I guess hoping to Hecate wasn’t in my best interest anymore, was it?
Regardless, I hoped and said a little prayer to anyone who would listen. The connection solidified like two links of an iron chain locking together. I felt his desperation, his panic. Then he sensed me, and his hope fueled my own.
Wind whipped around me, and I opened my eyes in time to see the basilisk’s beak rushing toward my face. Instinct took over. The fire pulsing in the core of my being flashed down my arm and out my palm, streaming into the beastie’s mouth.
The assault chicken choked, stumbling backward and coughing up charred bits of its own throat before letting out a pained screech that shook the entire arena. I limped forward, blasting a steady stream of fire at its feathers. They ignited, and the basilisk’s wild flapping fanned the flames until his entire chicken half was ablaze.
I skirted around the beastie, lest I became Kentucky-fried along with it, and Lucifer had the audacity to laugh. I glanced up at the platform, and Seraphine’s mouth was tight, her posture stiff. She raised a palm toward the basilisk and fisted her hand, drawing the air away from the creature and extinguishing my flames.
The beastie roared and charged at me. I shot another stream of fire, but it dodged and swung its tail like a whip, knocking me off my feet. My back hit the stone, my breath coming out in a whoosh as the beastie pinned me to the ground with a taloned foot on my chest.
Smoke curled from the smoldering bird, the acrid scent of singed feathers filling the air and burning my nostrils. For a heartbeat, silence hung heavy, punctuated only by the crackle of dying embers and the ragged wheeze of the wounded basilisk.
My heart pounded, my lungs burning as I dragged in a shallow breath. The basilisk snapped its beak and curled its toes around me, clutching me like a vise. What was it with half-snakes trying to squeeze the life out of me?
“Discord,” I rasped. “Help me.”
Whether he sensed my plea, I couldn’t say. The basilisk lifted me from the ground, charred bits flaking from his singed beak as he brought my head toward his mouth.
2
CINDER
For a split second, I thought my plea would go unanswered. Pain threatened to blot out my vision, and stars danced behind my eyes. But then, like the distant rumble of thunder before a summer storm, I felt Discord surge along our bond, a wild, chaotic energy weaving through my veins. My body tingled, warmth blooming where his power met mine, and I could almost hear his voice, a low snarl of defiance echoing in the back of my mind, promising that he was coming.
Would he get here in time to save me from the basilisk’s maw? Doubtful, but I had to give him credit for trying.
“Enough!” Lucifer’s voice boomed through the arena, bouncing off the walls and resonating in my bones.
The basilisk froze and jerked his head toward the platform where the devil sat, leaning forward, his hands gripping the skulls on the arms of his throne. Unfortunately, the beastie did not loosen his grip. I wheezed, trying with everything I had to stay conscious.
“You fool.” Lucifer glowered at Seraphine. “Do you think I want a simple beast as my right hand?”
“But…” She flicked her gaze between Luci and me. “I will be by your side, sire. The basilisk is here by my command. He will take off her head because I demand it.”
“And what have you done besides drop her into the pit? If the beast takes off her head, he has won the game.”
Fear flashed in her widened eyes. “You never said I had to kill her myself.”
“I am saying it now.” His voice sounded sinister, deep, and gravelly. He slid his gaze toward me before cutting to the basilisk and fisting his hand.
The beastie’s neck snapped at a right angle, his eyes glazing as he toppled to the floor, his claws still clutching me tightly. I struggled against the pressure, working my hands high enough to grip one toe and shove it with all my might. With my lower abdomen free, I worked on the next toe, wiggling and writhing until I finally slipped from the dead basilisk’s grasp.
Lucifer narrowed his eyes at Seraphine. “You’ve had the opportunity to kill her twice. Both times, you have failed. The third will either be the charm that saves your life or the curse that obliterates your soul.”
He flicked his wrist, and the air witch tumbled into the pit.
She caught herself on a puff of wind, and her feet softly hit the floor. Her jaw was tight, the tendons in her neck protruding, her nostrils flaring as she glared at me.
I straightened my spine, rising to my full height as a surge of Discord’s healing magic washed through me. Inhaling deeply, I focused on the warming sensation, allowing it to spread and heal my broken ribs. How he healed me from afar, I had no clue, but with the amount of power he just spent and the rate at which his vim waned lately, he’d have nothing left by the time he got here.
If he got here at all.
“I need you in person,” I whispered under my breath. “Stop healing me and get your ass into this arena.”
“If you have something to say, you need to speak up.” Seraphine reached a hand toward me and made a fist, drawing the air from my lungs.
Frigid panic flushed my veins. I couldn’t inhale, had nothing left to exhale, and pinpricks of light sparkled in my tunneling vision as I dropped to my knees.
