Page 16 of Court of Rivals (Their Dragon Rider #1)

He opens his mouth to answer, but as the red-head lands on one of the spots, the square collapses in, and he falls through it into more muck far below.

He starts swearing, so loud I can hear it over the cheers and jeers of the men.

He starts to climb up another rope ladder to get back in when the dark-haired man, Lord Berengar makes it to the squares of destiny.

He leaps from one square to another as everyone seems to hold their breath.

“The squares, at random, cave in, so this part of the obstacle course is all about fate.”

I watch carefully, noting every square he lands on that keeps him in the game.

Eventually, he makes it to the other side, and the red-head reaches the squares once more.

Unfortunately for Lord Wulfric, he jumps on the wrong squares twice more, landing in the muck angrily each time.

By the time he’s finished, the dark-haired man is nearly done climbing under the barbed wire.

Lord Wulfric is just reaching the end of the barbed wire when Lord Berengar reaches one flag, grabs it, and waves it above his head.

Now I know the men are betting on these games. Curses and cheers fill the air, money is exchanged, and the mood is tense. But I’m glad to see everyone survived.

Suddenly, Prince Lucien’s gaze finds mine. His green eyes like a field of new grass, except there’s something in his eyes. Anger. And a challenge.

“I challenge Harper in the obstacle course next,” he shouts above everyone.

Voices quiet. All eyes turn to me. I think they half expect me to refuse to participate, but I promised Ebron I would be a warrior. That I would be the rider he deserves. If I don’t do everything that needs to be done, then I don’t deserve him.

“Agreed,” I say, loudly enough for everyone to hear.

Moving toward him, the crowd parts, and everyone watches.

A wicked smile curves his lips that doesn’t reach his eyes. “How about if I win, I get those panties of yours?”

“What? You need to sniff my panties because you can’t have the real thing?”

His eyes flash with danger, and his impossibly beautiful face twists just a bit. “Believe me, Cock Sucker, if I wanted you, I could have you.”

I stride up to him. My face level with his shoulders, but I force myself to look up. “In your dreams, Prince of Tiny Dicks.”

No one laughs, but everyone shifts. I don’t know what they’re thinking. Actually, I think they’re probably calling me a bitch in their heads, but I don’t care. They’ve made me their enemy, so I might as well act like one.

“Need a head start?” he asks as we move to the bottom of the steps leading up to the rope bridge and the swinging axes.

“Not even a little bit,” I tell him, taking a deep breath and preparing myself.

The bell rings, and we both take off. We’re halfway up the stairs when he reaches over and pushes me off.

Not expecting it, I tumble over the side and fall hard on my knees and hands on the ground.

It hurts, but my adrenaline starts pumping, and I jump to my feet, then race back up the ramp.

He’s ahead of me, weaving his way recklessly through the axes.

I watch their pattern, then head out on the rope bridge, moving slowly and carefully.

I pause before one axe, then hurry out of its reach and pause before the next axe, planning to time this right. To not lose time getting knocked out.

Prince Lucien is nearly off the rope bridge when he turns back and smirks at me.

I’m irritated for the briefest moment before the axe hits him and he goes down hard. Not wasting time enjoying it too much, I dart past the next swinging axe. Wait. Dart again. Over and over again until I reach the other side.

The gigantic mountain net is next. I start climbing, instantly realizing that it’s harder than it looks.

The nets are easy to get tangled in, and they move as you climb, making it hard to get good footing.

I reach the top, but only feel a moment of triumph before scrambling back down the other side.

Prince Lucien is suddenly there beside me, moving faster than I am, his every movement practiced and careful, like he’s done this a million times before, which he likely has.

We reach the wood shelves attached by chains.

I already know that he has points in his favor on this one.

Men tend to be stronger with their arms and weaker with their legs than women, in my experience.

Still, I start across, swinging the wood like I’d watch the other men do.

I time it right, then leap to the next wooden bar, breathing hard.

Prince Lucien and I are neck and neck when an idea comes to me. If he can play dirty, I can play too.

Twisting on the wooden shelf, I time it so that we’re right next to each other, then I swing my legs around him, and pull him down.

He doesn’t expect it. I can see it as his eyes widen, and he goes tumbling down.

I swing my legs back to not get tangled with him and watch with complete satisfaction as he falls into the mucky water down below.

The pretty prince isn’t so pretty now.

“Fucking Cock Sucker!” he shouts as he shakes muck off of him.

I’d laugh if I wasn’t so focused on continuing through the wooden shelves. If I start laughing, and it ends in me falling into the muck too, I won’t get to be nearly as smug when I win.

Making it to the other side, I jump down, choosing not to look back and see where he’s at.

He’s clearly bigger than me, maybe faster too, so I have to be smarter.

I feel relatively confident as I reach the silver squares.

I’d watched where to step. I might not be certain about many things, but I’m certain about my memory.

Leaping from one silver square to another, I move quickly and carefully, aware that Prince Lucien has likely made his way to the top of the rope ladder by now, and is probably facing the wooden shelves once more.

My gaze skirts to the edge of the silver squares, and I swallow hard.

How had I not realized how far up we are?

We’re really damn far up. Falling from this height, even into the muck, would be painful.

But I make it to the other side of the silver squares and breathe a sigh of relief as I race for the next obstacle.

The barbed wire is low to the ground, so I get down on my belly and crawl through the dirt.

My hair catches on some of the wire, and I jerk my head, ignoring the pain that rolls through my skull as my hair gets tugged out.

I’m moving fast, as fast as I can without hurting myself, when I sense someone behind me.

He’s in the barbed wire area. Fuck.

I get out from under the metal and start running with all my might.

The flags wave, calling me to them, and I can hear the shouting and screaming of the men who watch us.

My tired body feels almost numb as I try to force it faster and faster, then I snag the flag, and watch out of the corner of my eye as Prince Lucien snags it a second later.

Stopping, I lean over, hands on my knees, flag clenched in my grip, breathing hard. Dragging in air. My legs suddenly shaking like they’re made of jelly. I made it. I did it. I beat the fucking arrogant prince.

“How does it taste?” I ask, turning to see his red face.

“Taste?” he asks, looking confused.

“Defeat,” I say, licking my dry lips. “How does it taste?”

Fury colors his face. I turn away from him, dropping the flag, and head back towards the crowd of men, who are all silent now.

All of them staring at me. I suddenly don’t like the tension that moves between us.

My steps slow, and I adjust my path to walk around them, feeling threatened without a single one touching me, which is unsettling.

“Hey Cock Sucker?” Prince Lucien calls from behind me.

I don’t slow.

“Want to meet me in my room later, so I can teach you a lesson about who’s really in charge out here?”

Keeping my pace even, I call back over my shoulder. “If I wanted to be disappointed, I’d bet on you defeating me in the obstacle course next time.”

As I walk past, I catch Roland’s eye. He gives me a silent look of worry before glancing down at his shoes. It’s good to know I shouldn’t count on support there. Or anywhere here.

I guess if I’m going to become a dragon rider, I’m going to do it alone.