Bishop dodged through the shifters and slung his body over the railing, taking the empty seat next to me. A smug grin lifted the edges of his lips, and he said, “This will be a good one.”
I didn’t think so in the slightest.
King Athon turned in a slow circle, a horrific smile on his rugged features, showing all of his white, blunt teeth. His hair was pulled up in a high ponytail, his crown sparkling under the lights. He beckoned—goaded—with his hands at his challengers, and bellowed, “Come on! You wanted this. You think you’re so much better? Fucking try me!”
All fifty challengers charged at the taunt.
I threw my hands up in front of my face when thick blood shot out from the challenge floor,all around the entire front row of the circular arena, soaking all who sat there. I gasped in disgust as chunks of flesh dropped into my lap and onto the top of my hooded head. While the crowd roared their feral excitement, I shook my hands out in disgust, blood and bits dripping off them.
I had never seen the shifter king use his royal bloodpower.
Correction. Now, I had. It waspowerfuland revolting.
All the challengers who were once on the outer ring were now nothing but mush. Simply put, half of the challengers were now gone, all twenty-five of them, from their blood being yanked from their bodies in a Fae damned blink. From the scary, jubilant expression on King Athon’s face, he could have taken them all out that way—and many more.
The other challengers faltered at the show of power.
But the shifter king wasn’t waiting anymore. He snarled and pounced on the shifter closest to him. King Athon’s deadly claws unleashed as he sliced her head off and carved through the woman’s chest to yank out her heart, crushing her Fae-spark in a mere second.
The other challengers shook off their shock.
Theyattackedwith feral intensity.
My Fae-spark brutally flared inside my chest. I choked hard as I hurriedly pushed my own power down, my body pulling me to feed it into my Fae-spark—into the part of me whereheresided. I struggled fiercely with every blow landing on my Fae fucking bloodied soul mate, battling my own power within to control it. I would not heal him. My body wanted me to, but I wouldnotdo it in this challenge, as he’d ordered me not to.
I shifted on my chair and hunched my shoulders. My eyes squinted tight on the King of Shifters as the challenge battled on. I flinched with every hit, slice, or bite that injured his body, my hands shaking in my lap from my focus for control. It was clear now that he would be the victor, shifter after shifter falling dead, but their king was enjoying himself. The damned man was taking his time with each slaying for the pleasure of it.
Inside my Fae-spark, I’d never felt him so joyful.
This massacre enthralled him.
His peoplelivedtofight. And their king was no different.
King Athon mocked and teased his prey, letting them land their attacks to give them a false sense of security, and then he pounced with his lethal grace and muscular body to take them down.
One by one, they continued to fall to their king.
A shameless shifter snuck behind him and sliced his hand clean through King Athon’s abdomen, the challenger’s bloody palm showing through the hole. I cringed and shuddered, my body thrumming to relent and help him, sweat now mixing with the blood on my face as I fought my own inner battle for control.
I almost did surrender to the pull when he dropped to one knee from the attack. Except, King Athonshiftedat the moment when my thoughts faltered.
His body turned inside out within a heartbeat, expelling his attacker’s limb from his stomach. The tiger stood proudly and shook out his fur. King Athon opened his mouth wide, his deadly fangs bared, and heroaredhis fury at the coward for not facing him straight on for the challenge.
I held my breath as King Athon, in his glorious tiger form—I could admit he was utterly beautiful and lethal in his shifted state—tore apart the remaining six challengers, without allowing one more hit to land, done playing with his prey.
The tiger shook his blood coated, furry face and prowled around the arena, swaggering to the obscene cheers of his people and hissing about his victory to the crowd. His face dipped down, his jaws opened wide, and he snatched a random head off the ground. He trotted in my direction. King Athon lifted on his back legs and slapped his huge front paws on the railing—right in front of me.
He dropped the head into my lap. Androared.
The guards all around went crazy, shouting their approval.
I froze in place and eyed those teeth, with my ears ringing from his wrath. When he pushed off the railing and started sauntering away, his tail swishing with glee, I allowed my attention to fall to my lap.
Where a severed shifter head rested.
I swallowed down my vomit.
My hands hovered over the shifter’s blond hair, uncertain what to do in this situation. There must be some type of proper etiquette at a challenge for a detached body part. My protocol lessons on the Shifter Kingdom hadn’t prepared me for this unsavory debacle, though. I didn’t know if I should lift it up and show the crowd or toss it back onto the challenge floor…or mayhap keep it.
