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I glanced in the direction he indicated, only to find both of them rising from the sand where they’d been dumped from their tunnel. Drazen’s eye was swollen shut, and he held his ribs. Kronk’s harness and part of his hair were seared.

Dread tied a knot in my twisting gut. I’d always feared the span my brothers turned on each other with no one to intervene. At least they’d survived. The two cast sullen glares at each other. I hastened to their sides.

Drazen scanned me with his good eye. “Are you injured? The leech didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“Nope,” I croaked, cheeks flaming anew. Apparently, our primal halves had emerged in different ways. Lucky for Kronk and Drazen.

“How are you?” I asked.

Kronk shrugged one massive shoulder. “I went easy on him.”

“Did not. It’s I who went easy on you,” Drazen snarled.

Kronk took a menacing step in his direction, pointing a blunt finger at his missing eyebrow. “Did not.”

“If I hadn’t, you’d be dead.”

“And your bones would be splinters.”

“Guys! Enough!” I dared to step between them, slapping a hand on each of their chests. “What happened in the tunnel, stays in the tunnel. None of us are responsible for what happened under the influence of those flowers.” I raised my head, meeting Victor’s mocking smirk, and lifted my chin, daring him to comment.

Kronk reached over me, placing his hand on Drazen’s shoulder. “Runa is right. We were not ourselves. I forgive you, Brother.”

“Forgive me?” Drazen barked, then froze, tipping his nose toward me and sniffing.

He snapped his eyes to mine and sniffed again. “Why do you smell like the leech?”

“What?” I offered a wobbling smile. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

Kronk jammed his nose in my hair and sniffed as well. “Our brother is right. You stink of—”

“That’s enough.” I threw elbows, squirming free of their intrusive sniffing. The bula-holes needed to keep their nostrils to themselves.

Horns blared, interrupting my family squabble. I huffed a sigh, for once thankful for the king’s intrusion.

“Let us congratulate the winners of our first round,” Idris boomed. “And thank our dear kingdom for rendering judgment upon those who were unworthy of her forgiveness. Take note, for those gathered before you will move on to compete in the second round of our trials. Tonight, our champions feast. Tomorrow, they return to the pit.”

Around us, the crowd broke into applause. The thundering of their hands, deafening. Soldiers marched into the arena, herding the prisoners into our appropriate cells. My brothers stormed past us, casting glares at Victor as the guards led them away.

As we passed the royal pavilion, I caught the queen’s smirk. No doubt she’d loved watching me humiliate myself, performing like a whore before the masses. One span, very soon, I would wipe that smile off her face.

Chapter Nineteen

RUNA

Poundingmusic thumped over the din of low, muttered voices. Long tables loaded with food filled the space. The scent of greasy meat and stale ale permeated the air. My brothers and I had secured a place at a table in the back of the room. Drazen sat beside me while Kronk sat across the table, shoveling food into his maw.

After a trip to the bathing pool, we’d been ordered to assemble for dinner. Tonight, all three of the prison cells dined together. Only half of the almost one hundred competitors had made it through the first set of trials. Tomorrow, that number would likely drop by half again.

I glanced to where Victor stood across the room. Arm braced on the wall, he peered down at a flushed female who simpered back at him. The expression on the vampire’s face was soft, half-lidded. Seductive. I should know. I’d seen that same look mere hours ago.

My blood heated at the memory. The way he watched my every move as I’d pleasured myself in front of him. How hepinned me against the wall, his body hard where mine was soft. The hungry spark in his glowing eyes when he demanded that I run. Funny, but I hadn’t minded the chase.

“What’s happening between you and the leech?” Drazen startled me from my thoughts.

I jerked my head around and met his dark scowl, my cheeks warming. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t you? You watch him,” he drawled. “He watches you…”