easy on you,” Tharion finally chimed in. He’d returned to the suite an hour ago, but he’d gone into his bedroom and shut the door. At least he’d come down for the fight.
“So he’s supposed to—what, Ketos?” Flynn asked. “Stand there and be burned to a crisp?”
“I bet the Viper Queen would find that highly amusing,” Declan said grimly.
Ithan, despite himself, finally smiled at that.
Tharion’s face remained grave, though, as he said to Ithan, “Odds are, Ari’s going to hurt you. Badly. But she’s arrogant—use it against her.”
Ithan felt Sigrid’s gaze on him, but he nodded at the mer. “Promise to wield that water magic of yours to douse the flames and I’ll be fine.”
Tharion was in no mood to joke, though. “Holstrom, I … Look, I said some shit earlier that I—” He shook his head. “If you can get me out of here, I’ll make it count. It means a lot that you’d even try. That you care.”
“We’re a pack,” Ithan said to Tharion, Flynn, and Dec. “It’s what we do for each other.” None of them contradicted it. His heart strained.
Tharion’s eyes glimmered with emotion. “Thanks.”
