Page 129 of Blood Feast

A glint of firelight on water revealed the wolf’s strategy to Lio too late for him to call out a warning. Lyros’s sandal slipped on a patch of muddy ground hidden in the reeds. He lost his grip on her muzzle. Lio was sure the wolf had lured him into that position on purpose.

She forced Lyros to the ground with her front paws on his chest. His leg, trapped in the mud, twisted at an unnatural angle. Lio shuddered at the pain that contorted Lyros’s face. He took a step forward.

Cassia grabbed his arm.They’re right. If we intervene, we’ll all fail this test.

The clever wolf bared her teeth and aimed for Lyros’s throat. Lio didn’t know what oath he shouted as the beast’s teeth connected with Lyros’s jugular.

But it was she who leapt back, whining and pawing at her muzzle. With a savage smile, Lyros made it out of the mud, favoring his broken leg. The torn collar of his battle robe revealed what he’d hidden there: a vine of black rose thorns, the Lustra’s own armor.

Mak’s pain raked across the Blood Union, yanking Lio’s attention back to his battle. His blood flew, a spray of bright red in the firelight. He broke free of the alpha’s grasp, rolling away from the wolf, only to fall still on the ground.

His hand moved. He pressed it to his chest in a vain effort to staunch the blood streaming from his heart wound.

IN HESPERA'S HONOR

Lio’s thoughts hung suspended,trying to make sense of the blood on Mak’s chest, the pain in their Union. Cassia stood frozen at his side, both hands clapped over her mouth.

How deep was the wound? Had the wolf hit Mak’s heart?

Lyros’s gaze never left his opponent. His face was cold, his knuckles white on the branch he had snatched up to use as a crutch. The female wolf snapped at his bad leg, but he swung the branch with perfect aim, and her bite sank into wood instead.

With a battle cry, Mak barreled to his feet an instant before the alpha wolf crushed him under its weight. He threw himself on the alpha’s back, his arms locking around the beast’s neck. The name of that fighting move flitted through Lio’s mind, a memory foreign to this brutal contest. Mortal Vice, the headlock that could choke a mortal or decapitate a Hesperine.

Mak held the wolf, the heartbeats ticking by. The alpha’s mate howled with fury. Lyros gripped her ears with both hands, exploiting another sensitive point. With a frenzy of paws, she flicked blood and mud into his eyes.

No use against his immortal senses. He didn’t release her. She retreated, but he held on, letting her drag him along with her.

They inched closer to the nearest magefire torch. This time Lio tried to yell a warning.

No sound came out of his mouth. The Lustra had truly disqualified him and Cassia from this duel.

The wolf crouched, then with a heave of her shoulders, made to hurl Lyros at the fire. He let go just in time to spare hisface from the flames. His back hit the shaft of the torch. Wood splintered.

The top half of the torch landed in the reeds. Magefire began to lick at the wet plants.

Lyros fumbled for his crutch, which had fallen to the side of the path, but not into the water. While the wolf gave her tortured ears a shake, Lyros scrambled to his feet, leaning heavily on his crutch, and limped away.

Her eyes filled with triumph. Her pack howled with hunger. And she pounced to down the weakest prey in the herd.

Lyros dropped to the ground. An ember of light flashed in the night. The wolf’s leap took her too high, while Lyros rolled onto his back under her and brought up his crutch to strike her belly.

The end of the branch was alight with magefire. The flames ate through the wood in a breath, and Lyros dropped the crumbling branch just before the deadly element reached his hand. But not before the wolf’s fur caught fire.

The king’s flames scoured his queen’s wolf. She landed on all fours and lifted her face to the sky of this otherworld like some burning specter. She and her pack sang in one voice that sounded of ancient fire and older hunts. An ember flew from her fur to land on Lyros’s brow, and he hissed in pain, flicking the spark away with one hand.

Her mate slumped in Mak’s hold at last. He released the alpha wolf’s body and fell back, bracing a hand on his chest wound again.

The burning queen wolf streaked past Lio and Cassia to the side of her fallen mate. She licked the alpha’s throat, and the magefire danced across his fur.

His chest lifted. Breath filled his lifeless body. He got to his feet and rested his open jaws lightly on her jugular. Flames spilled into his mouth. As he drank the fire from her fur, the burning glow faded and went out.

Each wolf turned, facing Mak and Lyros, and went down on their bellies in an unmistakable gesture of submission to the victors.

The pack surged around their leaders, and the nine wolves raced away, disappearing back into the fog. Their howls sounded through the marsh, and Knight called after them, his voice blending with theirs as if they were one pack. The mist followed the wolves, peeling back to reveal nine standing stones in a ring around them.

Lyros’s calm broke, and he made the first sound he’d uttered the entire battle. He let out his own howl of rage and staggered toward Mak.

Cassia fell to her knees beside Mak and helped him apply pressure to his wound. Pushing through his own pain, Lio slung Lyros’s arm over his shoulders. He helped Lyros hobble over to their Graces and eased him down at Mak’s side.

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