Page 22

My eyes returned to the field to assess my remaining competitors.

Was she still one of them? Two players were in what appeared to be a wild jousting match on the far left, while in the middle, two other players skillfully fought with their swords until one of them made a clean hit when their horse barreled into the others.

“Holy Fates.” If that happened to Thistle, we would be finished.

Her little frame couldn’t take a hit like that from such a beast. Even the other horse, which had been knocked to the ground, was struggling to stand and it was four times the size of Thistle.

I’d have to keep her away from that horse somehow.

The victor punched their key into their opponent’s helmet.

With its rider now vanquished, the fallen horse struggled but eventually rose up and exited the field.

Another black horse appeared close behind without their rider.

A look to the right revealed the jousting victor securing their red key back in its box .

Only three of us remained.

Our breathing had settled as much as it would, so I made a slight adjustment to the leather reins and encouraged Thistle to head toward the other players.

My legs tingled uncomfortably, having gone completely numb ages ago.

I took the opportunity to adjust them, only finding a bit of relief before that horrible feeling of tingling cold overtook them again.

The minute stretch would have to be enough.

As we moved closer to the final two players, I scoured every detail of the armored riders before moving to their horses.

Was Anna one of them? She could have easily been the fighter on the left or the right.

One look to the crowd gave me the answers I needed.

Kaohs sat back in his tall black chair staring straight at me with a smug smile that tightened the line of his mouth.

A glance at Eletha initially revealed nothing, her face completely stoic— until I noticed her squeezing Walter’s hand tightly on her lap.

Anna was still alive and in the game.

My heart pounded uncomfortably hard in my chest as the three of us slowly rode toward each other, stopping when we were about twenty feet away, in a triangle.

This was it. Only two left and I could rest in peace in this horrible place knowing I did the right thing and protected everyone…

or at least that’s what I’d keep telling myself until I believed it.

Thunder rumbled angrily in the sooty sky.

Electricity seemed to charge the air around us even though I knew it was simply the tension bleeding between the three of us as we sized each other up.

It was a game of strategy now, not brute force.

With more room to run on the field, it was easy to see how a few remaining cowardly men could be stuck in a match chasing each other for days.

That wasn’t going to happen today. All of us were visibly eager to finish the match, each competitive and skilled in our own right.

The question was, which one of our skills would earn the win?

Whoever made the first move would be the first to go, as the player they didn’t go for would target them and likely pick them off while they were going in for their attack .

My breath caught suddenly, causing Thistle to tense. I thought I caught a glimpse of blue eyes through the helmet of the player on the left. Had Anna’s horse been that large?

Simultaneously, the three of us began to move in a slow circle; being still felt wrong, like it would give too much away when we did make our move.

After a second scan of each of the players, I couldn’t tell them apart, they both looked exactly alike.

The only thing I knew was that the one to my left had the horse I was keeping far away from Thistle.

I tried to watch Kaohs or Eletha to see who they kept their eyes on but was unable to look away long enough to see—it was too dangerous to look away from the players in front of me.

It all happened so fast, I’m not even certain who had made the first move.

There was movement to my right, but all I saw was the vicious horse on my left, the one I couldn’t let near Thistle, charging at us.

In an act of sheer panic, I put all of my weight in my heels, high up on the shoulders of Thistle and launched myself at the oncoming horse and rider, leaving the saddle completely.

“Fall back!” I shouted to the floricorn.

“Fall back!” Heeding my command, albeit reluctantly, she turned and ran back several feet, pawing at the ground, irritated that I’d made her leave me.

The rider to my left had moved to attack me, missing me when I leaped onto the other horse.

Initially I had thought to tackle them and knock the rider off with my momentum.

If it was Anna, knocking her to the ground seemed the most humane way of killing her.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure I could actually kill her any other way.

However, I completely missed the rider and landed on the backside of the giant horse.

The benefit was that the rider, who I knew to be a good swordsman, was having difficulty reaching me at that angle; the disadvantage was that the monster of a horse began to rear up, causing me to slide almost completely off.

I struggled to grab the seated rider and somehow managed enough of a grip to seat myself behind them.

Not having time to waste on drawing my own sword, I used my angle and leverage to my advantage and gripped the player’s arm that held the sword and pushed it to their neck.

My hand trembled and hesitated for a second.

I had seen her blue eyes. This was Anna, I knew it.

I could feel her. This was Cal’s sister.

Fuck! I didn’t have time to hesitate; the other player was right on us. I had to do something now. Fuck!

“I’m so sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.” I moved the blade into her throat and took control of the sword once the initial cut had been made and her body went weak with shock.

As quickly as I could to save her from any unnecessary pain, I pulled the blade across, slicing her throat.

Her body went limp in my arms and I swore.

I knew I wouldn’t like killing her, but I hadn’t expected the flood of emotions that now filled my chest. I needed to drop her body to the ground so it could disintegrate, but instead my hands gripped her tighter.

What had I become? I had only been in Tartarus a few days and look what I’d just done.

Only yesterday I had been half in love with this woman, about to have sex with her, and now I held her nearly decapitated body in my arms—and I was the one who had decapitated her!

She was evil and was sure to doom the realms if she got her powers, but…

why had it been my responsibility to stop it?

Why was I always the one that sacrificed everything for others?

Why did I always have to be the one to save the world?

When would someone want to help me? Didn’t anyone know I needed help too?

My eyes shut, and hot tears pushed at the back of my eyelids but remained behind their barrier as I gently moved Anna’s body off her horse.

Letting out a string of curses and prayers, I kissed the small key-shaped gap in her helmet as I dropped her to the ground and watched as she turned to nothingness.

My eyes ached to look to the crowd, where I knew Kaohs and Eletha would be freaking out, but the other player wisely saw this emotional moment as an opportune time to attack.

Anna’s giant horse turned toward the fields exit to leave, unexpectedly giving me a chance to get my head back together… as much as I could.

“Thistle!” I called to the eager mare. She was at my side in a second.

“Whoa. Whoa!” I tried to stop the other horse, but it was on autopilot, eager to leave the field.

“Fuck!” I had to get off her horse and back onto Thistle without touching the ground.

“I’m so”—I moved my legs so that I was riding side- saddle, just above the little unicorn’s short back—“over this.” Having no choice but to put all of my trust in the sassy mare, I rolled myself off Anna’s horse.

Thistle let out a grunt as I landed on her back but quickly cantered in a wide arc, keeping me a safe distance from the last player as I fought to shove my aching legs back into their makeshift stirrups.

I had barely positioned myself when the only rider remaining cut us off.

I fumbled to free my sword from its sheath as Thistle halted abruptly.

The player showed no hesitation, taking the offensive and striking at my chest. I managed to move my weapon up and block them at the last second.

Barely. They recoiled like a snake before striking out with another well-executed hit that I managed to dodge.

Another strike and then another. They were merciless in their attack, quickly striking out again and again, giving me no time to make my own assault.

Even when Thistle grew panicked and tried to back away, the horse seamlessly followed her every step, blocking her escape.

“Come on, baby. Don’t let him push you around like that.

Teach him some manners,” I said to Thistle as calmly and as confidently as I could.

She shifted sideways with pinned-back ears as she continued to try to escape the horse pushing into her as I struggled to dodge more hits from its rider.

She was eventually able to get enough of a gap between the two of them to lower her head and push forward.

Feeling the sharp jab of her horn, the other horse swiftly took a step backwards.

“Atta girl,” I called out proudly. “Ladies…first!” I directed her forward, causing the other horse to snort and move away, giving us enough space to at least catch our breath.