“Theodore Antov, Odette Oksana, are you ready to accept the challenge before you to claim the alicorn stone?”
“We are,” Theo and Odette said in unison.
Lady Iris’ expression was somber. “Then let this be a test of your faith.”
A table of apples appeared in front of Theo. There were three, all identical in shape and form. Theo’s nostrils flared, and Ethan leaned in.
“The apples are poisoned,” he said. “I can smell them from here.”
“One of them’s not,” Alexei objected. “Theo’s got to pick out the right one.”
Theo’s nose moved over the apples as he smelled them. His head weaved back and forth, as if he wasn’t sure which one to pick.
Minutes passed, and nervousness welled in my gut. What if Theo guessed wrong, and accidentally poisoned himself? Odette’s complexion grew paler and paler with each passing second as Theo sniffed the apples. Even as a shifter, he was clearly confused.
Eventually, Theo settled on the middle apple. Theo tried to eat it, but his mouth went right through it. He attempted to push the apple off the table with his nose, to no avail.
Odette slid off of Theo’s back, and reached out. The apple became solid as she grasped it with her fingers.
Theo gave a wild snort, and Kiara whispered, “Odette has to eat it.”
Odette hesitated. She wasn’t sure if Theo had made the right choice. She parted her lips to ask if Theo was sure, but the second Odette’s grip tightened on the apple, a wicked roar shook the floor of the arena. My heart plummeted as I realized a monster had spawned near the staircase of the arena, preventing escape.
The monster was humanoid. It balanced on two cloven hooves before it came down on all fours, stalking around the arena like a gorilla. Its hands were scaly and rough, hooked with terrifying claws that were at least a foot long. It had a goat-like face, one red eye in the middle of its forehead, and jagged teeth emitting in every direction from its mouth. Two curled horns rose from its skull, each of them just as big as Theo was.
“It’s a fiend,” Ethan said, recoiling from the balcony in revulsion. Around me, my friends grimaced in similar displeasure.
I felt absolutely terrified for them. The fiend was just as scary, if not more so, than the biez Ethan and I had faced in the Contest. Odette and Theo could be killed!
Theo planted himself in front of Odette and brayed, like a stallion protecting his mare. He stamped the ground three times, as if warning the fiend to stay back.
The fiend charged. It lowered its horns, and Theo had to gallop out of the way to avoid being hit. The fiend slammed into the quartz wall and pieces went flying off, filling the arena with dust.
Odette coughed, and the fiend shook its head. It noticed her for the first time, and its red eye sparked. The fiend charged again— Odette was frozen to the spot, form shaking in terror as the fiend went to run her down. Her knuckles went white as she clutched the apple in her hand.
“Odette, get out of the way!” I screamed, but she didn’t hear me. She was so scared she couldn’t move.
Theo let out a scream. He charged, and put his head down. His horn slammed into the fiend’s side just before he got to Odette, and the fiend was flung to the other end of the arena. Theo stood heaving, gathering his strength, while the fiend crashed against the wall.
The fiend snorted and got up, shaking off dust. My jaw dropped. Even though Theo’s horn had punctured the fiend’s side, it didn’t look like it’d been hurt, or even stabbed. There was no blood or wound to observe.
Theo galloped up to the fiend. He struck out with his hoof and slammed it into the fiend’s cheek, hard enough to break its jaw. The fiend hissed, but still— no wound.
Theo’s eyes widened. He backed away, shaking his head in disbelief as steam poured from the fiend’s nostrils.
“What the hell is going on? Why can’t Theo kill it?” I asked.
“Fiends usually have impenetrable shields connected to objects. Probably that fucking apple. It’ll be unstoppable until Odette eats it,” Stefan said quickly.
“But if it’s the wrong one, it’ll kill her!” I yelled.
It seemed they didn’t have a choice. The fiend’s eye grew bright red, and Theo pivoted to gallop away. From the fiend’s jaws emitted a red ray of magic. It blasted into the floor and created a