Page 133 of Of Spindles and Nightfall
Except Aryana had left him. She’d left him and stripped Zarathos of his power, of his bargains.
The giant held a large spear in his hand, and he shoved it forward. Zarathos’s body jolted, but the weapon didn’t enter. Tigon frowned.
Zarathos tried to lash out with his sword, but Tigon merely grabbed it with a laugh and tugged it from Zarathos’s grasp. “Too bad you’re drugged. This is too easy a victory.” He rammed Zarathos’s body against something hard and unyielding, his head slamming backward with such force it made blackness flash in his gaze.
“Dragon Armor,” Tigon’s growled words came from far away. His rough skin gripped the bottom of the armor and it shoved into Zarathos’s chin.
The giant’s massive hand moved forward as he drew Zarathos close. A spear slid into Zarathos’s gut, causing his whole body to spasm, and a sharp stab of agony lanced through his back. Tigon roared in victory.
“I thought I was dead for months due to our bargain, but it turns out the demon kingdoms will have a new king. And it will be Tigon, the ruthless. Tigon, the king slayer. Now, I watch you die.”
He twisted the spear.
Zarathos couldn’t move, unable to fight. His strength already started abandoning him. Tigon jerked back, and the spear came out, coated in Zarathos’s blood.
“Tigon drinks the blood of his victims.” He brought the weapon to his lips and slid his tongue along its tip. The half-giant released his grip.
Zarathos had no strength to stand. He crumpled to the ground. Blood flowed from his wound, bleeding into the arena floor, fanning out around him. He’d fought so hard to hide that blood, and now it was here for all to see, to smell, to taste.
And yet, he no longer feared it. If Zarathos was going to die, let everyone witness him for what he was. No more hiding.
Suddenly, Tigon’s eyes bulged. His body shuddered and his large hands went to his throat as if he couldn’t breathe. He dropped the spear, and the ground shook as he landed on all fours, struggling for air.
He clawed at the dirt, his lips a bluish-purple.
The confusion that should have dominated Zarathos’s mind only registered as a slight tug. Coldness filled his senses.
And then she was there. “Aryana,” he gasped.
But something was wrong. She struggled to breathe. She was dying just like Tigon.
No.No.
“Here, Zarathos. Take this. Take it and live.” She forced his mouth open and poured something down his throat. He choked against the blood rising, but somehow it cooled the fire in his body.
The world shifted, and the demon in front of him wasn’t Aryana. Noctyssa sat back wheezing, her face pale and blue.
The coldness left Zarathos’s frame, and his mind cleared for the first time since his poisoning. The forest and arena and everything around him came into focus.
Noctyssa sat next to him, breathing as well. She turned toward Tigon with violence etched on her face.
“I don’t know what happened,” Noctyssa said to Zarathos. “Why your bargains seem to still be in place. But I would have protected my arch king with my life, bargain or no bargain. Please, after my death, protect my people.”
Zarathos rubbed his throat. She most likely was counting her dragons before they hatched. Zarathos’s body remained weak, and though his bleeding had slowed, the wound wasn’t anywhere near being closed. And yet, he said, “I will.”
Noctyssa nodded. “I trust your word.”
And she rushed forward and swiped her blade across Tigon’s side. The half-giant swung around, roaring but not so easily defeated.
Molten gold veins illuminated his body as Tigon slammed a massive fist into the earth. The ground under Noctyssa’s feet crumbled. She lunged to the side, grasping the edge, and dangled there.
Zarathos shifted aside as cracks formed on the ground around him. Damn it. This was the last round of the Demon Trials. Powers were allowed.
But even Tigon’s immense power had limits. He wouldn’t be able to do something like that again anytime soon. Noctyssa lunged from where she hung, up onto solid ground and faced the half-giant in front of her.
Tigon yanked an ax from his belt and held both spear and ax in his large fists. With his towering frame, he swung heavy blows, aiming to overpower Noctyssa with sheer force, despite his wound. However, Noctyssa, quick and nimble, dodged and countered, using her agility to stay just out of reach. He sought to back her toward the massive crevasse he had created. Noctyssa sidestepped the slower beast and reached out, touching the giant’s trunk-like arm. She met his eyes and then opened her mouth andbreathedin.
Tigon sank to his knees, as a blue thread expelled from his mouth and flowed into Noctyssa’s, cutting his roar into a whimper. The blue line curled and twisted and Tigon’s body spasmed uncontrollably until the line ended, completely cut off. The last of it disappeared into Noctyssa’s mouth. Tigon’s massive frame tipped and toppled to the side, his eyes dead and hollow. Noctyssa shut her mouth and swallowed. There was a reason she was called the Hollow Mouth.
