Page 116 of Of Spindles and Nightfall
The crowd above them went wild.
Aryana pushed herself to her knees, trying to process. Jesir, a demon, had given his life for her, while a human had betrayed her.
Her world was turned on its head. Again.
The chimera returned, sniffing the air. Aryana expected it to attack her last, but suddenly it jerked to the left, racing off into the maze.
Where was it going?
And then it hit her.
Zarathos had painted her with his cum. Forced her to drink his blood—almost all of it. It had already flooded her system, flowing through her veins. Then he’d dressed her in his armor. He’d completely wiped out her own scent. And Zarathos…
Zarathos wascoveredin her scent.
Aryana grabbed the spear and bolted through the maze, attempting to control her panicked breaths. She had no idea where she was going and soon came to a dead end. Damn it. Every second she wasted was another second that the chimera got closer to Zarathos.
She looked around, her heart plummeting. Finding her way through this maze could take hours. Even with the Bloodbinding connection pulling her toward the direction of Zarathos, it would not help her navigate the twisting passages before her.
Need help?
Pohan came up behind her.She swung around, the spear clutched in her hands. Neri had just betrayed her. She didn’t know what she’d been thinking. It wasn’t like they could all live to the end of the trials.
There had to be a way to get to Zarathos quickly. Her eyes settled on the ridge along the wall of the maze.
Despite her distrust, she needed Pohan’s help. “Can you give me a boost?” she asked.
He followed her gaze and looked back at her.Gladly.
He knelt, locking his hands together, and Aryana backed up to get momentum. She rushed forward and landed on Pohan’s open palm. He launched her upward with a large grunt. Aryana hit the side of the wall and was able to use her own speed to run up the last couple of feet before she flung herself onto the edge.
Pulling herself up, she balanced on the top of the crumbling wall that was only half a foot thick. In the middle of the maze, a large tower rose, made of stone. The roars of the chimera were coming from that direction.
The power of the Bloodbinding also pulled her toward the structure.
The stands were distant enough that most seats had an aerial view of the maze and its occupants. She balanced the spear in her hands and raced forward, leaping from ledge to ledge.
Aryana’s muscles burned as she sprinted as fast as her legs could carry her. But the chimera was so far ahead. Its massive form pounded through the twisting corridors of the maze with terrifying speed, its three heads snapping and growling with each turn, the snake’s tail lashing with anticipation. Aryana’s grip on Jesir’s spear beneath her fingers tightened as she forced herself to move faster.
The chimera drew near the tower, the very goal she had been racing toward. Her heart hammered in her chest, and panic clawedat her as the distance between them narrowed, but she was still behind. The maze was too treacherous, and the chimera too fast. Desperation surged within her. If she couldn’t reach Zarathos first, all would be lost.
The deafening roar of the crowd vibrated through Aryana’s bones. In the center of the labyrinth stood Xaphoron and the other champions in front of the tower, which held a panel of numbers carved into the stone at its base. Each of them gripped a parchment in their hands. But that didn’t matter right now.
She didn’t have time to pause, didn’t have time to gain her bearings. She launched herself off the wall, taking the impact of the fall into her legs as it jarred up through her as she landed and rolled through the dirt and came to her feet. Dust swirled around her ankles. Her heart pounded, but it wasn’t fear that gripped her.
It was fury.
The arena was no longer just a place of spectacle. It was a battlefield. And on this ground, she’d either die, or she’d fight for the only person who mattered.
Zarathos.
He stood next to the tower, his sword grasped weakly between his hands. Exhaustion in his pale face, and her heart twisted painfully in her chest. He’d gotten two other champions to guard him. Tigon from Terra Monstrum and Lentira, one of the twins from Inferna. Lentira now wielded Balafur and Xaphoron's sword from the last trial. But the chimera didn’t seem fazed. It pounced and shredded Lentira in a single swipe of its paw.
“No, no! Sister!” Noctyssa shrieked. She raced forward but paused before stepping into the chimera’s path, sinking to her knees as she cried heragony over the arena.
The other champion, Tigon, retreated. Even this hulk was afraid of such a beast. After glancing at Zarathos and then at the chimera, he stepped up feebly to protect the bargainer, who must hold his life in his hands.
Clenching her teeth, Aryana ran forward and placed herself between Zarathos, the other contestant, and the monstrous beast.
