Gaius summoned the closest member of the camera crew. “Can we double-check the film?”
The kobold nodded and showed Gaius a small screen. His face paled. He glanced distractedly at the stopwatch in his fist.
My feathers puffed up in anger. If he didn’t tell me I’d won soon, I’d shred that stopwatch to pieces.
Gaius looked around, as if searching for someone, then cleared his throat and injected some enthusiasm into his voice. “All right! The winner of the first challenge is...”
My heart thudded, ruffling the downy feathers on my chest.
“Talon!”
I stopped breathing.
A victorious cry pierced the sky above me. Dread consumed me as I glanced up to see Talon circling above the beaten contestants in a victory lap.
Loud groans sounded among the crowd. Some complained loudly about how unfair the challenge was for land shifters, which made me angrier that I’d lost.
I should’ve won. Not Talon.
Poppy slumped next to me, putting his head on his paws in defeat. “That was so hard... But you did really well, Matteo.”
His gentle voice yanked me out of my furious headspace.
“Thank you, Poppy,” I said quietly.
Muzo sighed and collapsed on top of Poppy’s back in a dogpile. His tongue lolled out of his mouth. “Geez, that was rough. There’s so much sand between my paw pads. You were lucky you got to fly over it.”
I didn’t feel lucky at all.
Surprisingly, Alaric mirrored my feelings. He hissed as he padded closer, lifting his dainty white paws to avoid touching the hot sand. “He’snotlucky. None of us are. We lost.”
Muzo tilted his head. “Yeah, but we tried our best.”
“Who cares?” Alaric spat. “Only the winner is important. Do you even know why you’re on this island?”
“Uhh—”
“To find a fated mate. Nothing else matters.”
“I was gonna say that,” Muzo mumbled, his ears flattening against his head.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Talon gloating and thanking Gaius for announcing him the winner. I caught Gaius’s awkward expression as he congratulated Talon.
What was going on? Why did Gaius choose the winner instead of Thystle? And where the hellwashe? A thought struck me like lightning. The image of a peaceful Thystle floated into my mind.
There was no way he’d overslept and missed the challenge... right?
Ten
Thystle
Everything was soft.Warm. Comfortable. I never wanted to move.
A slow exhale left my lips as I nestled against the downy pillow. Cozy was an understatement. I was halfway to becoming one with the mattress itself.
As I inched closer to consciousness, I became sharply aware of Matteo’s scent. It surrounded me like a soothing blanket. I breathed it in, then sucked in deep lungfuls, suddenly hungry for it.
Heat stirred between my legs. The fuzzy, horny feeling manifested in a growing erection.
