CHAPTER NINE #2
A hand struck her cheek harshly, and she tasted blood in her mouth. Before she realized what was happening, Micah was torn from her and Winter slammed him against the wall.
“You don’t touch her,” the prince growled, his teeth bared. “The prisoner is mine if that wasn’t already clear. Know your place, or next time your life is forfeit. Now leave.”
“Of course, Your Highness.” Micah bowed his head and slinked from the room.
Sterling blinked and pressed a hand to her throbbing cheek. She didn’t say thank you, nor did Winter ask if she was all right.
“Come on, human, the game’s starting.” Winter motioned with a finger for her to follow him after collecting a satchel from a drawer.
“You’re not going to bind my wrists?” she asked.
“You won’t run when I have the person you love most.”
The moment of courtesy she’d had from the prince over Micah vanished as soon as he uttered those words. He was her enemy, not a savior.
In the hallway, two tall shirtless guards drew to her sides and Lijah at her back.
Her heart started to accelerate as they left the manor, the cool brisk breeze ruffling her hair.
The two guards beside her lit lanterns to guide their way.
A pebbled trail led them through the forest where the beat of drums began.
As the sounds became heavier, Sterling’s heart pounded with both dread and adrenaline.
If she died, her brother would remain Winter’s prisoner, and if she lived, Cyan would be safe—winning was her only option.
Flashes of light caught her attention across what looked to be an enormous stone barrier lit with dozens and dozens of torches, their flames crackling and the smoke curling up toward the starry night.
Sterling took a deep swallow, keeping her voice even as her heart thundered harder. “What is this?”
Winter glanced over his shoulder when they approached an open iron door set into the stone wall. “The enclosure.”
Even if Sterling could escape now, she wouldn’t dare try when her brother’s life was in her hands. As she stepped through the gate, two men and one woman halted their wooden sticks against the large drums, leaving only the rustling of the trees making any noise.
Lined against the right side of the wall, in front of five guards, were the two dozen prisoners, mostly male, chained together by their wrists, their skin and hair caked in filth. A few were frail, skin and bones, while others were much taller and broader than Sterling, their muscles bulging.
The stone barrier seemed to form a full circle by the way it curved. Sterling didn’t know what she’d been expecting, but the inside of the enclosure didn’t look any different than the part of the forest they’d already ventured past.
One of the guards, a slender blonde woman who was a head taller than Sterling stepped toward them. She wore a short, furred skirt brushing her thighs and a leather top that displayed her stomach and the large swells of her breasts.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Talia?” Winter seethed.
“Your father put me in charge of the human prisoners months ago. You know this, Your Highness. I’m here to make sure none of them try to run off.
” She inched closer and trailed a long fingernail down Winter’s neck.
“By the way, you look well.” His nostrils flared, and he shoved her arm away.
With a shrug, her gaze focused on Sterling.
“This is her? Really? She’s quite pathetic.
I could easily end her fragile life.” She tilted her head and inspected Sterling’s scar, and a giggle escaped her mouth.
“I can see why you decided to hide your face.”
Sterling didn’t know what the fuck was happening, but it wasn’t hard to assume that this was the mate the prince had rejected.
“Unchain the prisoners,” Winter instructed Talia. “Now.”
Talia’s hips swayed while walking toward the prisoners, their eyes wide in anticipation as the metal left their wrists one by one.
After the last chain clanked against the ground, the prince opened his satchel and drew out Sterling’s crimson cloak.
She frowned at the red fabric when he held it out to her.
“Put it on.” He smirked. “Don’t you like to wear it when you hunt?”
“I’m not—”
“Hunting wolves,” he finished for her. “It doesn’t matter—you will wear it.”
Of course he would have it so she stood out from all the prisoners, making it easy for them to pick her out. Gritting her teeth, Sterling took the cloak from him and draped it around her shoulders.
Winter snapped his fingers and the crowd’s attention fell to him.
“The rules are simple. For Red Riding Hood to win the game, she will need to be the last one alive at dawn. For the rest of you, kill Red Riding Hood. The one holding her cloak at dawn will be rewarded with freedom.” He gestured to two of the guards and they opened their satchels, retrieving a handful of daggers.
“Each of the prisoners will receive one dagger to start.” The Prince of Carnage’s gaze turned to her once more, his dimples appearing as a beautifully vicious smile grew. “Fifteen-second head start, human. Go.”
No weapon for her? That fucking bastard.
Sterling bolted through the trees as if lightning were on her heels.
She skirted around the trunks, searching for a weapon or anywhere to temporarily hide while she thought of a survival plan.
The forest within the enclosure seemed spacious enough—the other side of the stone barrier not yet visible.
If it were simply surviving the night, she could’ve done that, but two dozen people were out to kill her, as well as each other to gain possession of her cloak.
The moonlight illuminated the area, and she scavenged a rock that could be of use.
Sterling hid behind a large trunk and held her breath while listening to the noises surrounding her.
In the distance, screams and shouts scattered through the air which meant some of the prisoners were at least trying to kill off one another before taking her out.
Without seeing the dead bodies, she wouldn’t know how many she would still be up against, nor how many were skilled fighters.
Moment after long moment passed when a twig snapped behind her.
She whirled around, avoiding a fatal blow to the throat from a dark-haired woman’s dagger.
Sterling went to swipe the woman’s legs beneath her, but the prisoner leapt out of the way, greasy hair clinging to her dirty flesh.
The woman bared her rotting teeth, then barreled forward like a wild beast. A tree blocked Sterling’s escape, allowing the woman’s blade to slice across her arm.
Sterling bit the inside of her cheek to keep from screaming and ducked just before the dagger struck her again.
As the woman turned around, Sterling slammed down the rock against the side of the prisoner’s head, a grunt gurgling up her throat.
She swayed and collapsed to her knees just as Sterling slammed the rock against the woman’s skull once more.
The prisoner slumped to her side, a pool of blood leaking from her cracked skull around her matted hair, her breath quiet.
Without a pause or a thought, Sterling plucked the dagger from the ground and took off running, her cloak billowing behind her.