Teddy turned and narrowly dodged a claw to the face. He sliced out with his sword reflexively and jammed it into the lobster’s eye. The water sloshed around his knees as he stepped in closer, trying to grab at the ruby.
But the beast shifted, and its shell clicked back into place, covering the gem.
Teddy jumped to the side and the lobster’s shorter, razor-sharp legs scraped across his chest. His tunic took the worst of it, but his skin burned where it was scraped.
He forced himself to stay close and crowd the beast, slicing down its other wing.
It screeched and batted him into the wall. Teddy’s head hit hard and his vision went dark for a moment as he slid down the wall. His ass hit the ground. He sputtered at the muddy water that splashed up into his face.
Forcing himself to his feet, Teddy backed away from the lobster. It was curled in on itself, making a low groaning sound and cradling its shredded wing.
“Got him,” Reever said triumphantly.
Teddy glanced up at Rett. An arrow stuck out of the gap between his breastplate and shoulder guard. But the Roach was pulling another arrow from his quiver.
“Maybe not,” Teddy said.
Reever grinned and cupped his hands around his mouth. “Not so fast, Roach. I’d finish your match and go see a healer if I were you. My arrows are coated in a healthy dose of Harlowsberry.”
Apparently, there was more than one combatant with poison-coated weapons.
Rett hesitated, his bow half-drawn and his face flushed. “Liar!”
Reever shrugged and nocked another arrow. “I guess we’ll finally get to see if you live up to the nickname.”
The Roach lifted his bow, hesitated, then turned and disappeared from view with a frustrated shout.
Teddy’s head throbbed, and the water was up to his mid-thigh. He needed to lose the rest of his armor, but his clothing was swollen and the buckle wouldn’t budge.
He could really have used some luck, but all he had was talent. He glanced up in time to see Reever rushing at him with a dagger drawn. Teddy let his guard down for one moment and Reever took advantageof it. Teddy threw his arm out and the blade deflected off his armguard.
Reever blew out an exasperated breath. “Relax. I’m trying to cut the fastening. We don’t have time to save your fancy armor, Your Grace. Get it off, live to fight another day, and buy a new set.” He jammed the tip of the blade into the buckle and yanked, and the stuck thigh guard came away with a groan of the hinge.
“Sorry,” Teddy mumbled.
A loud cheer went through the crowd. Either someone was dead or someone had succeeded in their task. Fear bubbled in Teddy’s chest, but he didn’t know why. The beast was badly wounded. Rett was gone, and the water was only up to his thighs.
The lobster rose out of its hunch, shredded wings spread wide, its one good eye blinking at Teddy. The beast had to turn its body fully to see Reever.
“One more rally, Teddy. I think we can do this before the midpoint,” Reever said. “You draw it toward you and I will jump on its back. It won’t see me coming, but hopefully I can bow it back enough for you to grab the ruby. Just do it fast.”
Teddy tapped his short swords together three times, and the beast whipped around and started toward him, Reever forgotten.
When the lobster was just a few feet from Teddy, Reever launched himself up its back. He braced his long-handled axe around the lobster’s neck area to yank it back into an arch.
Teddy sprang up the front of its body, using the gaps in its shell as handholds. He caught sight of the ruby and reached up to grab it.
Pain sliced into Teddy’s chest and his grip slipped. He fumbled for purchase, wedging his fingers into a joint on the shell of the lobster’s chest. He winced against the pain, but there was no cut on his side. He tried to make sense of it as a loud roar from the crowd to his left drew his attention.
Stella. It washerpain. Gods, it felt as real as if he’d been wounded.
“What are you doing?” Reever grunted from above him.
It was now or never. Teddy forced himself to reach up for the jewel. They needed to end this before another competitor caught onto the Roach’s strategy of trying to take out the stragglers. Were it not for Reever’s poison-tipped arrows, Teddy might have been eliminated or killed this round.
He grabbed the ruby and tugged as hard as he could, and finally, it came free. Teddy released his hold on the shell and fell back into the waist-deep water. He held the ruby high and watched as the beast shuddered, groaned, and faded into ashes so quickly that Reever landed on his ass in the water.
A red-robed priestess clapped her hands, and guards lowered a ladder into their pit. Teddy climbed out first. By the time he reached the top, he was wrung out. The trial felt like an eternity, but according to the hourglass it had taken less than ten minutes.
