Darkblood Prison - G.K. DeRosa Page 0,23

throat. Why was he so nice to her?

She tapped out a quick message on her tablet and pointed to a door at the end of the hall. “They’re ready for you. Just head right through there.”

Here goes nothing. I trudged across the long corridor, each step harder than the last. It was like I had a pygmy giant strapped to each of my legs.

“Good luck, Azara,” Talon called out when I finally reached the door.

Every bone in my body compelled me to turn around, but somehow my brain won the raging inner battle. My fingers closed around the doorknob, and I yanked it open.

Chapter Nine

Inky darkness coated my vision. I took another step into the room and chilled air wafted over me. The hairs on the back of my neck rose. “Hello? Anyone in here?” Maybe Ella had sent me to the wrong room?

I blinked rapidly, waiting for my supernatural sight to kick in to at least make out a shadow. Nothing. I glanced at my demon mark, but not a flicker lit up my arm. Turning my focus inward, I searched for my she-demon. She was gone—just like when I wore the magic zapping cuffs.

A spotlight flashed on. I squeezed my eyes shut at the sudden brilliance. Once my eyes adjusted, my gaze landed on a splotch of black markings on the far wall. I squinted to make out the small text.

Rules:

Defeat your opponent in five minutes or less.

No supernatural abilities allowed.

Move on to the next challenge.

What opponent?

A faint snarl rumbled across the room, and a wave of goose bumps prickled my skin. I spun toward the sound, but I still couldn’t make out a thing in the pitch black. “Hello?”

The overhead lights flashed on, and a female in a familiar green jumpsuit crouched against the wall. Seriously?

A digital timer blinked to life over our heads, the hovering red digits set at five minutes. A buzzer sounded, and the shifter pounced as my heart rammed against my ribcage.

She yanked her arm back and delivered a resounding upper cut straight to my jaw. I was so shocked I didn’t even have time to block the hit. Stars exploded across my vision, and a warm metallic taste coated my tongue. Bleh. I spat out the blood and snarled at the grinning female.

I was going to wipe that smile right off her face. I lunged, throwing my best one-two combination and nailed both hits. My knuckles crunched against her cheekbone, but I gritted through the pain.

She jumped back and swiped at a bloody gash across her cheek. “You’re tougher than you look, pretty thing.”

“I am,” I growled.

“Guess I’m really going to have to fight for my freedom.” She circled me, like a lion stalking a gazelle.

“What does that mean?”

“All I have to do is beat you, and my twenty-five-year sentence at Darkblood Prison comes to an early end.”

Damn, the SIA didn’t mess around with testing. But would they really release a convict?

“Enough talking, girl. Let’s do this. I want out of that hell hole.” She beckoned me closer with a long fingernail.

So do I. The rules flashed across my mind as we circled each other. They didn’t exactly specify how we were supposed to defeat our opponent. Would a knockout do or were we talking fight to the death here?

“Quit stalling,” she shouted as she inched closer.

I kicked out my leg, landing a solid hit to her head with a roundhouse. She staggered back and I took the opening, throwing a few more punches to her gut. Her abs were nearly as hard as Talon’s.

Resisting the urge to wince, I continued my assault until I backed her against a wall. My hand ached, but I kept punching, even when she started to block my hits. I was already getting tired and sloppy. I hazarded a quick glance at the clock—less than two minutes left.

She raked her fingernails across my face, her sharp nails breaking my skin. “Ow!” I shrieked and shoved her back. Her head smacked against the wall, and her eyes glazed over for a second.

“You bitch!” She charged and somehow my feet got tangled, and I fell back.

I hit the floor with a smack, and all the air siphoned from my lungs. When my eyes snapped open, a body hurtled toward me.

Son of a shifter!

I splayed my hand out, but nothing happened. Not an ounce of magic hid within my veins. Whatever mystical spell lined this room, it was more potent than my grandfather, Garrix.

The shifter landed on top of