Blood Lands (Savage Lands #5)(4)

She punched the back of my skull, and bile heaved up my throat, my eyesight blurring as the hits kept coming. I no longer had to feign weakness, my lungs struggling to breathe. My body wanted to curl up on itself and disappear. Blackness crept over me like fog.

Once again, I was positive I could feel Warwick’s energy stab at my skin like nettles, his anger and fear pressing in as if he could feel me giving up, realizing my plan.

I hoped he would understand eventually.

A violent roar rumbled the pit, vibrating the walls of the arena, pulsing through every cell in my body.

Livid.

Savage.

Deadly.

“Don’t you even fuckin’ think about it, Kovacs.” Warwick loomed over me, his expression burning with fury. His hazy form was next to me in the pit. It didn’t matter if he was a hallucination or not, I let myself believe, perishing with a tiny bit of happiness. “Get the fuck up. You will not die as some fucking sacrifice.” His ferocity thundered through me, making me gasp.

“I have to,” I think I whispered. “It’s the only way.”

“The hell it is, Kovacs!” He grunted, crouching down, eyes blazing. His fingers skimmed my face. It felt so real, even the buzz of energy I felt from his touch, a numbness easing the pain in my body. The darkness cleared with a rush of adrenaline searing in my veins. “Get the hell up, or I will tear through this place and fucking kill her! Do you understand? I will kill EVERYONE to get to you. I will spare nothing!”

“STOP!” A sharp voice boomed, forcing me to blink up into the seats, knowing it wasn’t the Legend who had ordered the cease.

Hanna stopped, the entire place going still.

“Take me instead!” Andris had pushed himself up to the barrier, talking directly to Istvan. “Wouldn’t it be far more worthy than two young girls you’ve known since birth, Istvan?” Andris glared at my old guardian. “This is beneath even you.”

Istvan shifted on his feet.

“You know you would much rather have my death. Wouldn’t you love to kill the man who turned his back on you? Betrayed you? Who purposely chose the fae over you?”

My stomach dropped, realizing what he was doing. With terror, I shoved Hanna off me, climbing unsteadily to my feet. Somewhere in the back of my brain, I understood I shouldn’t be able to stand. I definitely shouldn’t be coherent after my fight with her and Zuz, but nothing mattered except my uncle at that moment.

“No.” It came out a whisper, my head shaking vehemently.

“What do you do, old friend? Let them go. This isn’t about them, anyway. It’s always been about you and me.” Andris paused for a moment, Istvan staying silent. “When I knew you, you weren’t someone who toyed with children. You played with those who could actually fight back. Is this what you’ve become?” Andris motioned to the three of us in the pit.

Istvan’s jaw locked down, his face turning a deep red. Finally, he dipped his head. “Fine, you want to play, Takacs?” He peered down at Samu and Joska behind the gates in the pit. “Take her and that fae out.” He pointed at Scorpion and Hanna. “But she stays.” He motioned to me.

“What?” Andris shook his head. “That’s not the deal. This is about me! I said just me.”

Istvan let out a laugh. “There’s where you are wrong, old friend. This isn’t just about you.”

He rubbed his hands together, close to the railing, seemingly to forget the woman beside him.

“And you have no say here.” Istvan’s creepy smile tugged on his lips. “But I will honor part of your wish. Now it’s you and Brexley who have to fight to the death.”





Chapter 2





I think I screamed.

I know I begged.

Terror and panic scooped out my insides, plopping my heart outside my body, leaving it to break in my hands.

Guards dragged Andris into the ring, tossing him forcefully into the dirt, slamming the gate behind them.

On his knees, Andris’s head lifted, his eyes finding mine. A sorrow so deep burned his gaze as he shakily pushed himself up, pain etching his expression, “sorry” mouthing from his lips.

“Only one of you lives,” Istvan declared. “If you forfeit, you will both be burned alive in the firepits.” Istvan motioned to the large flames set in the arena; this time, I understood what the pole in the middle would be used for. To chain someone to it and let them be seared alive. “Both of you chose fae over your own kind, and you will burn just as the soulless magic sorceresses used to be back in the day.”

“Nooooooo!” I felt the sound tear up my throat, my body collapsing to the ground, my gaze meeting my uncle’s.

He had no fight in him. Just grief and something that looked like remorse.

“Brexley...” He spoke my name like a melancholy song, taking a step toward me. I could hear the melody, the timbre of his resolve. The decision he already made for the both of us.

I became a terrified wild animal, not able to think. I could taste the panic on my tongue, the sharp, bitter fear and vomit searing up my throat.

“No. No. No.” My head shook, the word on repeat. I went from having to kill my friends to having to kill the only man left in my life I considered family. I destroyed the most powerful object in the world, ripped away my own power to bring him back to life. He was everything to me. Without a doubt, I’d do it again.