Page 230 of Fated to be Enemies

Fly away. I’ll fight all four. Kieran unsheathed his sword as he continued to shoot ice with his other hand.

Like I would ever do that. But that was the problem. I was thinking like Alina—thinking I had to choose one thing or the other. Now was the time I needed to lean on Ivy … and just like that, I had a plan.

Chapter Thirty

My heart clenched, and I prepared my wings for what came next.

Fly now, Kieran commanded, his urgency surging between us, sending adrenaline pumping through my body.

I wanted to snap at him but gritted my teeth. He was trying to protect me. Shoot your ice magic at one instead to hold it off while we fight the ones charging at us. We were dividing our magic, trying to drive both away instead of thinking strategically.

Taking my own instructions, I focused all my Earth magic on the farthest one. The vines doubled, taking hold of its paws, and even though the monster continued to yank, it wasn’t having as easy of a time breaking through.

The other manticore didn’t hesitate; it charged.

Alina, if we survive this, I may kill you myself. He growled, his hot anger surging between us.

Despite not actually meaning the words, there was truth behind them. If we were the last competitors standing, what would happen? I couldn’t kill him. The thought alone had my heart experiencing a level of agony I would never recover from. But I also couldn’t fathom standing here and letting him kill me. I didn’t want to die either. I’d been avoiding thinking about the possibility of us being the final two without considering what it meant if we weren’t.

The manticore was ten feet away, its mouth wide, its razor-sharp teeth protruding and claws extending. With the slight tilt of its tail, I knew the monster would attack me in full force.

As I prepared for either the smartest or dumbest thing I could possibly do, something hot boiled in my magic, a strange sensation I’d never experienced before. With my memories restored, my magic swirled inside me and funneled through my hands and body to stream toward the manticore I was keeping at a distance.

I leaped forward, ignoring the brush biting into my skin as I landed at the bottom of the forest cover and flipped onto my back. The monster soared over my head. The manticore slowed and sniffed, searching for me. Then it roared, looking under its front legs. As its back legs moved, I thrust my dagger into its sensitive belly.

The monster shrieked at a higher pitch than I’d have thought possible. Its rancid blood poured over me, filling my mouth and covering my face and chest. I gagged from the putrid taste and horrible smell. The animal bucked and twisted, and its claw stabbed my shoulder and thrashed my skin as it tried to keep its balance.

Sharp pain shot through me when I rolled underneath the leg just before the monster crashed to the ground with an agonizing scream. The ground shook from the impact, and cold terror strangled me. If I hadn’t moved, I would be dead.

“Alina!” Kieran shouted, his concern slamming into me.

He must have been able to feel my disgust and horror. The last thing I wanted was for him to be distracted from his own battle. I’m fine. I killed one of the manticores.

As if Fate wanted to reassure him, the manticore moaned as it collapsed completely with one last wheezy breath.

His relief made me woozy. Or that might have been from my blood loss. I glanced at my shoulder and saw where its claw had punctured my armor. My blood trickled from the wound, not as fast as I’d expected, and pink wisps of magic drifted from it. A crisp, prickling sensation of magic rushed to my shoulder while a smaller amount tingled at a lesser level on my injured hand.

I must have turned into a drama queen since joining this trial because the injury hurt a whole lot more than what I expected from looking at it. There was no telling what I might find underneath the armor.

Kieran grunted, and I glanced over my shoulder to see a manticore’s mouth open wide, about to swallow him whole. My heart clenched, and I stretched out my hand to help him, my shoulder screaming as Kieran shoved his sword between the monster’s teeth and through the back of its mouth.

No! I yelled through our connection.

My magic faltered. The manticore I’d bound had broken through all the vines restraining it, but I didn’t give a damn. Kieran was about to be mincemeat.

Then his manticore stumbled back, and Kieran yanked his sword from its mouth. Brown blood coated the sword to the hilt, but Kieran somehow kept a firm grip.

The monster dropped, and I wanted to cry in relief. I hadn’t heard of sticking a blade through the back of its mouth as a kill method, but I imagined very few people had tried and lived to tell the story.

Feeling better about Kieran’s chances, I focused on my second monster. It was closing in. Without my dagger, I had one option.

I pumped my wings, darting to the side, and the monster swatted at me. I leaned back, my back muscles churning to power my wings. The tips of a claw hit my face just as the creature swung its massive scorpion tail toward me. It was so huge that I hadn’t thought this strategy through, and one of its sharp quills rammed into me.

My body jerked, and my back hit the ground hard, bending my wings uncomfortably as my head hit a tree trunk. My temples throbbed, but I didn’t have time to focus on the pain because the manticore was on top of me.

For Summer’s sake, why were you so hotheaded about bringing my sword? Kieran’s fear and frustration leaked through as I watched him channel his frozen magic into the manticore near him and then run toward me.

Stay. I’ll figure something out. I channeled my magic again. I used both hands, trying to focus while my head seemed to split in two. The limbs of the oaks nearby snaked out and wrapped around the manticore’s neck as brush and vines from underneath held it in place. See, I added through our bond so he wouldn’t keep attempting to reach me.

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