Page 72 of The King of Frost and Shadows

Stumbling back, she let out anoomph,but my victorywas short-lived. Moira grabbed one of my wings and yanked, pulling the muscle away from the others. My body moved toward her to overcompensate for the strain, and she stomped on my foot.

A strangled cry escaped me, revealing how much pain I was in. I tried to move away, but the chain linking me to Lorne tightened, keeping me right in their grips.

Of course he’d turn on me now that he was safe. Our little bit of teamwork didn’t mean anything long term.

“I’m getting in on that.” Bran chuckled darkly. “They can’t have all the fun.”

I swallowed. There was no escape, but I wouldn’t die without a blazing fight.

I leaned toward Moira and slammed my forehead against hers. Her body wobbled, allowing me to free my foot—though it felt like I left a slab of skin behind on the platform—and yank my wing from her grasp.

Rona slammed into my side, forcing me toward the edge of the platform. I kept waiting for the men to attack as well, but then I heard the punches and groans of fighting.

As long as it prevented them from reaching me, they could rip each other in half.

I spun toward Lorne, having no option with our chain, catching Rona off guard. Clearly, she hadn’t expected me to head toward the men.

Elbowing her in the back, I focused on Lorne, who was fighting Bran and forcing Dougal to stay back. I wouldn’t complain about that.

Rona landed on her knees, and I kicked her in the side, moving her to the platform’s edge. Her hands gripped the side to prevent herself from going over, but something came over me. If I didn’t end her, they’d tag-team me in the nextround. Pushing her off the ledge would eliminate two enemies.

I’d taken two hurried steps, ignoring the pain and readying to kill Rona, when my heart caught up with my brain.

What the hell was I thinking? How could I end someone’s life just because they’d been raised to believe this was how they needed to be? This wasn’t her fault; this broken kingdom and, unfortunately, Tavish were to blame.

Arms wrapped around my waist, jerking me hard so that the side of my body hit the floor and throbbed with debilitating pain. I could’ve sworn I’d been skinned and filleted.

Moira sneered as she stood over me and rasped, “You could’ve ended us, but you froze. Ignorant sunscorched.” She straddled me and reached out to strangle me despite the blackened blisters on her palms.

She gripped my neck, and I inhaled deeply, readying to make the last move I could with the remaining strength I had.

When her hands touched my neck, warm blood from her seared hands coated my skin. Her face twisted in misery, and she couldn’t squeeze hard enough to constrict my air.

Not wasting any time, I lifted my head like I was going to headbutt her again. She jerked back enough so that I rolled, throwing her off balance. She landed on her side, and I struggled to my feet just as the horn blew.

Relief soared through me, and I dropped back to the ground, unable to stay upright. My body burned like flames engulfed me, and I was certain this was how death felt.Please tell me I didn’t survive the game just to die as soon as it’s over.

The platform began to lower, and I opened my eyes. All six of us lay there.

This trial had been so much worse than the first one, which made me fear for the last one. How could any of us survive something worse?

With every inch we lowered, I waited for the nightmare gas to engulf us, but the arena walls came into view, indicating we were close to the ground. The fog had dispersed.

Once the platform was lowered, Eldrin flew to us and scowled at me. “Congratulations to the six of you. The fighting and obstacle course of the game is over, and you’ll officially be through when you exit the arena and the guards unchain you.” He steepled his hands and smiled. “After this round, we’ll select the team of two who won and give them access to their powers for the final challenge.”

My heart sank. He wanted all of us to get up and walk across the dirt to complete the trial. At that moment, Eldrin became the one person I could kill with zero guilt.

He was a monster … and something tugged at my brain like it wanted to be known.

I tried to sit up, but my body refused. What would happen if I couldn’t make it to the door?

Lorne got up slowly beside me and stared down at me. He flinched, and a sour taste filled my mouth.

He was going to drag my ass out the door.

Instead, he squatted beside me, and cold tendrils of fear squeezed my heart. I lifted my hands, ready to keep him from strangling me. I doubted anyone would stop him.

“Blighted abyss, Lira.” He shook his head and frowned. “Don’t make this any harder than it has to be. If you don’t fight, it’ll go much faster and easier.”

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