Chapter 37
Aryana
The beast leaned over her. Aryana didn’t dare move. Any second the chimera would rip her to shreds, slake its lust for her flesh.
Its nose pressed over her, and hot breath blasted her skin. Its sharp teeth parted, a long slender tongue whipped out like a thin velvety piece of ribbon.
It tasted her blood.
She was helpless. Fighting would only kill her faster. She trembled under its piercing gaze.
It pulled back with a growl, looking around, sniffing the air, searching.
For what? Aryana was right there.
“Watch out!” Jesir raced toward her and stabbed the beast in the side with his spear.
Aryana’s eyes widened. “No, Jesir!”
The chimera was a single-minded hunter.
Unless provoked by an outside threat.
It was too late. The creature snarled and turned on Jesir. He stumbled, jerking the spear out, dripping with chimera blood. In seconds, the monster was on top of him, his screams marking his end.
Aryana’s heart pounded. No, no! But why? Why had it taken him and not her? Tears stung her eyes. Jesir had given an offering she could never repay.
And Neri.
The monster leaped off of Jesir’s shredded corpse, stalking toward Neri. She recoiled, terror slicing across her face.
Why her? Aryana searched the human woman’s clothes, but then saw the knife Aryana had given her returned to its sheath.
That was drawing the chimera, and not Aryana herself? “Neri, the dagger, take it off. Throw it away!”
The woman nodded, her fingers fumbling with the sheath.
She got it off and cocked her arm to throw.
The chimera didn’t wait. It lunged and Neri ran, flinging the blade away from her, racing around the chimera and darting back into the maze.
But the scent of the knife was on her and the beast pursued.
From the sounds of it she didn’t make it far as her screams and death cries filled the arena.
Her demise added to Jesir’s across this morbid killing field.
The crowd above them went wild.
Aryana pushed herself to her knees, trying to process. Jesir, a demon, had given his life for her, while a human had betrayed her.
Her world was turned on its head. Again.
The chimera returned, sniffing the air. Aryana expected it to attack her last, but suddenly it jerked to the left, racing off into the maze.
Where was it going?
And then it hit her.
Zarathos had painted her with his cum. Forced her to drink his blood—almost all of it. It had already flooded her system, flowing through her veins. Then he’d dressed her in his armor. He’d completely wiped out her own scent. And Zarathos…
Zarathos was covered in her scent.
Aryana grabbed the spear and bolted through the maze, attempting to control her panicked breaths. She had no idea where she was going and soon came to a dead end. Damn it. Every second she wasted was another second that the chimera got closer to Zarathos.
She looked around, her heart plummeting. Finding her way through this maze could take hours. Even with the Bloodbinding connection pulling her toward the direction of Zarathos, it would not help her navigate the twisting passages before her.
Need help?
Pohan came up behind her. She swung around, the spear clutched in her hands. Neri had just betrayed her. She didn’t know what she’d been thinking. It wasn’t like they could all live to the end of the trials.
There had to be a way to get to Zarathos quickly. Her eyes settled on the ridge along the wall of the maze.
Despite her distrust, she needed Pohan’s help. “Can you give me a boost?” she asked.
He followed her gaze and looked back at her. Gladly.
He knelt, locking his hands together, and Aryana backed up to get momentum.
She rushed forward and landed on Pohan’s open palm.
He launched her upward with a large grunt.
Aryana hit the side of the wall and was able to use her own speed to run up the last couple of feet before she flung herself onto the edge.
Pulling herself up, she balanced on the top of the crumbling wall that was only half a foot thick. In the middle of the maze, a large tower rose, made of stone. The roars of the chimera were coming from that direction.
The power of the Bloodbinding also pulled her toward the structure.
The stands were distant enough that most seats had an aerial view of the maze and its occupants. She balanced the spear in her hands and raced forward, leaping from ledge to ledge.
Aryana’s muscles burned as she sprinted as fast as her legs could carry her.
But the chimera was so far ahead. Its massive form pounded through the twisting corridors of the maze with terrifying speed, its three heads snapping and growling with each turn, the snake’s tail lashing with anticipation.
Aryana’s grip on Jesir’s spear beneath her fingers tightened as she forced herself to move faster.
The chimera drew near the tower, the very goal she had been racing toward.
Her heart hammered in her chest, and panic clawed at her as the distance between them narrowed, but she was still behind.
The maze was too treacherous, and the chimera too fast. Desperation surged within her.
If she couldn’t reach Zarathos first, all would be lost.
The deafening roar of the crowd vibrated through Aryana’s bones.
In the center of the labyrinth stood Xaphoron and the other champions in front of the tower, which held a panel of numbers carved into the stone at its base.
Each of them gripped a parchment in their hands. But that didn’t matter right now.
She didn’t have time to pause, didn’t have time to gain her bearings.
She launched herself off the wall, taking the impact of the fall into her legs as it jarred up through her as she landed and rolled through the dirt and came to her feet.
Dust swirled around her ankles. Her heart pounded, but it wasn’t fear that gripped her.
It was fury.
The arena was no longer just a place of spectacle. It was a battlefield. And on this ground, she’d either die, or she’d fight for the only person who mattered.
Zarathos.
He stood next to the tower, his sword grasped weakly between his hands.
Exhaustion in his pale face, and her heart twisted painfully in her chest. He’d gotten two other champions to guard him.
Tigon from Terra Monstrum and Lentira, one of the twins from Inferna.
Lentira now wielded Balafur and Xaphoron's sword from the last trial. But the chimera didn’t seem fazed.
It pounced and shredded Lentira in a single swipe of its paw.
“No, no! Sister!” Noctyssa shrieked. She raced forward but paused before stepping into the chimera’s path, sinking to her knees as she cried her agony over the arena.
The other champion, Tigon, retreated. Even this hulk was afraid of such a beast. After glancing at Zarathos and then at the chimera, he stepped up feebly to protect the bargainer, who must hold his life in his hands.
Clenching her teeth, Aryana ran forward and placed herself between Zarathos, the other contestant, and the monstrous beast.
“Aryana,” Zarathos murmured her name. Gods, he looked terrible. Crimson still covered his vulnerable chest. The only thing he’d managed to get on before being dragged out into the arena was a thin pair of trousers. His gaze met hers and he tossed his sword to her.
The chimera circled to the right, its three heads watching with hungry anticipation, like a predator savoring its kill before the final strike.
Aryana’s grip tightened around the wood of her spear and the hilt of the sword’s handle. The creature’s roar echoed through the stands as its massive body shifted in the dirt.
The crowd fell silent for a moment, caught in the tension, sensing that the real fight was about to begin.
For him. Aryana thought to herself, the words a vow. She would protect Zarathos. She would fight until her last breath.
The lion’s maw dripped with saliva, its fangs glinting in the light as it growled low and menacingly. The goat’s head bleated, its frenzied eyes darting between her and its prey. The serpent’s tongue flicked in and out, sensing the air, as if trying to taste her fear.
But Aryana didn’t fear it. Not anymore.
The creature lunged toward her, impossibly fast, and Aryana leapt aside, her feet digging into the sand as she rolled into a new fighting stance, narrowly avoiding its deadly teeth.
Lashing out with her sword, she slashed it across its flank.
The blade bit into the chimera’s thick hide, but the beast barely flinched.
Roaring in fury, the chimera backed up and then struck again.
This time, the snake’s head lashed forward, its fangs flashing as it sought to impale her.
Aryana sidestepped, but not fast enough.
The serpent’s teeth scraped across Zarathos’s dragon scale armor.
The sting of the blow made her stumble. Ignoring the pain, she refocused on the beast with a fierce determination.
The crowd screamed, urging the creature on, but Aryana’s world had narrowed to the chimera in front of her.
As the lion’s head swung around for another strike, Aryana dove beneath its body, sliding in the dirt.
She shoved her sword upward into its underbelly, the blade sinking deep, but it wasn’t enough to end the fight.
The lion roared in pain and jerked away, taking the embedded blade with it.
Large drops of blood plopped down on the sand as it walked.
Her wet, crimson covered hands clasped the wooden spear. There was no time to savor the small victory. The creature wasn’t finished yet.
The serpent’s head was already whipping around for another strike. It lashed out and she had to use her weapon to keep it from making contact as it backed her against the rock tower.
Aryana was cornered.
The sound of flapping wings caused her to look up. Zarathos landed on the chimera’s back, gripping the goat’s horns and wrenching them so hard, he snapped its neck. Fury and fear shone in his eyes and a snarl wrenched out of him.
“Stay away from my wife.”
The snake head whipped up and Zarathos tried to avoid it, but he wasn’t fast enough. A roar of pain released from him as the serpent sank its teeth into his flesh between his neck and shoulder.
No.
The chimera sprang for her throat, its lion fangs poised to tear her apart. Aryana barely managed to duck, the massive jaws smashing together above her. She rolled out from under it and made it to her feet, frantic for an opening—any opening.
Zarathos wrestled with the snake on the chimera’s back, his hands shaking, his face a wet sheen from over exertion as the venom took its toll on his already weak body.
A surge of energy pulsed through her, not from fear for her own life.
It was a fire that burned away any hesitation.
She couldn’t lose him. Not here. Not now.
With a wild cry, Aryana bridged the distance between herself and the chimera.
The lion’s head moved toward her, but this time, she was ready.
As it snapped its jaws, she leapt over its maw, plunging her spear into the creature’s side.
The chimera howled in pain, but she wasn’t finished.
She twisted her weapon and pulled it free, only to strike again.
This time, her spear sank deep into the soft flesh at the base of the lion’s throat.
The beast’s head jerked in agony, blood pouring from the wound as it staggered. The chimera stumbled, its eyes clouding over with pain, and Aryana didn’t hesitate. She drove the spear into the chimera’s throat again, ripping it open.
The snake still had its teeth in Zarathos. With a final snarl, he drove his claws in past its scales and out the other side. The chimera recoiled, whining in agony as its once-deadly tail fell limp.
Pools of crimson gathered in the sand as the chimera dropped and thrashed in the dirt, twitching until the last head finally stilled.
Zarathos tumbled off of its back, rolling into the dirt, unmoving. The arena became hushed.
Aryana stood panting. Blood dripped from her hands, but she didn’t feel it. Her gaze darted to where Zarathos lay.
She sank down beside him, fingers shaking as she reached for his throat. His pulse was faint, but it was there.
Hair covered his face, and she brushed it aside as his eyes fluttered open.
“Aryana…” he murmured, his voice hoarse, barely audible.
“I’m here,” she whispered fiercely, her hands cupping his cheeks. “I won’t let go.”
Zarathos’s lips trembled as he tried to smile, but it was faint, fleeting. “You… you found me…”
“Always.” Emotion gripped her as she realized she’d do whatever it took to find him, and not simply because of some bargain.
His hand reached for hers, his touch weak but warm. “You are a warrior beyond compare, Vampress.” His eyes were heavy with gratitude and something deeper.
Now that the creature was dead, the arena’s bloodthirsty spectators were creating a boisterous din.
Were they cheering for them? For her? She registered the sound of the trump marking the conclusion of the trial.
And as Aryana knelt next to Zarathos, bloodied and relieved, she knew that whatever horrors lay ahead, they would face it together. And nothing—nothing—could break them.