“Asshole!” I snap, cleaning my blade on my shoulder and slipping it back into the holster.
Lifting the bow again, I crack my neck and find my first target. “Looks like we’re gonna have to keep this one short.”
I release the bow right into her panicked face. It splits in half from the force.
I smirk, grabbing the next one and quickly finding the smartest newcomer.
He zigzags again. The moment he peers over his shoulder, I aim my arrow right into his eye.
Ten points to Haide!
I barely have the third locked in when the sound of wings beats through the air.
With a thud, boots hit gravel just as I unload the next arrow.
“Booyah!” I yell, smile wide just in time for Zev to swing at me.
I dodge his punch and swing behind him, wrapping my arm around his throat. “Nah, uh, bestie! You know you love me.”
“Fuck you, Haide. You know I hate cracking through those damn fucking things.”
I release my hold when I feel the tension leave his body. Only a pool of blood remains in the spot where I killed him.
“You can get me next time,” I tease, the sound of large wings bashing through the air once more.
“Bullshit,” Zev murmurs, plucking scales off his neck. “You damn well know I won’t get one on you.”
Actually, he could. He just chooses not to.
A blue dragon slams into the cliff with enough force to send rocks tumbling into the darkness below. His massive claws scrape deep grooves in the stone as he lands.
I turn over my shoulder just as the beast flings two fresh bornsoff his talons like they’re nothing more than garbage. They hit the ground hard, rolling to a stop near the blood pool from Zev. Smoke curls from the dragon’s nostrils in thick, angry streams while he stomps his foot again, making the whole cliff shake beneath us.
“Aw, come on!” I bat my lashes up at him, knowing full well he can see through my bullshit. “You know you love that I keep you guys busy! What would you do without me? Nap all day?”
If a dragon could roll his eyes, I swear this one would be giving me the most dramatic eye roll in existence. Instead, he snorts more smoke directly at my face, making me cough and wave it away.
“I’ve got my fair share of dragons to deal with,” Zev says, brushing more scales off his shoulders with obvious irritation. “But I still don’t know how the hell you manage to test their patience like this. It’s like you’ve got a death wish.”
“You know death wishes don’t work here, Zev. We just come back minutes later!”
The girl and her clever friend from earlier stumble forward. Now, with them this close, I see it. Fear. Bliss.
I pat them both on the shoulder. “Welcome to Exile Island! Try not to die.”
They exchange a glance before making a run for it.
I turn, spreading my arms wide and free-fall off the cliff through humid air that rushes past my face. My stomach flips in that perfect way it always does right before I hit the water. The ocean swallows me whole, cold and dark, before I kick hard and break the surface.
Zevryn splashes down beside me seconds later, sending up a spray that hits me square in the face.
“Show off,” I mutter, spitting out salt water.
“Says the woman who just murdered me for calling her soft.”
We swim toward the main strip, where the real entertainmentlives. The sounds hit first—screams, laughter, the crack of bone against bone. Music pounds from somewhere deeper in the chaos, drums that match the island’s pulse.
Water streams off my clothes as I haul myself onto the dock. The strip sprawls before us in its usual beautiful disaster. Fires burn in metal drums, casting orange light across faces twisted in rage, ecstasy, or both. A woman slams a man’s head into a stone wall repeatedly while he laughs. Two others fight over a piece of meat—that’s probably not even edible—with bloody and relentless fists.
