Dark Possession - Aja James Page 0,89

by flexing his hands, and watched with satisfaction and relief as the ground beneath him rumbled and shook, making loose pebbles dance. Overhead, the ceiling was dotted with a collection of stalactites. He would have preferred larger formations like lava pillars to work with, which he could have crushed to create a barrier in the tunnel, but the shark-teeth rock daggers from above definitely gave him an edge.

And then, almost before he could fully brace himself, his Challenger rocketed into him from out of nowhere, plowing him across the stone ground with so much force, the floor broke apart in a jagged explosion of rocks and debris.

Because Ramses had managed to turn his body to stone upon impact, the flesh on his back remained intact rather than flayed entirely from his bones. Even so, his body burned and screamed with pain.

Gritting his teeth, he jacked his legs into the eagle warrior and flipped the other male over his head with tremendous force.

But before his opponent crashed against the cavern wall, he spread his wings like a parachute and halted his backward momentum in a split second, and gathered speed to come back at Ramses.

Ramses was ready this time. He flung out his hands at the same time stalactites broke from the ceiling and shot toward the eagle king like conical lances.

The other warrior dodged the missiles with blinding speed and deftness, continuing to advance upon Ramses. One stone dagger jabbed into his thigh, another struck his chest, but the male merely swiped at the protrusion and broke it off, letting the sharp tip remain embedded in his flesh as if he didn’t even feel it.

The wounds didn’t slow him down one iota, and he charged into Ramses again at full force, leading with a whirlwind of hard fists, knees, elbows and feet.

Ramses was more than willing to engage in battle, keep him occupied so that Rhys and Eveline could get to safety. He grabbed the warrior around the neck in a deadly headlock, letting the blows glance off his stone-hard body.

Immediately, his opponent realized the difference. Ramses was no longer holding back. This was not a repeat of the fight the night before. Not only was Ramses focused this time, but he was also exponentially stronger, more powerful.

The two males wrestled each other on the ground, the eagle warrior shifting parts of his body into animal form with blinding precision—a talon swipe, a clawed foot kick, a hard jab with his eagle beak.

Distantly, Ramses wondered why he didn’t shift fully into eagle form. Beasts were strongest in their natural forms, and he was the King of the Skies, according to Rhys. Beasts preferred to battle as animals.

Suddenly, the other male expanded his wings and lifted both of them off the ground, ramming Ramses directly into the ceiling full of stalactites.

Thanks to his stone shell, Ramses merely broke the sharp spires of rock rather than getting impaled upon them. But the collision still jarred his bones and made the back of his skull explode with pain.

Before he could counter, his opponent shifted his grip to his ankles and hurled him like a discus across the cavern.

Unlike the eagle king, Ramses couldn’t stall his momentum with wings, so he crashed into the cavern wall twenty feet away with enough force to put a warrior-sized crater into the solid rock.

While he shook off the staggering effect and readied for round three, his Challenger totally changed tactic, shooting off the ground like a torpedo in the direction of the tunnel exit.

Fuck!

He was still going after Rhys and Eveline? But why? Wasn’t he here to finish the Challenge? Wasn’t Eveline simply bait?

Ramses’ thoughts churned as he hauled ass after the eagle, though the advantage of wings gave the other male an unrecoverable head start.

He willed the stalactites and rocks in the cavern to hail upon the other male as he shot through, hoping that it would slow him down. He could feel from the vibration in the earth itself that some of the projectiles had met their target at least, allowing Ramses to gain on him.

Just as Ramses rounded the last curve of the cavern, seeing a glimpse of daylight ahead, the eagle king reached Rhys and Eveline at the same time.

Rhys in his humanoid form was no match for the Beast. Without the ability to transform, he couldn’t even defend himself when giant talons swiped deep, bloody streaks across his back, sending him flying into the opposite wall of the cave with a resounding