Page 71 of The Wolf and the Chimera
As Lee turned on her with a horrified expression, Imogen met his gaze. Her blue eyes were steely.
“She can do this,” Imogen promised. Her gaze flickered to mine and back to her husband. “We just have to give her a chance.”
“Enough chatter,” Circe said. “We’re going to miss the show.”
She snapped her fingers, and time and space warped.Light flashed, and my stomach dropped, but we landed in another domed room. I tried to move, but I remained unable to break Circe’s will, frozen in place before a giant, round window.
Through its shimmering depths was Elle.
She stood on the sandy floor of an empty coliseum. As she took in the stone-walled surroundings, and blazing sun, she spun in a circle.
“Though we could watch from the coliseum,” Circe mused, “I prefer the view from my looking glass.”
Circe waved a hand, and the rounded looking glass divided itself into multiple viewpoints from different angles of the coliseum. Behind Elle, a giant gate creaked open. A massive, horned creature crept out of the shadows and loomed over my delicate mate.
Run,I tried to scream.It’s behind you, Elle! Run!
As Elle faced the beast, one of the screens zoomed in and captured her horrified expression.
I recognized the two-legged monster’s hooved feet, bulging, furry chest, and arched, wickedly sharp horns. I fought hard to break Circe’s hold, but nothing freed me from the magical paralysis.
As the infamous Minotaur charged Elle, I could do nothing but watch.
???
Elle
A beast from legends and nightmares towered over me and chuffed. His cow-like nostrils flared, breathing in my scent with a deep groan. He licked the snot off his nose with a wide, pink tongue and revealed his thick, yellow teeth—teeth large enough to grind my bones into dust.
The minotaur took a step closer, and his giant hooves stirred the sand. Though I shook from fear, and my heart raced,I stood my ground. After the unforgiving cold, the dry air was suffocatingly hot, and I struggled to think past my need to breath.
Focus,I told myself.Circe had plans for you greater than death. This is a test, which means there must be some way to pass it.
There must be some way to face the minotaur and survive.
Thick, white scars covered his muscular abdomen, and strong, hairy arms. His hands were tipped with brown claws larger than even Ryder’s.
Ryder.
I searched for him in the many rows of stone benches, but no one watched from the crowd. Something shimmered, and I squinted. Atop the towering seats of the coliseum was a shimmering window.
A looking glass.
Was Circe unwilling to bear the heat to watch my so-called test?
My lapse in attention was the opening the minotaur had been waiting for.
The creature charged me, and I ran.
Though he wasn’t swift, his strides covered triple the distance of what mine did. As I raced across the sand, the minotaur’s breath heated the back of my neck, and his steps pounded against the ground.
Faster, faster, faster…
Moving like the wind, I pumped my arms and neared the round perimeter of the coliseum. Blood stained the chipped limestone walls, and I wondered how many creatures—how many chimeras—Circe had tested in this horrific arena. Even closer than before, the Minotaur snarled, and I forced myself to focus on the task at hand.
Though the walls were far too tall for me to leap over and too smooth to climb, I hoped they could still be useful.
As an idea struck me, I raced even faster toward thecurved perimeter, and the Minotaur quickened his pace behind me. Only fifteen feet separated me from the thick stone, then ten, then five.
