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Three lizards turn the corner, eyes on us, and a manic sensation rattles through me. My feet already carry me backward.

“Move!” Kazak orders, shoving me behind him.

I whip around and sprint madly, but I look back at the hideous creatures hissing. Then they attack, grunts and teeth clashing, and I scream when one of the beasts slips past them and scurries after me.

I’ve never run so fast. I fist the fabric of my skirt, lift it, and then sprint. Unsure where I’m going, I follow the path, taking the right turn at each divide, seeing as that’s what we’ve been doing so far.

I twist my head around but find nothing behind me, yet I can’t stop darting away.

My lungs burn, and I suck in each rushed breath, my sights narrowing on an arched entry. Gods, is this the exit?

Hopeful, I burst through, only to find myself in an open area with a cobblestone ground and a raised golden platform in the middle. A single chalice of the same color sits on top, similar to what the last maze winner had been clasping in his hand.

Fury thumps beneath my skin as I stare at the damn thing we’re supposed to find while beasts attempt to tear us apart.

The scrape of claws on stone has terror squeezing my throat, and I flinch around.

A dark shape fills the entryway and steps forward, revealing itself as the lizard.

A whimper escapes me as I stumble backward and bump into the platform. Desperately, I snatch the chalice—anything to defend myself.

I shove it out in front of me, my hands shaking. “Stay back!” I threaten, but the creature just eyes me and lowers its head. It lumbers closer on bowed legs, that huge body swaying from side to side, dragging that long tail.

“I said, stay back!” I yell, trying for a dominant voice to scare the animal.

Except, it hisses, and this is where I’m going to die.

Then it lunges.

And I scream.

Chapter

Twenty-Six

DAWN

The beast charges.

But something inside me shifts in that same split second as fire races up my body. I shove myself sideways, out of the beast’s line of attack.

It crashes headfirst into the platform I’d been standing in front of with a sickening crack. Its legs wobble, and the lizard drops to the ground. It whines, shaking itself, as I stumble away, still clutching the stupid chalice.

But that earlier fire still burns through me, fluttering across my chest. I glance down at the dragonfly mark above my heart, peeling away from my skin.

“No, wait, you can’t do this now!” I reach for my chest to shove it back down because I remember the bathroom incident on the train.

The dragonfly leaps off my chest. It’s larger than it was in the train incident, at least twice the size of my head. The wings carry threads of red and gold that glint beneath the sunlight.

It’s also when the damn lizard gets back up on its feet, head snapping toward me. Teeth bared, a hiss rolling in its throat.

“Shit!” I hurl the chalice at its head. It bounces right off its skull and rolls away, completely useless.

Suddenly, the dragonfly dives from where it’s circling overhead. It goes straight for the beast creeping toward me. Nearby, the dragonfly’s mouth opens up, lined with huge, sharp teeth.

Then it slams down onto the back of the lizard’s neck and bites down.

I flinch at the savagery. It rips a chunk of flesh away, and my stomach aches. Blood spurts out as the lizard snaps around, convulsing. But the dragonfly swings back around and attacks again. Another gaping bite into the neck, more blood spilled onto the cobblestones, and I’m going to be sick.