Page 93 of Terragnata and the Heir of the Earth

No, no, no—I had gambled on this. The draw had been upheld in the 14th and 26th Skøls, giving the future king time to consult the gods on the auspicious result. That would have bought memonthsto figure out the king’s plan, the Rexi’s motivations, to come up with a?—

“One of you will leave this arena a victor today,” he continued. “And one of you will not leave this arena at all.”

So, I would die. Or I would win, and Gia would die at the king’s hand for my disobedience. Jana’s appearance at the Skøl proved she was not safe wherever Cas had hidden her.

“And that,” he finished, “will not be a fate decided by your opposing competitor, but by your own self.”

Xinlan and I looked at each other in confusion. I detected movement to my left. First, I saw Cobal sprinting out of the arena, clearly not bound by the magical perimeter. Something else moved. They were hard to see in the dusky light, but small black specs on the ground scurried towards us from the right. I looked left, and more came. And more from behind Xinlan. One second, I was squinting, trying to make out their nature, and the next, the arena was full of thumbnail-sized spiders—small enough that alone, I wouldn’t think twice about crushing one with my boot. But together, the effect was terrifying. A second later, they came within reach of our feet. I portaled immediately, my instincts screaming at me to get out of there, but instead of safely landing elsewhere, I collided with the blue-edge perimeter and bounced back into the spider-filled arena.

I hit the ground. And then they were on me—the most unpleasant, hair-raising, terrifying tickle I’d ever experienced.But it soon turned into excruciating pain. They scurried under my leathers, into my nose, and through my hairline. Tiny fanged mouths bit and bit until welts appeared everywhere, approaching the most sensitive parts of my body. I kicked and screamed and jolted, attempting to fling them off me, but they were too small and too many for my fighting to be effective. I spelled, an expulsion cantrip, which shot them off in every direction—even out of my mouth, but that only provided a second of relief, and then more came.

“The first to perish loses, the longest to survive wins. Skøl!”

The Skølmaester’s words brushed by me, and I found it hard to process his meaning. I pressed my lips and eyes shut, silencing my screams, not attempting another spell for fear of opening my mouth to them once more. I reached out for my Earth magic, not caring if I earned disqualification—just wanting it to stop. But there was no response, no zinging call back. Perhaps the mini arena had been spelled against the fight they knew I’d put up. And then they filled my nose again. With my mouth shut, I could feel the air slipping from my body as I lay in that meadow.

I just need to outlast Xinlan, I told myself. But in those moments, I couldn’t think about tactics, or strategy, or the Skøl. I couldn’t think of Gia or Jana. I couldn’t even think about Ezren. I only thought of death. I begged it to come.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

VENOM SMOKE

It could have been minutes or fleeting seconds I lay there. But at some point, the torturous demons scurried away—fleeing in all directions. Like it wastheirturn to be afraid.

I stayed on the ground, not moving. I wasn’t sure I could. Everything burned, stung, hurt—but slowly, I started to breathe.In and out, Terra.In and out. Spiders no longer plugged my nose, and I peeked one eye open to take stock of the scene. The lid puffed so thick from bites I struggled to open it.

Did I win? If so, why isn’t anyone cheering? Why didn’t the Skølmaester announce my victory?

Or… am I dead?

Stillness settled all around me. I lifted my hand and sunk it into the ground—sending a jolt of hot pain up my arm.Not dead, then.

I fought to push myself up, every nerve ending roaring against me. My skin burned with the heat of a thousand suns. I could sit up enough to look around the meadow, now shrouded in moonlight—the blue perimeter and illusion of jeering fans had vanished.Where is everyone?The eerie quiet unnerved me. And only Xinlan remained. If she was breathing, I couldn’t tell.

After a moment, my arm buckled, collapsing beneath me. I hit the grass hard. My eyes closed, the exertion overwhelming.

“Terra?” A familiar voice—not from the prone competitor who lay some paces from me, but further away.

I blinked, trying to clear the sting from my eyeballs, but the movement was slow, pained.That voice… bad… or sad? So familiar.

I tried to call out, but my voice died in my throat, a product of the bites I’d received, I guessed.They must have gone pretty far down my esophagus… I almost don’t remem?—

“Terra!” the voice called again, closer this time.That voice, from dreams, nightmares… but who, who, who…

My mind wandered, muddy and rambling. The only shred of logic left in me ignited the briefest of thoughts.Could the bites have been poisonous?

“TERRA!” Louder, closer. “TERRAAAA!”

I fought to open one of my blistering eyes. Someone rushed towards me, then right in front of me…

Him. Murderer. Cas’s Lover. Rexi’s lapdog.

“Fayzien,” I croaked. The word came out so strangled that my ears did not recognize it.

He labored to breathe as he hunched over, placing his hands on his thighs and cursing, regaining his breath. I fought to keep my eye open, attempting to scan the thicket for other disturbances. I saw one cropped red hair contrasting against pale skin. In a moment, Leiya stood next to him, equally winded, but somehow still composed.

I beheld Leiya in disbelief, confusion, and uncertainty. She had just been portaled away—minutes or hours ago. And why was she here, withhim?

“Lassie, tell us yer injuries,” she commanded.

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