Chapter 27
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trolled my shoulders back as I stepped into the open arena. The crowd roared around us, and who would make it through this selection.
Not that I was listening to the whispers, but I heard them anyway.
Elena Ashford, again.”
“She’s got the King wrapped around her fingers.”
the entire palaze seemed to be apart see who would blend
Tkept my chin up and gaze forward, ignoring the burn of attention crawling up my back. As I neared the contestant lanes, my eyes caught on Asfer perched casually on a low wall just beyond the sparring line.
His hair was tied back, and that beautiful mouth of his was curled in a half–smirk. He raised two fingers to his brow in a mock salute. “Looking sharp, Lucky,” he called, voice easy, teasing. Loud enough to turn heads.
I didn’t answer. The smile he shot back told me my silence was enough of a reply.
The horn sounded and we moved to our lanes in a tight formation. The first challenge was archery. Straightforward, impersonal. Perfect. I could disappear into repetition.
The bow was solid in my grip, the string already humming with tension. I adjusted my stance, inhaled slowly, and notched the first arrow. Let my breath
out. Released.
Bullseye.
The murmurs started almost immediately, shifting from disdain to confusion.
Another arrow. Inner ring. And the next, dead center again…
I didn’t flinch. Didn’t smile. Just moved through the sequence like I’d trained to do. I stepped back as the round ended, and even from across the arena, I could see the narrowed eyes. Disbelief blooming. Not luck after all.
Asher let out a low whistle and clapped, slow and amused. “Try not to break the target board next time.”
I gave him a pointed look, then turned away before the flutter in my chest could root itself into something like attraction. There wasn’t room for
distraction.
Dagger throwing was next. The body–shaped targets moved this time, whipping in and out of range at unpredictable intervals. Perfect.
I rolled my shoulders, drew the first blade, and let it fly.
Thunk. Right in the heart. My second dagger was a clean hit to the shoulder, and the third… was right between the eyes.
A few of the women watching groaned under their breath. One tossed her dagger too early and missed entirely.
By the fifth and final throw, I could feel the shift around me. Resentment rippling just beneath the surface. The other contenders saw it now and they weren’t laughing anymore.
“She’s trained,” someone whispered nearby. “She’s not supposed to be this good.”
I clenched my jaw and stepped away from the throwing line, heat prickling at the back of my neck, Shit, Elena always skipped out on this part of training
the targets weren’t sexy trainers to roll around the mat with.
Double shit. It was marathon and obstacles that Elena excelled at, and the endurance circuit loomed ahead. It was the final part of the solo trials and the
1/3
one I’d dreaded.
Because this was where I couldn’t keep up, but Elena slways won.
We were lined up again. I even my fingers, stretched my grip, trying to shake off the edge creeping into my muscles. Ruby groter enduragemenda the back of my mind, but the knew as well as I did this was going to be tough.
The course opened with a sprint 1 exploded off the line with the others, sand kicking up behind my boots, the wind slapping my face. My breathing wrat controbed at first. My pace even.
By the second lap, my chest burned.
Vaulting the barrier, I caught myself just slightly slower than I should have. A tiny misstep, but enough to make my heart stuffer.
Focus. Keep moving.
I pushed forward. The wall climb was next. I grabbed the rope, hands raw against the fibers, and dragged myself up. I made it, but the strain was already in my shoulders. My descent was shaky.
The spinning beam was worse. I hesitated, just a beat, and then stepped out.
Halfway across, my balance wobbled. I caught myself, arms out, knees locking against the narrow wooden path. My vision blurred with sweat.
From the edge of the field, I heard Asher call, “Easy, Lucky! You’ve got this.”
A few girls scoffed behind their hands. Vanessa, I was sure, was rolling her eyes and adding to the tally of men I was fucking to stay in this competition.
My foot slipped, and I dropped into a crouch, heart pounding. I pushed to my feet and forced myself to keep moving. One more stretch. One more jump. 1 landed with a stumble, lungs seizing, limbs shaking.
“You hesitated.” I didn’t need to look to know who it was. But damn my eyes for turning to see Damon standing just off the course now, arms folded over
his chest. His armor showed every muscle, his posture carved from stone.
“You hesitated on the beam,” he repeated, louder this time. “Again.”
I clenched my jaw, swallowing the ache rising in my throat. I wanted to snap back and scream that I was burning through every ounce of energy just to stay upright. But that would only prove his point.
So, I said nothing, just clenched my jaw and turned back to the beam.
“You want to punish me?” I muttered under my breath. “Fine. Watch me finish it first.”
As I climbed the second time, somewhere to the right I heard Asher’s voice rise over the crowd. “Twenty silvers say she outlasts His Majesty’s patience!”
Laughter rippled through the spectators; Damon didn’t react.
This time, I crossed the beam without falling. And this time, when I landed, I didn’t stumble.
But my vision spotted at the edges. My pulse rang in my ears. I could barely feel my hands.
“She’s barely holding it together,” Ronan muttered nearby.
I pushed forward again to the final stretch. My legs felt like lead. My lungs refused to expand. But I moved anyway, grinding through every task, every demand, even as my body screamed at me to rest.
One more incline. One more barrier.
The sand beneath my boots shifted like it was trying to drag me down with every step. My vision tunneled. I could barely see the red flags marking the course’s end. Each breath scraped down my throat like broken glass.
2/3
Chapter 27
I would not give up when I was this close. Not when Damon was still watching, judging. And certainly not when Vanessa would use my collapse as
another reason to taunt me.
Asher yelled out again, louder this time. Bold and cocky.
“Double it!” he shouted from the sidelines. “Forty silvers say
survives next round against the King and wipes that smug look off his face while she’s at
itt
More laughter broke out from the crowd, mixed with a few gasps of disbelief. But it didn’t matter if he meant it or not. The sound of his voice sparked something sharp inside me.
I clenched my teeth. Took another step.
Then another.
I vaulted the final barrier, barely clearing it, and hit the ground on the other side in a heavy, two–footed landing that rattled up my spine. My knees buckled but I stayed standing.
R38 543ng. Shaking. My vision was a blur of light and motion. But I crossed the line
Applause erupted; polite from some, stunned from others. I couldn’t tell if Damon clapped. I
I just dropped to my knees in the dirt, head bowed, the taste of metal and adrenaline sharp on my tongue. My chest rose and fell in ragged gasps and sweat clung to every inch of me.
A second later, Emma came out of nowhere, arms flinging around me as she half–hauled, half–hugged
me to
my feet.
“Elena, you were amazing!” she gushed, breathless with excitement. Then she made a face, scrunching her nose. “And you smell like something that crawled out of a Rogue den.”
I let out a hoarse laugh, leaning into her as she dragged me off the course. My legs barely worked. My bones felt like they were melting.
But I hadn’t collapsed.
From across the arena, I heard the scrape of steel and the bark of Ronan’s voice. “Final match of the day. Selected by the draw. Elena Ashford… versus the Lycan King.”
The blood drained from my face.
Emma stiffened beside me and the crowd gasped. I guess word hadn’t spread to the couriers that one of the bride candidates would be fighting the King.
I turned slowly, just in time to see Damon stepping into the center of the ring. Calm. Cold. The picture of a feared warrior King.
I’d survived the course, now I had to survive him.
AD
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