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Chapter Sixteen

VICTOR

Idris’s magic burst over my skin, the sensation like a thousand spiders skittered over my flesh. I savored the tantalizing sensation, some hollow part of me eager to soak it in. Oh, what I could do with that kind of power.

Beneath us, the ground rumbled and surged.

“Here we go again,” Drazen snarled.

I looked to Runa, and she met my eyes, her expression stark.

Who knew what this next challenge would bring?

Once more, the landscape changed. Water drained from the ocean as if it plunged down a drain—along with anyone who’d failed to reach the beach. Gurgling screams rang out, ending with a slurp .

Around us, trees erupted from the ground.

Sandy beaches turned to forest. Earth cracked and trembled.

Kronk reached for Runa, holding her tight to his side.

She might claim him as her brother, but they certainly weren’t blood.

At the sight of his thick arms circling her frame, a low growl rumbled in my chest.

Laughter rang in the distance, the king taking far too much pleasure in his creation. The crowd exploded in applause, praising their monarch for his latest design.

Keeping Runa and her brothers in my peripheral, I scanned our new surroundings.

Thick woods surrounded us. Overhead, a mystical image shimmered into view.

Pictured was a ravine with another one of those infernal red flags on its opposite side.

The picture faded, becoming a map. Beside it was another timepiece. This round, we had thirty clicks.

I was really beginning to understand the bandits’ hatred for their false king. How dare the bastard run us around like lab rats for his amusement?

“Let me guess,” Drazen drawled. “We have to find our way to the flag, through who knows what, and over the bottomless ravine all in thirty clicks.”

“Apparently.” I dusted sand from my damp clothes.

Thick woods obscured the other competitors from my view, though I picked up the low rumble of their voices, along with the crack of snapping branches. “The others are moving forward. We need to as well. Only better. Faster.”

“I will lead,” Kronk commanded, barreling through the underbrush. Twigs snapped against his brawny frame. He plowed through Idris’s illusion like a mighty bulldozer.

The block-headed athos did have his talents. The rest of us followed in his wake, stepping over fallen trees. Once more, I brought up the rear. Runa stomped through the brush in front of me, the sway of her hips hypnotic. I shook my head, in need of a distraction.

“Do you recognize this place?”

“What?” Runa cast a glance over her shoulder.

“The false king claimed that Carcerem would determine our fates. By chance, is he recreating varying aspects of the kingdom?”

Runa slowed, walking to my side. “It’s possible.” She quieted, deep in thought. “The ravine he showed us could be the Devil’s Throat.”

“Which is what, precisely?”

“Deadly,” Drazen contributed.

“While I’ve never visited,” Runa said, “it’s said to be a bottomless chasm. Those who tumble into its depths are rumored to fall for eternity.”

“And to reach the flag, we need to cross this insurmountable obstacle,” I surmised.

Before us, Kronk came to an abrupt stop, forcing Drazen to collide with his unforgiving back.

“What is it?” I demanded.

“We’ve reached the field.”

I glanced around Kronk’s massive girth. Blood-red flowers carpeted the area ahead, their blooms bobbing waist-high.

“It’s too easy,” Runa murmured.

Drazen pointed to the far edge of the clearing where some of the other competitors had gathered. They uttered curses, turning in a circle and swinging claws at the foliage.

“They are being attacked,” Kronk said.

Fending off their unidentified attacker, they bolted into the meadow.

Runa shifted on her feet, growing restless. “They’re getting ahead of us.”

“Let them.” I clasped her forearm.

Halfway across the field, the others began to slow.

Screams rang out. They slashed and clawed at the surrounding blossoms. Blood gurgled from their lips, and they tumbled to the ground, obscured by the flowers.

Cries and bellows of pain rent the air. Over the sounds of agony, our invisible audience cheered. Then, suddenly, all fell silent.

“What the hell was that?” Drazen gasped, puffing a ring of smoke .

I took a knee, eyeing one of the buds. Tiny rows of serrated teeth lined its gleaming petals. “The flowers are carnivorous.”

Runa’s scream whipped my head around. Face first, she struck the ground. Some unseen force dragged her backward, deeper into the woods.

“Runa!” Drazen hit his knees, grabbing her hands, doing his best to haul her back.

Around her ankles were several vines covered in serrated thorns. The harder Drazen pulled, the harder they pulled in return.

“Get them off! They’re tearing me in half!”

Runa’s scream twisted my insides, stirring something primal inside of me. Kronk and I dove for the vines at the same time, grabbing them below Runa’s feet and pulling.

“Tear them!” I shouted.

Kronk nodded, clutching the tendrils in his massive hands. Muscles straining, he ripped through the vegetation, breaking one at a time until Runa was free. She tumbled into Drazen’s arms, panting.

Before I could check her for wounds, she thrust out her arm, eyes wide. “Behind you!”

Dozens of vines slithered out of the woods, headed right for us. This must have been what sent the others fleeing into the field. A field we dared not enter. Both Drazen and Runa scrambled to their feet, glancing at the slithering plants, then the blood-red blossoms.

“We have to go forward if we’re to make it to the flag. Try your flames,” she said to Drazen, gesturing to the flowers.

He nodded, blasting the blooms in front of us with a stream of fire. High-pitched screeching pierced our ears, the blossoms burning to a crisp. Just as quickly as they died, the outer edges of the cleared space filled in, growing until the path was once again covered.

The infernus was useless here .

I eyed Kronk beside me. Without warning, I drove my shoulder into his side and shoved with all my considerable strength.

Off balance, Kronk stumbled into the bloodthirsty field.

“Kronk!” Runa yelled, her mouth a gaping expression of horror.

Kronk held out his arms, frozen in place, afraid to move. He glanced down, then back at us. “I’m okay. They cannot penetrate my flesh.”

Runa exhaled a sigh, then turned to me. “Did you know?”

I shrugged. “I suspected.”

Fury darkened her violet gaze. “You—”

“We must hurry.” Kronk returned, scooped Drazen onto one shoulder and Runa onto the other, then headed off into the field.

Leaving me behind? Nice try.

I tensed to jump. Pressure circled my ankle, jerked my leg, and I hit the ground. Dirt and rocks scraped beneath me. The vines dragged me into the forest.

“Bloody bastards.” I rolled and sat up, grabbing my ankle. Once I had a grip on the vine, I bared my fangs, sinking them into the bitter vegetation and tearing through its green flesh as if I were a youngling with his first meal.

Once free, I darted to my feet and sprinted for the field. Kronk and the others were several feet ahead now. I had no time to waste. At the edge, I leaped.

Landing on Kronk’s muscular back was like running headfirst into a stone wall. Still, I clung to his shoulders, bracing my legs against his sides. The athos stumbled beneath the impact, uttering a curse but thankfully keeping his feet.

Distant cheering resounded over our heads. The audience was excited by our continued progress. Four glowing orbs followed in our wake.

Beside me, Drazen lifted his head. “Nice of you to join us. ”

“Missed me, did you?” I arched a brow, struggling to maintain my grip.

“It was nothing you didn’t deserve for almost feeding my brother to a bunch of demented flowers,” Runa snarled from her position over Kronk’s opposite shoulder.

Before I could argue my case, Kronk had reached the other side.

He shrugged, dropping his siblings to the ground.

Before I could manage a dignified dismount, two powerful hands grabbed me, and I sailed over Kronk’s head.

My back slammed the dirt, oxygen punching from my lungs.

I gasped, staring up into the athos’s inverted face.

Kronk leaned over me. The promise of my demise was a glimmer in his eyes as he pounded his fist into his palm. I croaked in response. Seeming appeased, he nodded and stormed away.