The canine shifters appeared as a pair. I grinned at their polar opposite reactions. It was sweet how two very different people could be close friends.
“Looks like it,” I said. “There’re rings on the ground and in the air for every type of shifter.”
Muzo bounded on the balls of his feet. “This is so cool. I love jumping through hoops!”
“I’ll try my best, but I hope I don’t knock them over by accident,” Poppy said, fiddling with his hands.
Alaric sighed and rubbed his temple. “Dogs…”
Shortly after Muzo and Poppy’s appearance, Gaius cleared his throat, flashed a brilliant grin, and began his announcement.
“Greetings, everyone, and welcome to the first challenge of the Dragonfate Games!”
Half the contestants roared in excitement, cheering and whooping. It sounded more like a football stadium than a private beach.
Alaric made a disgusted sound. “Those meatheads are giving me a migraine before we even start…”
I didn’t reply, but I privately agreed with him. I couldn’t be too harsh on them, though. None of them were Thystle’s type. They never had a chance with him. Not that I was complaining.
Speaking of Thystle, where was he? I didn’t see him anywhere. In the first season of the Games, Crimson accompanied Gaius at the start of every challenge. But Gaius was alone this time. Maybe they changed up the formula, and Thystle watched from afar.
I usually wasn’t so competitive, but the need to win burned inside me. I wanted Thystle to see me do well.
“Your challenge today is a timed obstacle course through these hoops,” Gaius said, gesturing to the rings. “Not only will you race to the finish line, but you’ll need to rack up points by going through the rings. The contestant with the fastest time and most points will be the winner!”
Something about Gaius’s phrasing felt off. He’d saidthewinner. In the first season, we entered a pool of winners from which Crimson had the final say—and his choice was always Taylor, obviously. Even if Taylor hadn’t come in the first place during the challenge, he still won in the end. But Gaius made it sound like there could only be one true winner this time—the person who came in first place.
Now, my competitive urge blazed into a wildfire. If that was true, I had to win. There was no other option.
Thystlewouldchoose me.
“How many other flying shifters are here, I wonder?” Talon asked.
His sudden comment made my spine stiffen. I hadn’t noticed his arrival. How long had he been standing there?
“I don’t know,” I replied honestly. “We’re the only ones I’m aware of.”
Talon glanced up at the sky rings. “Who’s faster, I wonder?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
Talon sent a sidelong glance my way. “Guess we’ll find out.”
Was he taunting me? Or was this friendly competition I was taking the wrong way? I stared back at him, trying to gauge the look in his eyes, but Talon was difficult to read. Either that, or I didn’t care enough to figure it out. I wasn’t here to make friends. I was here to find my fated mate.
And I suspected I’d already found him.
“Contestants!” Gaius called. “You may now shift into your animal forms!”
My body changed in a flash. Rich brown feathers erupted across my skin, my feet curled into powerful talons, and my mouth became a sharp, hooked beak. I unfurled my powerful wings, ready to launch myself into the sky on Gaius’s mark.
My vision improved a hundredfold. On either side of me, I saw rows of shifters. I recognized the white house cat, arctic wolf, and black-backed jackal beside me. The other side were all strangers. My real competition.
On my right stood another eagle. Talon. His eagle form was starkly different from mine, with a distinct prominent beak and white markings. A flashier form to suit a flashier man.
I couldn’t help a surge of bitterness flowing through me. I’d given up looking flashy in human form a long time ago. Talon reminded me of my past in a way that left a bad taste in my mouth.
“Ready...” Gaius called.
