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A faint smile curves my lips as I finally piece together why the Rinhold tonic would have such a unique side-effect.

Four, he warns. There’s an edge to his voice that has the hairs on my arms standing on end.

What happens in four minutes?

“We gotta move,” Sofia insists as she hauls my arm over her shoulder.

I see what she means when I force myself to look up.

All the candidates are sprinting past the frozen portals that are bringing in new monsters.

Monsters Night has begun, but here, the games are on pause. King Njord is delaying the opening of the portals on his isle.

Maybe it’s for dramatic effect.

Maybe it’s for a more practical reason.

Whatever his strategy, I only have four minutes to figure out my game plan.

I know how this works, at least traditionally. Once a year for a single night, the portals allow monsters from other realms to enter and hunt and claim their mates. In the case of the Elite City, villages have adapted various sects of humans to be genetically modified, and otherwise enhanced, to become more compatible with monsters. The more successful the pairings, the higher the standing of the Elite family who founded that village.

But here, on Monster Isle, I have a feeling the goal is slightly different.

There are two kinds of monsters. There are the inhabitants of Monster Isle, like my sponsors, who are genuinely seeking connection.

Then there are the other kinds of nightmare beasts… the ones King Njord wants to draw in.

I spot them as they slowly emerge from the portals that gape from the ground. Their entry has been slowed by King Njord’s power, but they’re still coming in, giving me enough time to analyze them.

Black spikes curl outward from the land as if enormous claws are pushing through from beneath.

The creatures emerging from them are trapped in slow motion.

They’re massive, shadowlike creatures with red eyes, claws, and teeth.

The best for last, King Njord had promised.

He wants a show, which means there needs to be a true threat to survival.

I understand the entire game now.

He forces his citizens to fight for mates. Then uses their clan tendencies to make them want to prove themselves worthy.

And those inside his court are just as sick as he is, looking for violent and high-stakes entertainment.

What about you, Arwan? I wonder.

Godric once said it was the packs who kept the royals safe.

From what?

From these… things?

My eyes widen as a red glow emerges in the sky. It beams, then streaks down and strikes the ground just feet from us.

“Who the hell is shooting fire arrows at us?” Sofia shrieks as she jerks me along.

Three minutes, Ze’ev warns me inside my head. Something fizzles inside my mind as if there’s new interference with our mental connection.