The world exploded red.
I hit the tile floor hard, stinging my palms and my ass. My face throbbed so hard I couldn’t see. I hadn’t even seen her move.
“You’ll have to react faster.” Her boot pressed against my chest, pinning me.
I blinked through stinging tears to find her looking down at me, calm, as if hurting me were a dull chore on today’s list.
When I scrambled back, she kicked me in the chest. The pain in my breast was agonizing, and I clutched one arm over my chest, turning over and trying to launch myself up and away from her.
“You should’ve grabbed my ankle and thrown me offbalance,” she said, almost sweetly. Then she shoved me again, her boot catching me in the back.
I stumbled up to my feet but almost fell. “Stop!”
“That’s not how it’ll work in the arena,” she replied coolly. “You can try, though. Most recruits make a good showing. You could stand out as the clown instead.”
“Is this really what Fieran told you to do to me?” I demanded.
“No,” she said. “Fieran and I don’t talk that much. For example, I haven’t yet discussed with him what you whispered about with Ander.”
Cold slid through my gut.
Her lips tilted in a smirk. “So. Whatdidyou and Ander discuss?”
It was hard to think straight with my chest aching and Maura stalking closer. I lifted my fists, though I knew they wouldn’t matter against her speed. “I asked him why Fieran dragged me here.”
She rolled her eyes. “Do mortals really not know what happens to shifters who skip the Trials?”
“Why would we? Mortals don’t shift.”
“Fieran’s got a stray-kitten problem,” she mused as she stalked toward me. I backed away, the two of us circling each other as I tried to shift toward the door. “He collects anything helpless. And you’re the neediest little thing I’ve ever seen.”
“He hasn’t exactlyhelpedme.” Maybe I could rattle her with the truth. Or maybe I could get myself killed. Either way, I added, “But I’m sorry you’re jealous.”
Her gaze sharpened. “I always assumed the Fae were lying when they called mortals stupid. But you…you’re making me wonder if they were right.”
“I’d like to trust him,” I shot back. “I want to believe Fieran is a good man. I need to believe it for my brother’s sake.”
Her eyes narrowed. “So are you plotting with Ander, or are you just hoping Fieran will keep rescuing you?”
“I’m not plotting anything with Ander,” I snapped.
Her fist cracked across my jaw. I tried to block the punch, but it didn’t matter; I stumbled back anyway. I was still trying to catch myself when she reared back and kicked me in the chest, and I flew backward.
I went down hard, only to find her straddling me a moment later, pinning my arms with her knees.
“If you hurt him,” she said with a careless smile on her face that would stick with me, “what I do to you now will feel like mercy.”
She slapped me across the face, almost lazily, as if testing how much pain I could take. Fire blossomed across my cheek.
“Let me up!” I snarled.
“Make me.” She slapped me again, her tone mocking. “Soon you’ll be here in front of everyone who doesn’t answer to Fieran. The clans deciding your value. The queen watching. Will you whine then too?”
I twisted, trying to buck her off, but she pressed down harder, grinding her sharp knees into my arms until they went numb.
Finally she laughed, rising effortlessly. I scrambled to my feet with effort.
Something pulled in my abdomen, and my breath was coming out in weird gasps, with a sharp pain stabbing into the left side of my chest. “I think I need the healer.”
