“Lyr?” Meera sat up several feet away from me. She was completely alert and lucid, her eyes on me in a way they never had been during one of her episodes. When she looked at me during her visions, I knew she wasn’t seeing me, only what was in her mind. But as she looked at me now, I could see the recognition in her gaze.
And I could the fear she felt. The fear she felt for me.
“Lyr!” Meera yelled. The cold in the room seemed to vanish as quickly as it came. Her vision had been the shortest one yet—mere seconds.
Shakily, I got to my feet, as something warm and wet dripped down my mouth. I reached for my face, and pulled my hand away, nearly fainting when I saw my fingers coated in blood.
But it wasn’t Meera’s blood. She hadn’t even touched me.
It was my blood. It was my nose bleeding.
A feeling of profound weakness washed over my body. My knees buckled, and I sank to the ground. The stone walls of the cave and Meera’s form blurred until they faded from sight.
I jerked, my stomach tugging as if I’d traveled, yet my knees were still pressed against the cold floor beneath me. Ice flowed through my veins, until my every limb was shaking.
“Meera?” I yelled. “Meera, what happened? Where are you?” I listened desperately. But there was no response. If she’d answered, I couldn’t hear her. I couldn’t even see her.
Because I was no longer in the cave.
My blood ran cold, fear overwhelming me. I was definitely outside. And definitely not in Glemaria. The air was far more humid and hotter than anything I’d felt in weeks. It didn’t make any sense. I’d been on my knees, but now I stood. I was in the center of an arena, twice the size of our Katurium back home. Rows and rows of white stone seats were stacked on top of each other.
A limitless black inked its way across the sky bringing on darkness and night, as a faint crescent moon appeared. The crescent waxed, making its way through an entire month’s worth of phases until it stopped, full and bright. A sharp popping sound around the arena’s edge burst again and again as flames flickered to life atop hundreds of torches.
I turned and saw the seats had gone from a blank white canvas to a stadium filled with thousands of Lumerians, yelling and shouting in excitement. Each person was holding a purple flag with a golden Valalumir in the center—the sigil of the Emperor. I was in Numeria, the Empire’s capital, in the center of the Emperor’s arena. This was the Nutavian Katurium. Home of the Blade, the Empire’s warlord. And Emperor Theotis—Imperator Kormac’s uncle.
Three silver doors appeared across from me. Doors I’d seen once before—the same ones used to keep Haleika trapped as a forsaken. They’d only opened when she was released, moments before she completed her transformation into akadim.
I braced myself as the doors began to unlock, my feet widening, my muscles tense. Slowly I reached for my sword, but my hand scraped across a bare hip. My sword was gone, as was my dagger and stave. Not a single blade remained, not even a scabbard.
A thunderous howl ripped through the arena, before it changed into a wolfish growl. Two more howls answered its call.
I stepped back, my hands trembling.
Three silver wolves emerged from behind the doors, all giant in size. Each wolf was at least six feet tall, their fangs dripping, their eyes red.
The audience roared with bloodlust as I stumbled back, reaching helplessly again for a weapon I did not possess. My armor was gone, even Asherah’s chest plate was missing. I fell to my knees, desperately searching for anything I could defend myself with. But there was nothing, just an endless field of dirt.
The wolves began to charge, growling and gnashing their teeth. I jumped to my feet and turned, not knowing what else to do. I ran. My hands pumped at my sides, my feet practically flying.
I was almost on the other side of the arena when a violet door appeared.
I ran faster. I had to get to the door, and get inside. Get to safety. The audience clapped and cheered as the wolves gained speed. But even at my fastest, running at a pace I’d only dreamed of achieving before, I was moving too slowly. The wolves’ hot breath blew against my neck.
I was nearly there when the door opened. My heart stopped, my body freezing, as terror paralyzed me.
A shadow filled the threshold, before a fully grown lion emerged.
The lion roared, its eyes on me as it gracefully rose onto its back paws, mane flowing bright and red as fire. It snarled, and huffed, assessing the arena, before it roared and charged, running straight for me.
Just as I screamed, something shining on the ground caught my eye. An old-fashioned bronze shield appeared.It was round with a stone glowing bright, nestled within a carving of a blazing sun. My heart beat faster and faster, something warm growing inside me.
I grabbed the shield, and the lion charged forward. Bracing myself, hands tightening around the metal, I prepared for impact as the wolves howled at my back. But just as I expected to be knocked over, the lion leapt over my head, and soared above me. I turned and screamed as the lion crashed into the opened mouths of the wolves.
The entire arena seemed to still, and the shield fell at my feet. The sound of its thud echoed, ringing in my ears. And I was suddenly, terrifyingly aware that something else was happening. No one was looking at the lion or the wolves anymore. Their attention had been drawn to a sudden show of lights dancing across the arena. Indigo, and orange. The heat in my chest flared.
The lion whined, its body stretched now before me, its belly exposed. Two of the wolves held the lion’s paws in their mouths, their fangs piercing its flesh. Blood oozed down their chins as they pulled in opposite directions, stretching the lion’s legs further, every step tearing its body apart.
“Lyr! LYR!”
