Page 85 of Of Spindles and Nightfall
Zarathos twisted, striking out, slashing across Xaphoron’s shoulder, causing him to jerk back. He used the rest of his body to shove his enemy off of him with such force his opponent hit the cliff’s edge and tumbled over it out of sight.
But time did not allow enjoyment of his brief triumph. Balafur was on the cliff with them and he was almost to the crown. He’d already ripped through much of the vines.
Zarathos got to his feet. He needed to find out what had happened to Xaphoron. Surely he wouldn’t be defeated that easily. But he also couldn’t let Balafur claim the crown. He gripped the hourglass and flipped it.
Balafur’s movements suddenly stalled.
Check on Xaphoron and then go for the crown.
Without warning, Xaphoron lunged up over the side of the cliff with a sword in his hands. He ducked low, sweeping Zarathos’s feet out from under him, causing him to land hard in the dirt, pain sparking through his wings as they took most of the impact.
Where the hell did Xaphoron get a sword?
Xaphoron lifted his deadly weapon, ready to strike. Zarathos tried to lunge out of the way, but he wouldn’t be able to move fast enough.
Fatal blow or non fatal blow, that sword slicing into his skin would be his doom.
A cry sounded and a figure burst from over the cliff’s edge. Racing forward. Xaphoron shifted just enough that it wouldn’t be a frontal blow, but not sufficiently to escape. The vampress slammed a long sword,Zarathos’slong sword, into Xaphoron’s right wing, breaking fully through the skin. And she pulled, yanking the weapon till it came through and out the side, tearing the wing almost completely in half.
Xaphoron let out a bellow of pain and fell sideways, allowing Zarathos to rise. It was time to finish off this bastard.
A horn blared, marking the end of the first trial. What? His gaze swung to the vines and platform. Balafur, having claimed the crown, raised it high in triumph.
The first trial was over.
Chapter 27
Zarathos
The vampress had saved Zarathos’s life again.
She’d climbed the damn cliff side, sword in hand, and made it in time to save him from being killed. Despite his admiration, a minor disappointment gathered in his gut that the trial ended before they could finish Xaphoron.
But his opponent didn’t seem to care. “Fucking bitch,” Xaphoron snarled. On his feet, he stalked forward, but Aryana whipped the blade to his throat, causing him to pause.
“Come another step and I’ll end you,” she said.
Zarathos’s grin couldn’t be suppressed. No one stood againsthis vampress.
Xaphoron didn’t advance any closer, but his gaze met Zarathos’s. “You’ve been holding out on us,Your Majesty. Turns out your little vampire slave can fight.”
The smile on Zarathos’s lips faded. Damn it.
Balafur walked up, crown in hand, close enough to have heard their exchange. “I wonder what other secrets our great arch king hides.” He spread his large gray wings and launched upward. Xaphoron glared, but backed off and began climbing his way down the cliff side.
Zarathos let out a frustrated breath. No crown. And now everyone knew Aryana was anything but a helpless princess. Even if the other champions hadn’t seen what had transpired up here, these two would make sure that they all were aware of the vampire princess’s abilities.
He reached out to Aryana, who gasped as he swept her legs out from under her and pulled her into his arms, spreading his wings. “We’re done here.”
She latched one arm around his neck, her fingers cool on his skin. In her other hand, she clutched the bloodied sword. She’d not only saved him, but she’d brought his blade to him.
He launched them off the cliff’s edge and then soared out over the arena. His abdomen ached and he was sure a bruise was forming along his jaw, but these were minor injuries. Zarathos took her to the barred room where they had come out for the opening ceremony. After entering, he pulled the lever that dropped the wall in place.
Once they were alone in the darkness, he summoned the shadows around them and shifted them to his quarters. He’d leave the other demons to wonder where they had gone.
As soon as they were outside his bedchamber, he stepped from the shadows and set her down. Reaching for his key, he unlocked the door while whisking his wings away.
“You gave away too much,” he said.
