She grins. “You say that like it’s an insult, but it feels an awful lot like a compliment.”
Without waiting for me since there are some other men headed for the trap door now, she takes off for the next obstacle like she didn’t nearly just fuckin’die.Like the first time I saw her, she’s tightrope walking across to the next platform with her arms stretched out at her sides, this one with a door on one half that leads to a completely sealed room.
“Damn it.”
My arms desperately need the temporary reprieve, so I strive to emulate her, lacking the confidence and grace. I’d feel way more comfortable just crossing like last time, but my arms might snap off at this point and who knows what the hell else is waiting for us?
When she crosses over, I see the decision in her eyes a split second before she brings a flame to her hand. “Sorry; don’t want to be a hypocrite.”
I bend down and grip the rope in both hands as she lobs it behind me, the rope burning away. Cursing, but with a reminiscent smile, I climb up and chase after her, the door left open.
It slams shut behind me, plunging me into complete darkness. My adrenaline spikes and all of my senses go on high alert. I can’t see the way out, but that’s the only sense they’ve stolen from me. This isn’t the first time I’ve been trapped in a dark room, and I doubt it will be the last. While shadows may haunt me, I don’t fear the monsters lurking in the dark anymore.
I killed them once and I can do it again.
I hear the small exhalation of breath and turn, my hand flying out to catch the man’s wrist before he can hit me. I twist it, snapping the bones, and hear a metal clatter at my feet.
Knife then, so no pulling punches.
He howls in pain as his other fist strikes my side, but I don’t give him the satisfaction of crying out. I’m used to the hits coming and it will take far more than that to even faze me.
I slam my head forward, breaking his nose before swiping his feet out from under him. He goes down hard and my fingers curl around the sharp end of the blade, reaching for it. I don’t waste any time on second guessing myself, slashing his throat open and using his body to bar the door before anyone else can follow me in.
I palm the dagger, heading towards the edge of the room and running my fingers along the wall to get a sense of my temporary prison. The walls are smooth metal, but there’s obviously a way out, somewhere Ezra found quickly to avoid a fight with the man. I have no illusions that if he had merely told her where the exit was, she would have left him with anything less than a broken leg. Her brothers may be filthy cheaters, but winning by her own merit is far too important to her.
I hear thumping at the door, but I don’t let it rush my thoughts. With her flames, she would be able to see clearly and get there without confrontation. So it would be easy. I’ve run my fingers along each of these walls, not feeling so much as a crack to indicate a door.
I snort when the answer hits me, cautiously walking to the center of the room and feeling with my foot. When I get to the center, there’s a circular hole and I step right into it.
It curves, becoming a slide, and I need to keep my arms firmly at my sides so they don’t catch on any of the sharp blades embedded above my face or sides. If I so much as rock too far to the side, they slice into my skin, so I’m forced to remain as still as a statue as I plummet to the unknown.
As soon as I feel my feet hit, I clamp my mouth shut before I break the surface of the water. There’s more light here, though it’s artificial. I would have seen a damn pool outside of the arena, which means I’m either underground or in one of the sealed metal boxes.
Something latches onto my leg before I have time to get my bearings, and I strike out with the knife. It sinks through flesh and blood clouds the water around me. I start swimming hastily in case it attracts anything else, kicking towards the surface.
Three more times I need to repeat myself before I can finally draw air into my screaming lungs. Another set of sharp teeth latches onto my thigh and I curse. The water around me is a red haze, mine mixing with whatever creatures are lurking in the pool. I do a quick scan to get a lay of the land, naturally finding a square of sunlight on the opposite wall. Ezra is just hoisting herself into it, water and blood dripping off of her body.
She looks back towards me once and her face scrunches with a brief flash of concern before she hides it. “I’d hurry, there’s more than those small bastards in there.”
I curse, swimming as quickly as possible. “That what happen to you?”
She takes a second to cauterize the massive bite mark over her stomach, but can’t get the right angle to treat the teeth marks on her back. It looks like something latched onto her from the side and tried to turn her into a damn chew toy. Even with treating most of her wounds as she goes, it does nothing to dispel the blood coating her body.
“Aren’t you observant,” she snarks, disappearing through the hole and leaving me alone.
I feel something brush against my foot and push myself as hard as I possibly can, hauling myself out of the water before having to deal with it, thank the Fates. I tumble out onto sand, cursing when it sticks absolutely everywhere.
Ezra’s bright hair catches my eye as she’s in the middle of fighting off three men, but I can clearly tell they’re pulling their punches, not really wanting to hurt her. Unfortunately for them, she notices too and it just serves to piss her off.
Not only does she kick their asses, she makes it hurt. She goes above and beyond just knocking them out, taking time to make sure each punch and kick she lands is directed for maximum suffering before knocking them unconscious.
Which gives me the perfect time to pull ahead.
“You asshole,” she snipes from behind me.
There’s a rope tethered to a ring in the ground that leads directly to the finish line about a hundred feet above us. The rope is at a slight angle at least, thank the Fates, because I’m getting really sick of fucking climbing. I drop the dagger, having nowhere to store it and needing both hands.
“Not my fault you wanted to stop and play.”
