She rounded the wall and narrowly ducked a flying punch from Rett. Stella used his momentum, bending lower to wrap an arm around his knee. She yanked his leg up.
He slammed down onto the ground back-first and Stella vaulted over him to continue down the long straightaway.
Rett grabbed her ankle. Her knees crashed to the ground, and she cursed.
The second that she was stunned by the pain, Rett struck. He grabbed the collar of her armor and hauled her down. They rolled several times until she came up on top of his chest.
She punched Rett hard in the face. His nose snapped beneath her fist with a loud crack, and blood poured down his chin.
“Two for two, Roach,” she taunted.
He roared in frustration and tossed her off of him. Her impulse was to run, but if she didn’t stand and fight, he’d catch her tooquickly. She grabbed two blades from her vest just in time for him to charge at her with two daggers of his own.
She slashed across his leather armguards, her blades glancing off the magical metal cuff on his wrist. It was as if the sound reminded both of them that he had magic now.
“You stupid bitch. Why do you refuse to die?” the Roach snapped.
“Could ask you the same.” She kicked him in the stomach and grinned at the satisfying sound of air rushing out of his lungs.
The bond flashed with a bright flare of pain. Teddy. It was there and gone quickly. Panic drenched her in ice.
Rett’s cuff lit up and Stella braced herself, sheathing her left blade so she could clamp her hand around his wrist. If he wanted to use magic, she’d make sure he felt it, too. If he was summoning, he couldn’t be hurt by the power itself, but it wouldn’t protect him from the explosive blowback of releasing too much at once. It was a common mistake even for witches who’d had years of learning how to channel their elemental affinities.
Stella had seen Rett fight enough to know he was a “more is better” kind of fighter.
The moment she felt magic rise like a pressure drop popping her ears, she summoned her fire magic.
A huge fireball exploded between them, blowing them apart. Stella slammed into the ivy-covered wall behind her so hard that she felt her ribs crack.
The crowd cheered loudly, but she couldn’t tell if it was for her or someone else. It was disorienting being down below them.
She fell to her knees and glanced up at Rett. He lay in a heap, half-propped against the wall. His chest rose and fell slowly. Still alive. She could have closed the distance between them and killed him, but she needed to get to the center of the maze and now every breath was agony.
The crowd roared again as Stella continued toward what she hoped was the center of the maze. She had to be close.
A hand shot out from around the corner and gripped the neck of her leathers.
Suddenly, she was flying.
Stella brought her left arm up in time to break some of the impact, but her temple cracked against the stone wall and her vision went temporarily dark.
She forced her heavy eyelids open and rolled out of the way of a vicious kick.
Drew. She’d been literally thrown out of the way by Drew the Crew and now the massive brute was bearing down on her.
She should have known. He, Christophe, and Dixon always followed where Rett went. She was impressed with their uncanny ability to find each other in the maze.
She scrambled away from another kick. Drew bent, hauled her up to her feet, and slammed her back into the wall. Fiery agony burned through her broken ribs.
Stella gasped for air.
Drew’s scarred hands closed around her throat, choking off the air she desperately needed. Her whole body was alive with agony.
“You scarred me for life, you stupid bitch,” he said, squeezing his rough hands tighter.
She pushed against his eyes, but he didn’t relent. She scratched her fingernails down his face. He cursed, but still held on.
Stella’s vision went dark. Her broken ribs ached with the frenzied need for air.
