Page 31 of A Court of Wings and Shadows

One-on-one.

I skidded to a halt as Perin landed across from me, grinning like he’d already won. He cracked his neck, drawing his short sword with practiced ease.

I reached for my own blade, breath tight in my chest.

The rules of Blackbind were cruel, simple—if you entered a combat ring with another competitor, you didn’t leave until one of you couldn’t stand.

And of course it had to be him.

We began to circle, mud squelching beneath our boots, eyes locked.

This wasn’t a spar.

This wasn’t training.

This was personal.

Perin lunged first, no hesitation.

His blade flashed toward my ribs, a thrust meant to kill, not slow. I twisted just in time, the edge grazing my armor, slicing leather but not skin. He spun, fast, relentless, another strike arcing toward my shoulder.

He wanted me dead.

I met him blow for blow, my sword singing against his with every parry, every deflection. Mud splashed around our feet, our boots slick with it as we slid through the narrow ring. Theillusion dome around us flickered faintly, locking us in a world of crackling tension and bloodlust.

“You always thought you were better than me,” Perin hissed, teeth bared as he aimed a brutal cut at my thigh. “But you’re just another fae bastard hiding behind a dragon.”

I dodged, fury rising, heart pounding with every word he spat.

He feinted left, then cut right.

I wasn’t fast enough.

Steel kissed my wrist, hot and sharp, and my blade dropped from my hand, clattering to the muddy ground.

My breath caught.

Perin raised his sword.

And I screamed inside.

Not in fear?—

In power.

Lightning shouldn’t have come. The wards should’ve smothered every spark.

But something snapped inside me. The pain. The fury. The injustice of it all.

A blinding bolt erupted from the sky, arcing out like a whip of pure light. It struck the center of the combat ring and eviscerated it, stone exploded, sigils disintegrated, mud turned to ash in a heartbeat.

Perin and I were thrown back like rag dolls, skidding across the smoking earth.

I hit the ground hard, gasping, my arm burning, but I rolled to my knees, dazed, vision flashing white.

Perin groaned and tried to rise, only to be slammed back down by a blur of shadow and steel.

Zander.