She slammed her hand against Drew’s mouth and he bit down on it. Stella forced herself to hold it there through the pain. She funneled her magic through her cuff and shot a fireball directly into his open mouth.
Drew’s eyes went wide, and he stumbled back, choking on a soundless scream. Stella rubbed her throat and drew in deep, gasping breaths as her vision sharpened again.
She immediately looked away, listening to the horrifying sound of Drew trying to breathe through his fire-ravaged throat. It was a gruesome way to kill someone, but she was dazed and panicked, and it was the only idea she’d had in the moment.
She’d been stopped too many times already. It seemed the mazewas designed to lead the competitors toward each other. But every second that slipped by brought her one second closer to being stuck with this bond and never being able to escape Teddy.
Stella ran blindly through the next few turns. The crowd shouted and clapped and she was certain she had to be close to the center. She rounded another corner and noticed the charred remnants of a fire trap that had already been sprung.
She turned left at the next split in the ivy walls and crashed directly into Fionn.
“Fuck,” she grunted.
He immediately threw up his hands and went on the offensive, hitting her with a complicated combination of footwork and brutal punches. She’d learned this particular Novumi fighting style from Isla and Queen Jessamin, but it had been a long time since she’d practiced and her movements were slow. The lack of practice, the broken ribs, and the head injury made her feel off-kilter. Her movements were sharp, the fighting pattern trained into her body so that she struck on instinct, but she was only fast enough to deflect his moves, not to counter them.
His fist connected with her eye, and she ignored the blistering pain to hit him in the chin.
“You really need to work on your form. Left side is the weak side, princess,” Fionn said, sliding a dagger along her side to prove the point.
Stella was pissed, pained, and tired of being hit. As he took a step toward her, she grabbed a blade from her vest and jammed it into his groin. He stumbled back and she kicked the hilt so it dug in deeper. He wouldn’t be able to remove it until he could get medical attention.
“Yourweakness is between your legs. Just like every other man,” she said, elbowing past him.
Fionn grunted something that sounded like a laugh. “You’re not wrong.” He grinned and turned to limp in the opposite direction. Stella couldn’t tell if he was disoriented or just messing with her.
“You’re going the wrong way,” she said.
He glanced at her over his shoulder and winked in thathandsome, roguish way of his. “I know exactly what I’m doing. Good luck, princess. Sorry about the shiner.”
She only took a second to watch him go before sprinting down the straightaway and turning left, then right, then left again. The crowd noise crescendoed as she moved and she had the distinct feeling they were cheering specifically because she was close.
Two paths stretched before her. She took one step toward the left option, and the crowd quieted. She paused and backtracked to the right, and the crowd went wild.
Stella put herself at the crowd’s mercy and followed the curve around to the right. The corridor widened into a straightaway and she could finally see a larger open space up ahead with white marble floors. It had to be the center.
Her heart leapt into her throat as she dashed toward the opening at the same time a figure cloaked in shadow hurtled from the doorway directly across from her.
As she crossed the threshold into the center of the maze, her joy morphed into shock and then relief because she was standing face-to-face with Teddy, and they had entered the room at the exact same moment.
38
TEDDY
As Teddy stepped into the center room, a loud grinding sound cut through the air, a stone door closing behind him. The door behind Stella did the same, as did the doors on the other two walls of the room.
They were finally safe. All their adversaries were barred on the other side of the heavy stone. This victory was theirs alone.
For a moment, Teddy could only stare at Stella, scanning her for injury. The roar of the cheering crowd and the bell signaling the end of the challenge muted out, and his entire focus narrowed to her.
The hair at her left temple was matted with blood. The first hint of swelling had set in around one of her eyes and bright purple bruising circled the pale skin of her neck. Blood stained the left side of her waist beneath a cut in her leather breastplate. It had turned the brown leather a deep red, but it was a horizontal slice and not a puncture, so it had probably already healed.
He blew out a shaky breath of relief. Stella’s shoulders relaxed at the same time and he realized she must have been doing the same assessment of him.
Teddy hesitated. He wanted to drag her body to his and kiss her,but he wouldn’t ruin her reputation with so many spectators watching.
Stella took the choice out of his hands. She took a running leap into his arms and hugged him tightly.
Teddy tucked his face into her neck and breathed in her wildflower scent. “I’m so glad you’re safe,” he whispered.
