Page 90 of Blooms of Darkness

Kade caught up to Ian as they raced toward Edmund and the now-deceased Frederich.

Lord West glided across the finish line, still in Ian’s hawk form and shifted back.

Fucking coward. Stealing magic so callously and not doing a single part of the obstacle. He cheered, acting as though nothing was amiss with the others, and standing, waving at the crowd. His brow furrowed at the lack of attention he received. I grinned smugly, glad he had been forgotten about. The guards on the field quickly corralled him into the winner’s area. He’d taken first but lost what little respect I may have had for him.

Ryland sprinted past both Ian and Kade as they ran in the opposite direction, not even bothering to stop and ask what they were doing. Clearly most of the contenders would have no distractions when it came to winning this trial.

Ian and Kade continued to run toward Edmund, who became more and more erratic, his sights set on the crowd fleeing directly above him. They stopped in front of the devastation of Frederich’s body. Edmund basked in the path of Frederich’s blood, letting it coat his shoes.

“Be careful,” I shouted down to the pair. My palms were sweating as I watched them approach Edmund.

The once-reserved- and quiet Fae now knelt in a pool of blood. Nausea overpowered me as he dipped his hands into the stream of crimson, wiping it down his face before he shifted to face Ian and Kade.

He had turned Frederich’s blood into war paint.

Pure horror rattled my body. Fae in the stands were exiting swiftly, shouting, and crying as nobody understood what was happening.

The Royal Guard didn’t know what to do, either. Everyone stood lost in a state of confusion, no one daring to interfere with the trials.

“Father!” I grasped his arm. “This is madness.”

The king sat stoically, as glued to the scene before him as the rest of us. One crazed Fae wasn’t enough to warrant stopping the trials apparently.

Ryland crossed the finish line, hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. For someone so athletic, cardio was not his forte.

Ian, sword drawn, lured Edmund from Frederich’s limp, bloodless body. Edmund made the same arm movements he’d done before Frederich, and Ian’s step faltered, blood appearing on his face.

No!

But Ian was the decoy and served enough of a distraction to allow Kade to tackle Edmund to the ground.

Kade punched Edmund in the face, and even without any magical abilities, I could hear the crack of his nose as it thundered throughout the arena.

Edmund merely laughed.

The blood flowing from his nose grew darker, thicker than the blood already on his face.

I was going to be sick.

Edmund tried to sit up, but Kade repositioned himself on top of him, pinning his legs to the ground with his hips and punching him in the face once more.

What was he waiting for? Just end this already!

His shadows could have taken care of this easily from what I’d observed a few days ago.

“Do you have him?” Ian shouted.

Kade’s growling response was so powerful it reverberated in my chest. “Yes, make sure he’s alone.”

“It’ll be by foot,” Ian shouted.

He moved away from Kade and Edmund, looping back toward the earlier obstacles, surveying his surroundings. I knew he searched to find if anyone else lurked in the area as Kade continued to work with Edmund on the ground.

If I hadn’t witnessed Kade fight before, and if I hadn’t been so focused on him, I would have missed the whisper of shadows leaving his fingertips and weaving around Edmund’s neck.

Edmund jerked, just once, and then his head fell back, limp.

Finally done. Gone.

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