Page 88 of Gift from the Stone

“I think it’s going to be those four,” I say, pointing to Lyker, Kael, Eirik, and Rylan. “Versus the other four.”

“What makes you say that?” Oakly asks me with a questioning smirk.

“I didn’t see anything. Just a hunch.” I laugh.

“Then my money’s on what Willow says. Who wants to place some bets?” she jokes.

“No one. No one’s going to bet against my kitten. If she says that’s how the teams are going to go, then that’s how the teams will go,” Draken states confidently.

“Let’s find out then,” Tillman says, nodding back toward the center.

An Elder’s standing in the middle of the semicircle of finalists with a burlap sack in his hands. One by one, they each reach in, pulling their hands out with their stones inside their closed fists. Once the last finalist pulls their hand out, the Elder walks out of the center, and as one, they outstretch their palms, revealing the stone they’d chosen.

“Well, I’ll be damned. I’m going to need your assistance, Willow, the next time I play the royal chance,” Nikoli jokes.

We all let out small chuckles as we watch the teams split up. This round is hand-to-hand combat, with elements, and the team that’s able to pin all four of the others down will be the winners and move on to the last trial.

At the sound of the horn, both sides throw their elements out, colliding forcefully enough my hair blows behind me. Surprisingly, both sides have an element each amongst them. But instead of going head-to-head with their counterparts, the Mastery members attack the non-mastery.

Although it’s now obvious the four moving on to the final trial won’t all be Mastery, they’re still looking out for one another. Kael and Eirik attack the only non-mastery member on the opposing side with merciless strikes. He’s giving it his all to fight them off, but it’s going to be a useless effort here soon.

The three from his side, are circling Lyker and Rylan, who have their backs pressed against one another, fighting them off with just as much strength.

Lyker, coats his skin in stone and begins throwing savage strikes when Rylan dives out of the way of a fireball and the other two Mastery men take the opportunity to jump on him at the same time. Wrapping a vine around the neck of the one on his back, Lyker slings him across the arena before tackling the other to the ground. My heart beats in sync with the punches he’s delivering, and I’m on the edge of my seat.

This is so fucking intense.

Finally, he calls on his element and completely encases the man in cement, only leaving his head out so he can breathe, but his small victory is short-lived.

The other Mastery member sends a tsunami of waves crashing over the top of him. I hold my breath and my eyes search the water for any sign of him. My mind and heart whirling because none of this was in my vision. I can’t save him from this.

What if something changed between then and now?

My head’s growing dizzy from holding my breath for so long. The seconds seem to tick by as hours with no sign of Lyker emerging from the large globe of swirling water. Looking down and to the left, his Nexus is on their feet, gripping the edge of the railing, shouting for him to break through.

Damn it, Lyker, bust through. Come on, you have to.

Just as my lungs scream for me to breathe, he comes flying out the top of the water on a dune of dirt, bursting the orb into cascading waves that flood over the edge of the wall, soaking the shifters sitting in that section. As soon as his feet hit the sand, I want to jump up and down cheering, but I force myself to stay down and grip my seat.

In a flurry of commands, Lyker has the man wrapped up like a mummy from head to toe in vines, flopping down to the ground, immobile. There’s a heartbeat of silence, then the shifters burst into roaring cheers. It’s only then I realize that was the last one of the other team that hadn’t been pinned.

“That was intense. I couldn’t even focus on everything going on, just Lyker. What happened?” I ask.

“The other two on his team toyed with that poor wolf damn near the entire time, then stood back and watched as Rylan fought with the other. He was able to get the best of him, right as Lyker burst through the water,” Corentin answers, clipped, staring daggers at the last two Mastery finalists.

A small group of shifters enter the arena and begin clearing the water from the center. Right now, it looks like a mud pit but as soon as the water is cleared with fresh sand spread out, the four finalists and an Elder move to the middle, positioning themselves in a large square formation.

“Damn, so there are no breaks at all between the trials?” I ask as it looks like they’re preparing to jump right into it.

“No, not really. Just the few minutes between each we’ve seen. The two finalists will have about half an hour break after this to get healed up, meditate, do whatever they need before they start. If you leave the arena before the end, you’re not permitted back in, so everyone will stay put, then make it to the community center for a feast,” Draken answers me as the Elder bows his head to each of them then moves off the sand.

“Who’s against who? I missed it.”

“You didn’t miss anything. Looks like its every man for themself,” Caspian remarks.

“What does that mean?” I ask.

“They’re all against one another. The two who come out on top will be the finalists,” he answers angrily as growls start to sound from the sand.

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