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Reality sliced through the confusion in my foggy brain. We were still in a pit filled with deadly monsters. And Thorne had clearly lost his mind.

I lurched to my feet. “Thorne? What… How… Why?”

Whipping the enchanted key from his tunic, the shifter slammed it into the lock on the dragon’s collar. The beast’s chain dropped into the sand with a metallicchink.

And now the beast was free.

I was alive. Victor exploded. And Thorne straddled a dragon.

My brain threatened to fracture. Shock emerged from my throat on a screech. “Thorne, you idiot! What are you doing?”

“Hurry! Do it now!” Thorne bellowed again, dropping to the ground.

Do what now?

Voices screamed from the stands. I pressed a hand to my throbbing forehead, glancing around the arena. What had to be a dozen figures dressed in dark robes sprinted into the walkways. Spread throughout the space, they raised their hands, their deep voices chanting. Purple light glowed in their palms.

Were they the ones Thorne kept shouting at?

By the fates, this was all too much.

As Thorne sprinted past me again, I snagged his arm in a death grip.

“Dammit, tell me what’s happening!” I snarled.

“Told you I had a connection waiting for us on the outside.” He offered me one of his dazzling smiles. “Look.”

Around us, the shield Idris had put in place to protect the audience and contain his prisoners began to spark and fizzle. Raelynn’s scream erupted from the royal pavilion. My sister clawed at her skull, convulsing. Idris caught her before she could fall, barking orders to his men.

“They’re breaking the containment spell,” I gasped.

Thorne smirked. “That’s not all, sweetheart.”

The torque around my neck heated, then dropped to the ground, as well as every other torque in the place.

Yet another explosion rocked my world, and I wobbled, peering at the sky. The purple haze had vanished. They’d done it. They’d broken the shield.

“Runa.” Thorne captured my attention, commanding, “Time to do your part.”

“What?” I stared back, still reeling.

“Get Kronk. Stick to the plan!”

“Kronk?”

“Here,” my brother grunted, appearing beside me. He planted his hands on his thighs, panting as though he’d run a great distance.

“Torques are off, shields down,” Drazen shouted, racing to join us, puffing smoke. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

“Right.” I rubbed my blurry eyes.

“Hurry. We don’t have much time.” Thorne sprinted back to the dragon, where he proceeded to flap his arms. “Fly, you big ugly bastard. You’re free. Fly!”

Thorne was rescuing the dragon. The one who, moments ago,tried to roast me. In what world did this make sense? None. I was definitely concussed. Possibly brain damaged.

Without warning, the mystical creature turned a circle, and we stumbled back. Gaze clear of Idris’s influence, the beast sliced us a dark glare, then turned to face the pavilion. The shield was gone, the royals vulnerable. People screamed. Those seated closest to their king scattered.

Idris peered up into the face of the beast he’d dared to imprison and paled. Flames blasted the royal pavilion, the dragon unloading a stream of fire directly at the king.