Worse than that, though, she’d underestimated the lengths the gods would go to keep her and every other competitor off balance.
It made her even more determined to win.
She reluctantly set her sword aside, using the torch to see the stone she pulled from her pocket. She’d grabbed it and stuffed it into her pants a heartbeat before she and Lucan both stupidly reached to catch the chalice that had catapulted them down memory lane.
It shouldn’t still hurt so much, yet her heart felt bruised. Everything about that night with Lucan had been so incredible, right up until the moment she realized he had already pledged himself to another.
The woman in his tent hadn’t been the type to follow Arthur’s camp of men from place to place, available to anyone willing to pay. Her expensive clothes and air of nobility told a different story, as did the open affection and trace of hurt Briana had caught on the woman’s face before she’d been sent on her way.
She hadn’t been so naïve as to think being with Lucan had changed his loyalty to Arthur or his plans. He’d been set to drink from the Grail and swear his vows, though having seen him with Arthur, she suspected the latter was just a formality. But she’d hoped she would see Lucan again soon and that maybe someday…
She’d never been able to bring herself to ask her brothers about the woman with Lucan, and they’d never said a word about him marrying. They’d never spoken of any other unions except Arthur’s, really, and even the god-king had been married barely a year before everything had changed.
“Don’t think about it,” she whispered, concentrating on the red stone that glinted in the torch light. Later she could mourn for the young woman she used to be.
She closed her fist over the gem and shoved it back in her pocket.
Okay. One down…two to go.
Pushing off from the wall, she threw herself into the search. It was impossible to know how much time passed as she navigated the endless tunnels and caverns. Occasionally she would hear a roar or yell echo through the cavern, and tightened her hand on her weapon, but she didn’t come across anyone.
The air gradually cooled, the walls darkening with shards of black crystal sharp enough to maim jutting from the walls and ceiling. Inch by inch the crystal overtook the walls until she entered a cavern that appeared coated in black ice, broken by sections of the impaling crystal.
Here the air was crisp and a trace of ash rode on the air. The dragon?
Pinning down a trail was difficult when the crystal surface didn’t absorb much scent. She continued forward, debated shifting to her cat form. She wouldn’t be as hindered by the dim lighting and would easily blend into her surroundings.
Warmth pulsed in her pocket. Resisting the urge to check that the stone was glowing, she tightened her hand on her sword. Kel had doubled back and she’d just become the prey.
The air stirred behind her, and she ducked to avoid the fist that snaked out to grab her. Spinning around, she found Kel too close. Unable to dodge his next punch, the glancing blow caught her across the chin.
She kicked out, nailing him in the abdomen. It was like hitting a utility pole.
He grunted, but managed a smile colder than the crystal she brushed up against. “Give it to me.”
“No.”
He pursued when she retreated, moving around the mounds of crystal she tried to keep between them. Though she was a bit out of practice, she kept her body loose, staying on the balls of her feet, never taking her eyes off Kel.
“The knight was right. You should have left when you had the chance.”
“Sorry I deprived you of the chance to see me torn apart.”
Pure reptilian, his grin rattled her. “The games aren’t over yet.” He lunged for her.
Twisting around, she brought her sword up, catching him across the torso. Blood nearly as dark as the crystal dripped down the blade.
Briana didn’t wait for him to retaliate. He evaded the next swing of the blade, however, but not the next kick to his leg.
He roared, but her smaller form made it easier to dodge around the mounds of jutting crystal—until he managed to catch a handful of her braid.
Yanking her toward him, he gripped her arms, his claws sinking into her skin. She bit down to hold in the cry of pain.
With a roar, he threw her away from him. She struck the wall with enough force to break a couple ribs. Blood trickled into her eye from where her temple just grazed a section of the jagged crystal.
Sucking in a breath, she felt around on the ground for her sword. Where the fuck was it?
“You don’t need to make this hard on yourself.”
“Who says this is hard?” She dragged herself to her feet, the sticky dampness in her side telling her she was bleeding heavily. Preferring not to give him a place to strike, she didn’t hold her arm to the wound like she wanted.
Her sword lay less than a foot away. Kel would be on her before she reached it.
“You’re not like your brothers.” The acid-filled insult rolled off his tongue.
“I can tell that attention to detail is a talent of yours.”
If not for the iridescent glistening of jewel-toned scales along his jaw that betrayed the dragon pushing to the surface, she thought Kel might have laughed.
“You don’t have their training or skills, cat.”
She hadn’t stopped to think how well Cian and the others would have known Kellagh the Black, preferring to remember him only as Arthur’s betrayer. “Who would have thought the Gauntlet would put you and Lucan back on the same side.”
Kel opened his mouth to respond, but came at her instead.
She pivoted to grab the back of his shirt and slam him into a tower of crystal. Satisfied at the sight of the blood that ran down his face and neck, she retreated.
A backward kick to her knee cap took her to the ground.
Eyes all fire and brimstone, he advanced on her. “Give me the stone.”
“Do you always repeat yourself?” Back on her feet and limping a little, she skidded away from him.
He snagged her wrist, and she guessed his intentions a second before he snapped it.
Crying out, she jammed her other elbow in his throat, staggering away from him.
All Briana could see was blackness, the way out of the cavern obscured by the crystal. Damn it. She couldn’t stay here, wasn’t strong enough to take him on by herself, not bleeding with a broken wrist and busted ribs.
She felt her way around another tower, the pain a white-hot pulse that fired with every step. Listening for Kel, she wiped at the blood that continued to run into her eye. Her gaze locked on a tunnel, and she bolted for it.
Halfway there, Kel caught up with her, his arms like steel bands clamping around her chest.
Her broken ribs sliced into her, stealing her breath and cutting off her scream.
The dragon squeezed.
Can’t breathe.
How long until she lost consciousness and he took the stone from her? A wave of adrenaline flooded her. She would not lose it to Kel.
Next to the dragon’s head, a chunk of crystal dangled from the wall. Sharper than it looked, the crystal cut her palms, but she yanked hard, stabbing the broken shard into his thigh.
His arms fell away from her, and she landed at his feet, her lungs starved for oxygen. Kel plucked the crystal from his leg, and she knew he was two seconds away from breaking her neck. There wouldn’t be anything stopping him from taking the stone from her then.
Her arms trembled from the effort of holding herself up.
A blur of gray knocked Kel to the ground.
Vaughn?
In wolf form, he pinned Kel to the ground, his massive jaws snapping and just missing Kel’s throat.
The dragon kicked him off, but Vaughn regrouped, and she lost sight of them behind a column of the crystal.