“Would you fight for it?” Loki’s shifting gaze is magnetic and sparking with mischief.
Ryder’s palm pushes up my arm.
“Kara, maybe—” Ryder’s quiet voice is cut quickly off by my own.
“Yes.”
Lightning flashes through the god’s eyes.
I could never have anticipated the following few seconds.
Raw power shakes the ground, the polished cobblestone breaks away beneath my boots. The sky itself tears open, ripping away the world around me.
The silence and pretty scenery pulls away like a curtain revealing a stadium of chanting gods and goddesses surrounding us.
Intricate details of gold line the high brick walls of the stadium. The mark of the Hopeless creates arrows down the center of the walls in blood red colors.
“Welcome, my glorious friends,” Loki’s says with a wolfish smile. The amplified tone of his voice carries through the crowd and they cheer louder from the simple introduction. “I have a special treat indeed this morning.” He claps his hands together as he looks to me and Ryder. “In just a few seconds two more guests will be arriving, do try to forgive their tardiness.”
My brows crease.
Rumbling screams sound far off but begin to grow closer. Darrio lands hard at my feet, the dirt billows up around his form as he winces from the fall.
A gasp pulls from my lips but then the familiar sound of screaming fills the air once again.
I peek up at the pale blue sky just in time to see Daxdyn dropping from up above as well. Ryder’s warm palm wraps around my waist and he pulls me back just in time. Daxdyn lands in a dusty heap at his brother’s side.
“Fucking gods,” Dax says under his breath.
The two fae stand slowly. Darrio’s silver eyes shift over the roaring crowd. Dax dusts himself off.
“You didn’t land like that did you?” Dax asks. Worry lines his brows as he’s fingers skim across the inside of my palm.
“No. Not at all like that.”
“Good.” He nods his head as if everything is going according to plan here.
Everything is fucking perfect here in the beautiful Realm of the Gods.
“We have a great show planned for you all today.” Loki’s booming voice echoes as his smile widens. His gaze collides with mine just as fear crawls all through me. “May the mayhem commence.”
A sweeping bow is added with dramatic flair and I’m still staring at the peculiar god as doors at the far end of the colosseum rise. The walls shake as the wide doors pull back to reveal dark creatures.
Loki gives me a quick wink before he disappears like ash in the wind. The dark flecks of his features swirl out of sight and I have to force myself to focus on the opposite side of the arena.
As the bright sunlight strikes across the creatures’ faces I realize, they’re a cursed sort of monster. Only their eyes are defined. The nose and mouth are just slick skin that seems fused together in a sickening way. The depths of their eyes shine crimson in the morning light.
An eerie sort of blood red evil flashes within their gazes, chilling me to the bone just as the creatures start to race toward us.
