Page 51 of Gods' Battleground

If I use this magic against the Beast,Bella said, looking at her hands,I might end up killing him.

And that would be bad, how?Tessa wanted to know.

“Move!” the princes shouted again.

Bella started walking, continuing through the forest. I don’t want to kill anyone.

You want to kill this guy,Tessa told her.I mean, have you read the postmortem battle reports on ‘the Beast’? And I do mean postmortem. He is not a nice guy. He’s butchered every opponent he’s met so far. Like a feral animal. So let your inner Monster out, Bella. Because if you don’t kill him, he will most certainly kill you.

I don’t want to be that Monster, Tessa!Bella replied.I will use the power I’ve been given to protect myself and the people I love, but I will not embrace the Monster. I will never embrace the Monster.

Bella stopped.

What is it?I asked her.

The Monster senses him,she said.The Beast.

How far away is the Beast?I pretended to be really eager to satisfy the princes’ munchies so I’d have an excuse to move closer to the TV.

Pretty far,replied Bella.But the Monster can feel him like a hunter senses prey. He has a lot of light magic. It’s shining brightly, like a beacon, calling out to the Monster. She wants to hunt him. She wants to destroy him. She craves it.

I watched the live view flip between camera angles—and I listened.I can hear the birds.

The birds?she asked.

They start tweeting a few hours before the sun comes up.

Sunrise is coming. That’s why the Monster’s starting to wake up,said Bella.That’s why I can taste the Beast’s light magic in the air. I’m being drawn to it. Already, the compulsion is so intense. As soon as the sun rises, I will become the Monster. And then I will destroy him.

“Why isn’t she moving faster!” demanded one of the princes.

“Your champion is boring, Night!”

Leda, I don’t want to hurt anyone,Bella said, each word uneven, sideways.I don’t want to kill anyone.

Just say the word, and I’ll teleport in and get you,I told her.We’ll run away and go home together.

No. I can’t go back. Not without a cure. Not as long as the curse can control me. We need to get that grimoire.

I could hear the determination in her voice, even though it was all in my head.

Promise me you’ll get that grimoire, Leda,Bella pleaded.

I promise.

Then I will confront the Beast,she said.I’ll lead him on a long, wild goose chase. And when the princes grow bored of waiting for us to fight, which I’m sure will happen quickly, the Night Prince will escort his lady friend to his Vault. And then you can grab the grimoire and teleport us all the hell out of here.

Ok,I agreed.Let’s do this.

On screen, Bella drew in a deep breath, collecting herself. Then she started running through the forest again. The princes in the lounge cheered, clustering closer around the TV.

The live feed flipped to another camera angle, and it showed the Beast, decked out in that terrifying head-to-toe spiky body armor. He perked up, like he’d caught her scent—and knew she was running straight for him.

He didn’t even move. He just stood there, like a patient dragon biding its time, waiting for its dinner to run into his den.

The camera switched to Bella running through the forest. The dry underbrush crunched under her boots. Tree branches whipped at her face. Above her, the night sky slowly melted toward morning.

Bella burst out of the forest, entering the ruins where the Beast waited. The site was littered with the remnants of the past.

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