There could only be one winner.
All I had to do was kill every single person in here, taking their powers for myself, and that winner would be me.
Chapter 8
Odessa
I’d been watching the other pairs run through the obstacle course intently— learning from their mistakes. Going for the rope was a death trap. Only one other person from Dex’s team fell. The rest found their way over, the most impressive being, Céline, using her power to control water to lift her over the top. It carried her safely almost the entire way, sputtering out just as she hit the middle of the other side. She dropped hard into the belly of the water waiting below. Thankfully, it seemed deep enough to sustain a higher fall since there didn’t appear to have any other way to get down from the top other than to jump off. Reed and Killian managed to scale it without issue, though, Reed hesitated at the top of the wall. When he fell, he hit the water stomach down with a sharp slap. It sounded painful.
I made a note not to do that and swallowed hard, knowing that my fear of heights was more than intact. There’s nothing to do about it though, so I’d have to handle it— somehow.
Suddenly, it was our turn. Of course, Dex positioned himself in line to be paired up with me. I couldn’t figure out what his angle was, and why he liked picking on me so much. It irritated the shit out of me. I couldn’t think of anyone that could rile such a response out of me. Normally, my temperament favoreda calm and collected one. But since being here and meeting Dex, a match had been taken to it, burning any notion of me having myself together. Marley would be thrilled to see her big sister coming apart at the seams. She always did think I was too buttoned up for my own good.
When it was our turn, I took up the spot on the faded white line, one foot in front of the other, ready to make a dash for it.
Dex, however, lazily unbuttoned his shirt as if we had all the time in the world, and I couldn’t help but notice his well-defined chest. That was the body of a man who’d spent time working on his physical appearance, and clearly, it was paying off. He even had those two divots that pointed in a v shape at his hips. I quickly averted my gaze to not appear as if I were gawking over his chiseled physique, but it was too late. He had a self-satisfied grin upon his mouth as his blue eyes twinkled with mischief.
Arrogant prick.
“See you on the other side, Deveraux,” Dex’s sinfully deep voice said, sending a shiver down my spine unbidden.
Fuck this guy, I would make him regret deciding to mess with me.
As soon as Killian said, “Go!” I was off, feet flying effortlessly over every dip in the ground. I met the wall and hoisted myself up using the uneven parts, anchoring my foot against the lowest section.
Sweat pooled between my breasts and my heart hammered hard against my chest, knowing that one wrong move could land me in a heap of broken limbs, just like Nat.
The guards had finally sent a mender to assist, but they took their sweet time doing it.
Right above my head sat a piece of bone that looked as if someone had lodged a femur into the stone. Next to me, Dex effortlessly climbed, his sculpted muscles on display foreveryone to see. He was way ahead of me, and with little to no upper body strength, I didn’t stand a chance.
My hands gripped around the bone, shaking with the effort to pull myself up. It took everything I had to move even an inch.
Fuck. Why wasn’t I the type of person that worked out?
There was no way I was getting over this thing on strength alone.
Suddenly, the bone in my hands began to violently shake.
My grip started to slip, and my foot slid out from its position on the wall. The ground beneath was far enough away that if I were to fall, I’d probably die.
Above me, Dex looked down from the top of the wall with his hands on his hips.
Was he using his motherfucking power on me right now?
As if a switch had been turned on inside me, shadows materialized around my body, gripping me about my waist like a harness. They hoisted me to safety and set my shaking form on top of the wall.
I always thought of shadows being mere wisps, not something tangible.
There was no time to dwell on my newfound knowledge though. Time was ticking and I wanted to win.
Dex, starred at me with his mouth quirked up in that annoying way that dimpled his cheeks.
“Try to kill me again and I’ll cut your dick off.”
“Is that a threat, love?”
“That’s a promise, jackass. And stop calling me love.”
