My heart sank as I watched him being dragged away. I could scarcely breathe through the pain. I smelled the musk all around me. All the blood had inflamed the other tygers. Saliva dripped. Tails flicked. I was surrounded.
The pain was so great now it had started to fade to numbness. I closed my eyes.
Distantly, I swore I heard the crowd murmuring, gasping.
Another roar burst against my ears, somehow familiar.
My eyes flickered open to see the copper-and-black coat I recognized.
Flame stood in front of me, snarling at the other tygers.
Was I hallucinating?
They had locked her up.This isn’t real. I’ve lost too much blood.
She roared again. The tygers encircling us took a step backward.
Flame was bleeding, her shoulders were torn, and a thick rope was still tied around her neck, as if she had broken free from her restraints.
An unearthly vibration, something between a hum and a purr, filled the Arena.
It was coming from the other tygers, in the presence of their queen.
She whirled on me, her golden eyes half mad. Suddenly, they flared completely silver.
I gasped, then doubled over as a sharp jab of pain hit my gut.
Time seemed to slow. A growl went through her torso, making the air vibrate as she lowered her head, gathering her haunches.
My heartbeat was as loud as thunder in my ears.
Flame pounced toward me. The crowd roared.
Her powerful body arched in the air—beautiful and majestic—before her enormous paws hit me squarely in the chest.
10
I fellhard, the pain making it difficult to breathe.
Flame landed on her feet beside me. I tried to stand, to make my body obey, but my limbs wouldn’t respond. She snarled and lowered one heavy paw onto my chest, pinning me to the ground.
The tygress queen lowered her giant head to me. I braced myself. I would never see Edith or Quinn again. Never regain my memories. Tears streamed down past my temples into my hair, but I kept my eyes open, tilting my head to the side to look away.
Intense ice blue stared back at me, one warrior along the grated enclosures out of place in his Ambush Master uniform.
Hatred slithered through me as I locked eyes with him. Let him watch me die; it washisfault. A strange bubbling laugh nearly burst through my lips.Scorchhole.
I could feel the tygress ripping into my clothing, tearing my dress open.
I winced as I felt the heat of her breath against the wound in my chest. She opened her mouth. I closed my eyes.
By the grace of the goddess of compassion, please let this be over quickly, I prayed.
Her tongue was rough, licking over my skin. Blessed numbness and then a healing warmth. I cracked my eyes open. Flame’s golden eyes were right in front of my face; then they flared again, as silver as the star on her forehead.
Definitely hallucinating.
Flame growled, low and deliberate, her breath hot against my cheek. I was pinned beneath her, my body too weak to fight back. Then, without warning, she lifted her paw from my chest and pressed it firmly into my open palm.
