Page 33

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

S and whirls around us as we leap to our feet and sprint the final distance through the corridor towards the room up ahead. From all sides, three teams are converging on us. The crowd roars in excitement.

We skid into the room right as the Green Faction pours in through one of the other openings. They jerk back, seeming surprised to find us for a second. Then wicked grins spread across their lips.

I snap my gaze towards the other opening. “Shit. Another team is coming.”

“Then cut them off before they can flank us.” Isera shoots a block of ice at the Green Faction. “Alistair.”

“Yeah, I know,” he replies, but I can hear the exhaustion still lacing his voice.

He hasn’t recovered fully after all the energy he had to expend to melt the wall, but he still summons his magic and shoots a torrent at the Green Faction in order to block their flames before they can melt Isera’s ice attacks.

“Help them,” Draven orders, jerking his chin from Galen and Lyra to Alistair and Isera. Then his gaze slides to me. “We’ll intercept the other team.”

Before we can even see them nod in confirmation, we take off towards the other opening.

If we get trapped between two teams who block the only exits, this is going to go to hell very quickly.

We need to make it out into the corridor and stop the other team from reaching the room.

We’ll have a better chance if we face them in a narrow corridor where they can’t surround us.

The crowd cheers and screams above us, creating a deafening noise that drowns out the sounds of the fight we just left. With my magic still attached, I can feel our opponents’ excitement spike as they reach the corridor from the other side.

“They’re here,” I press out as Draven and I skid into the corridor.

And just as my magic had already told me, we find another team jogging into the corridor from the opening on the other side. The Red Faction. They trail to a halt when they see us.

Light from the bright sun above gleams against the white stone of the statues that line this entire corridor. Fae warriors in imposing armor stand carved from stone, watching impassively as our two teams face each other.

“We should—” Draven begins.

The wall to our left flips.

Yelps and clanks from weapons fill the air as three people in blue fighting leathers are shoved into our corridor by the spinning wall. They stumble, crashing into each other from the force of the shove, before hitting the wall inside our corridor and steadying themselves.

To our left, the wall continues spinning back and forth. And through those gaps when it moves, I can see the final three members of the Blue Faction, who are still standing in the corridor running parallel to ours. They stare at the rapidly spinning wall, looking stunned.

For a moment, nothing happens.

All of us just stare at each other.

Then Draven throws a blast of wind at the three people from the Blue Faction.

It slams into them, catching them unawares, and throws them backwards towards where the Red Faction is standing. They crash into them, knocking over several of the people from the red team.

Draven gives me a nod. Then we’re running towards them.

We can’t let them trap us this far back in the corridor, we need to make both of their teams share the same tight space so that it will be harder for them to fight properly.

Screams of excitement echo from the crowd above, almost drowning out the dull whump whump sounds from the still violently spinning wall. The three remaining players from the Blue Faction are still trapped on the other side, trying to time a jump in through the gap before it closes again.

The Red Faction shoves away the members of the other team, who crashed into them. I quickly reach out with my magic, latching on to their anger and increasing it in order to make them fight each other instead.

Rage flares up in their eyes.

Draven and I skid to a halt on the sand right next to the flipping wall. We can’t move any farther down in case the three remaining people on the other side make it through. If they do, we can’t risk getting them behind us.

Steel sings in the air as a few members of the blue team draw swords while others call up magic.

They glance from side to side, now caught between us and the Red Faction, as if they’re not sure who to fight first. I keep increasing the anger in the Red Faction members’ chests while Draven at last shifts into a half-shift.

Jocasta told us to keep it a secret for as long as possible that Draven can perform a half-shift. But if we’re going to hold off nine people on our own, we need every advantage we can get.

A gasp rips from the crowd above. And the shock is mirrored on the faces of our opponents.

Unfortunately, it also draws their attention away from each other.

Both teams stare at Draven with stunned expressions. Then malice seeps into their eyes.

The Red Faction flashes Draven a cruel smile and yanks something off their belts before flicking their wrists.

Whips crack through the air.

And Draven flinches .

My heart stops.

Our enemies couldn’t see it because they’re standing too far away. And they don’t know Draven like I do. They don’t know about the torture that the Icehearts have put him through for years. But I do. And I saw it. I saw the Shadow of Death fucking flinch .

And I decide then and there that I won’t let this happen. He has been through enough. He has sacrificed enough. Done enough. It’s time someone protected him , for a change.

My gaze darts around the corridor while plans spin through my head like a raging storm.

The Red Faction draws their whips back again and summons magic while the three members of the Blue Faction do the same but with swords instead. Draven starts taking a step forward.

I make a decision.

The moment that he is off balance from lifting his foot to take that step, I slam my entire body weight into his side. It catches him completely off guard, and he stumbles sideways. And right into the still spinning wall.

He cries out, in surprise or anger, I can’t tell, as the wall shoves him into the other corridor next to ours. The players on our side hesitate, staring at me in utter shock. But I’m already moving. Sprinting over to the statue closest to the spinning wall, I place my palms against it and shove.

Through the brief gaps in the spinning wall, I can see Draven straightening on the sand. His golden eyes are wide with disbelief as he stares at me.

I topple the heavy statue.

It hits the sand with a thud, sending a cloud swirling up into the air. And the last thing I see before the wall is forced to slam closed against the statue now blocking its way, is Draven whirling around to block attacks from the three members of the blue team who remained in that corridor.

The crowd in the stands above us scream and clap, thoroughly entertained by this unexpected turn of events.

I turn towards the players blocking the corridor before me. Nine of them. Six members of the Red Faction and three from the Blue Faction. There is no chance in hell that I will ever win against all nine of them if they attack me at the same time.

But I don’t even care anymore.

No one will come near Draven with a whip ever again. I will burn down hell itself before I ever let that happen. He is mine .

The Blue Faction lets out a battle cry and launches themselves towards me.

The Red Faction cracks their whips.

Diving sideways, I shove a blast of magic into the anger in everyone’s chests.

A few of the whips graze the members of the blue team instead, and rage lights up inside them, fueled by my magic.

Snarling, all three of them whirl around and attack the people on the red team instead. I pour my magic into them, turning them crazy with fury. Swords clash and whips crack and magic roars through the air as the battle frenzy turns into full madness.

But through it all, one man in red fighting leathers locks eyes with me instead. I quickly cut off my connection to him, but the damage is already done. Elbowing his way through the throng, he charges towards me.

“Shit,” I curse.

He flicks his wrist, and the whip cracks through the air.

Leaping backwards, I barely manage to evade it. It snaps through the air right in front of my face. I flinch, almost losing the grip on my magic. Gritting my teeth, I yank out my dagger and pour even more magic into the others. I need to keep them focused on each other at least.

My opponent flashes me a vicious smile and raises his free hand.

Lightning shoots towards me.

I gasp, throwing myself down on the ground as the bolt of lightning streaks past over me.

Mabona’s fucking tits! He has a whip and lightning magic?

Rolling across the sand, I leap to my feet right before another lightning bolt hits the ground where I used to be.

Panic clangs inside my skull. I need to keep my magic connected to the eight other people and keep them distracted and focused on each other.

Otherwise, they will remember that it’s me they’re supposed to be fighting.

But that means that I can’t use my magic on my own opponent.

Other than to make him angry. Which won’t exactly work in my favor right now.

I duck, throwing myself in behind one of the statues as another bolt of lightning splits the air.

White stone shatters, exploding before me, as the lightning hits the statue.

I dive sideways to escape it. My opponent keeps his distance, remaining far out of my reach as he attacks with his whip and his magic.

Leaping to my feet, I snap my gaze around the corridor, trying to figure out a plan.

Goddess damn it. Think! How can I make him?—

Pain shoots up my forearm.

I yelp as I’m suddenly yanked forward.

Snapping my gaze down, I find the end of his whip wrapped around my forearm, trapping me after it struck.

I’m pulled off balance and stagger forwards as my opponent yanks hard on the rope.

Blood rushes in my ears. I yank up my dagger and slice through the whip right before he can pull me all the way to him.

But lightning splits the air again, forcing me to dive blindly to the side. The dagger flies from my grip as my elbow hits the sand on impact. I roll over, pushing up to my knees while desperately searching for my knife.

A thin rope wraps around my throat from behind.

I choke on my breath as it’s pulled tight.

Still on my knees, I claw at the whip that now encircles my throat. But my opponent, who is now standing right behind me, just pulls it harder. A strained gurgle comes from my throat.

The crowd roars.

Or it might be my own pulse pounding in my ears.

It’s hard to tell.

“You’d better pray to your little Goddess Mabona that you are the one carrying the key,” the man snarls in my ear.

I claw desperately at the thin rope. Draven has the key. How can I?—

The spare.

Oh Goddess above, I have the spare key. The second white key that we took from the Yellow Faction.

My head pounds as I stop trying to get the whip away from my neck and instead reach into my belt pouch. I can barely concentrate enough to get it out, and my fingers fumble so much that I nearly drop it, but I at last manage to pull out the white key.

“Well, look at that,” the man behind me says in a smug voice. “Just what we need.”

I choke, still trying to get air into my lungs. He doesn’t let up for so much as one moment.

“Hand it over,” he orders.

And through the ringing panic in my skull, a sudden breath of clarity hits me like a blow to the gut. He is going to kill me. Even if I give him the key, he’s going to kill me.

Choking and gasping weakly, I try to think through the pain and terror. My vision is starting to turn black at the edges.

Before me, the other eight players have stopped fighting each other and are instead now watching me. When he started choking me, I lost the grip on my magic, which means that they are no longer distracted. Fuck, I need to?—

An idea smacks into me.

Raising my hand, I hold up the key.

The guy behind me reaches for it.

I throw it across the corridor.

It lands there on the sand, halfway between us and the three members of the blue team. Their eyes light up.

“Shit,” the guy behind me snaps.

Releasing me in a flash, he sprints forward and dives towards the key while the three players from the Blue Faction lurch towards it as well.

I gasp air back into my lungs, ripping the whip away from my neck. Pain pulses around my entire throat, and I can barely swallow, but I continue forcing air in and out of my lungs. The flickering blackness at the edges of my vision begins retreating.

Up ahead, my attacker snatches up the key right before the Blue Faction can reach it.

His team members immediately start shooting magic at the three Blue Faction players, forcing them back while their companion darts back towards them.

Once he reaches them, they sprint back out through the opening that leads deeper into the arena.

For a moment, it looks like the Blue Faction is going to pursue them. But then they cast uncertain glances towards the corridor on the other side of the wall where Draven is fighting their three other companions.

Still on my hands and knees, I drag in strained breaths.

The three members of the Blue Faction turn towards me.

Murder shines in their eyes.

And now, there are no members of the Red Faction left to distract them. And no more keys to trade.

Sunlight glints against their swords and magic crackles in the air as they take a step towards me.

Oh shit .