I slow my approach, ensuring when we collide his left arm will be pulled back, giving me room to plunge the blade between his ribs and hopefully into his heart. I haven’t practiced the move since I trained with Ziv, so I could be a little rusty, but I was smart enough not to give away all my secrets to my enemies.
Just as I start to arc my arm out, my legs are taken out from under me, and I realize much too late I was too focused on Hawk’s attack, opening myself up to a second assault. We both go careening to the side. I pull my arms in, mindful not to stab myself in the process.
The air in my lungs gets knocked out when I hit the sand hard. I ignore the urge to inhale, knowing I’ll be fighting a losing battle, and allow the momentum of the fall to carry me fartheraway from both assailants. I scramble into a crouch, realizing much too late my blade is no longer in my hand.
My first inhale is choppy, there’s no helping it, but as my body fights for oxygen, one thing becomes clear—Sunny found me, and his teeth are currently buried in Hawk’s neck. His body twitches a few times, but he’s no match for my wolf. Even if he could get to Moros’s skin, I think it would be much too late for him to use his magic on Moros. His head is twisted in an unusual angle, making me think his neck is already broken.
I crawl forward, patting the sand for my knife while swiveling my head and keeping watch in case anyone else tries to attack us. A glint in the sand several feet away catches my eye, and I practically dive for my knife, nicking my palm on the blade when I grab it.
Sunny’s head snaps up as I wipe my hand on my pants. The ten feet separating us is not enough to hide the way his nose twitches. I should have known he would scent my blood. “I’m fine,” I promise. My voice is a little hoarse, but otherwise, I’m in one piece.
Moros’s head lowers, and his lips peel back, exposing razor-sharp teeth. For a heartbeat, I wonder if Hawk did somehow affect him with his compulsion magic, but the idea dies the moment it was formed, and I look over my shoulder instead to see several familiar faces moving toward us.
I wasn’t expecting the entire elite wing to come for us, but if we can’t make it through this, then there’s no hope of surviving the Undertaking. I pivot to face off with the group, knife in hand, but Sunny angles himself in front of me.
“We aren’t here to fight you.” Jeh stops the group while there’s still enough distance between us that I don’t immediately feel the need to go on the defensive. “If we stand together, our chances of survival are better.” I take the flatness in his tone as reluctance to admitting the truth. I don’t think he’s spokento Moros since the fight outside our room, but the prospect of death is a great motivator. I know the other shifter doesn’t like me, and I also know it’s because he’s in love with my mate. I see the way he stares at Moros with longing in his eyes. I’ve seen the same expression in the mirror when I can’t ignore how much I miss Ziv and Kage.
The possessive side of me wants to refuse his offer and all who stand with him for the insult, but my desire to make it through the qualifier so I can reach the selection is stronger. The silence between our two lopsided groups stretches for a long moment before I warn, “If this is a ploy to earn my trust and stab me in the back, I will slaughter every last one of you.”
Jeh tries to hide his flinch behind a few rapid blinks, but it’s pointless. I already witnessed his startled response. “It’s not a ploy. Our plan was always for the elites to stand together so they couldn’t pick us off one by one.”
Sunny tips his head back, taking his eyes off the possible threat in front of us to meet my gaze. I don’t need to read his mind to understand he’s looking to me for a decision. The weight of knowing I might be making the wrong choice lands heavily on my shoulders.
“It would have been nice to be privy to this sooner,” I challenge. Jeh isn’t the only elite who didn’t accept me as one of them, but he is the one who preferred to pretend I didn’t exist at all, and I think the others followed his lead, leaving me out.
“How were we to know we could trust you?” he questions, and I have to admit I felt the same about him and all the others. I’ve been solely focused on myself and didn’t take the time to try to get to know them either.
“Same,” I agree simply.
“Moros knows you can trust us.” His eyes stray to the huge wolf still standing as my protector, and lines form around his eyes when his face twists into a soft grimace.
Moros did say we could rely on them, but trust was not a word he used. I think he picked up on my reluctance to ally with them, which has more to do with my own stubbornness. “What I said before stands. If you turn on us, I will make sure you don’t live long enough to regret it.”
Jeh inhales deeply, then he jerks his chin in a show of understanding.
I don’t take my eyes off him, but the sounds of fighting and battle have already slowed considerably. While many of the trainees engaged in violence from the first moment of the trial, just as many, if not more, chose to retreat and look for cover. I can’t imagine this lull will last long. People will be planning their next move, and we need to do the same.
MOROS
After a rather quick exchange and agreement to work together with the other elites, Jeh proposes we move to a more defensible location. I’m not surprised by this effort. We discussed many strategies for the qualifier, most of which I devised, and this was one of them.
A small team of scouts moves ahead of the larger group. Normally, I would be one of the four in the lead group, but there’s no way I’m leaving Briar behind. We stay toward the backof the group so any threat from the front will first have to make it through the others while I can protect her from behind.
I’m not certain anyone would have the nerve to go after her though. They have seen what she is capable of, and besides that, she is Frostburn’s greatest chance at winning the games. Getting rid of her would be like shooting yourself in the foot, but that’s not something I will take for granted. Hawk was willing to kill her before I ripped out his throat, so there could be others.
The lead group files through the sand, only meeting resistance once when they happen upon a group of three trainees using the archery targets as a hiding place. Calling it a battle would be a waste of the word. The small elite team easily dispatches the group before continuing to travel toward the largest of the barricades near the front of the arena. These areas are used to keep wayward magic from spilling out into the field and affecting the others practicing nearby. Through Briar, I know the Ivy Institute doesn’t have such areas, but their combat rings are much larger than Frostburn’s.
Lynx lifts her fist up near her shoulder, halting the group behind her as they edge toward the entrance of the bay. With practiced movements, she signals her intent to clear the corner before they follow. There’s a reason she was chosen to be in the front line. Lynx’s ability enables her to harden her skin to the point that most weapons are useless against her. If that same ability didn’t slow her down so much and hamper her stamina, she would have easily been a contender to be in Jeh’s position as my second.
The female steps out from behind the tall barrier that separates the bay from the rest of the arena, and a flash erupts. It’s bright enough to light up the entire space for a split second, forcing me to blink several times as I try to clear my sensitive vision.
As my sight returns, I see Lynx flat on her back in the sand, convulsing until she eventually stills. There’s no question she’s dead.
Shock reigns for a heartbeat before Kino shouts, “Pull back,” while trying to distance himself from the mouth of the bay by running back toward our larger group.
Wes grabs him by the collar of his shirt and hauls him backward, stopping Kino’s escape and causing him to flail around before he ends up with his ass in the sand. Wes is now in the front of the shrinking group. “If you’re a punk, just say so.”
I snort in agreement at the male’s candor. I doubt anyone else from our group can hear them from this distance, but my beast makes it easy for me to listen in.
