Trial by Fae (Dragon's Gift The Dark Fae #1) - Linsey Hall Page 0,21

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Wind tore at my hair as the beast tried to shake me off. Dark magic welled from the beast. I raised my sword and gripped it with both hands, then plunged it into his skull. The blade pierced cleanly, and the creature roared.

It thrashed, going down hard. I yanked my blade free and leapt off, then rolled to safety. Pain flared in my knee when I hit the ground wrong, but I ignored it and surged upright, just in time to see the monster explode in a poof of black magic.

A single glowing gem lay in the middle of the arena, right where his body had been. I sprinted for it, then scooped it up and shoved it into my pocket. It glowed warmly, magic tingling up my thigh.

Panting, I swung around, looking for my next opponent. My next prize.

I spared the king one glance—still watching—then turned my attention to the arena. All around me was chaos. Monsters fighting contestants, blades flashing, and magic exploding. A fire mage shot a huge ball of flame at a banshee while the vampire tore out the throat of a green-skinned ogre. A stallion with a flaming mane galloped around the arena, breathing fire on anyone who got too near.

There were monsters of all realms in here, not just the Fae or Celtic. Apparently the king had gone all out for this and brought in an arsenal.

Right in the middle of the arena was a blackthorn tree. The midnight bark was spiked and rough, the leaves a dark, glossy green. In the middle of the branches, another golden object glowed. A small circle of metal. A wolf-like creature prowled in front of it, black smoke wafting around its spiked body. It wasn’t built of flesh and blood, but rather spikes from the tree.

The Lunatisidhe. The mythical protector of the blackthorn tree, a creature of Scottish legend.

It had to be important to the Fae.

Definitely worth a lot of points.

But the menace that emanated from the thorn wolf made my blood chill.

The wurm had been big and mean, but this guy would be fast and vicious.

Even more importantly—I probably shouldn’t kill it.

Trees and nature were vital to the Fae, and this wolf was the sacred protector of one of the most valuable trees.

So it was super dangerous, and I shouldn’t kill it.

No wonder no one had gone after this monster yet.

He’s mine.

I sprinted for it, dodging a wrestling pair of contestants who were fighting over a glowing golden crown.

They’d lose points for that, I’d bet.

As if it sensed my approach over the noise of the battle, the wolf turned to me and growled. It lowered its head, muzzle pulled back from fangs. Powerful magic radiated from the creature. Unlike the wurm, the signature wasn’t dark. But it was powerful. The creature’s magic smelled like a cold morning mist and felt like rough bark beneath my fingertips. One eye glowed, the other was missing.

I called upon my potion bag from the ether. Before I could draw a bomb out, the monster shot a big black thorn right off its back. The spike flew through the air, hurtling toward me. Heart thundering, I dived left, narrowly avoiding the projectile.

A shriek sounded from behind me.

I glanced back, horrified.

Had it hit another contestant?

Not the girl I’d spoken to, I prayed.

Behind me, a banshee clutched the thorn that pierced her through the stomach.

Thank fates.

She’d be fine. It’d probably just piss her off more.

I turned back to the thorn wolf. It crouched lower, shooting another spike.

I lunged to the right, grateful for my speed, and called upon my shield from the ether. The metal and wooden contraption appeared in my hand, and I held it up, blocking the next three thorns that slammed into the metal.

I crept closer, awkwardly clutching my potion bag and digging around inside for the sedative. I didn’t often use potions like this and was slow, but I finally grabbed the distinctive triangular vial.

As I neared the wolf, I got a better sense of its magic, and damn, was this guy powerful.

I was only about thirty feet away now. I peeked around the shield, calling upon my amplification magic. This power allowed me to increase the oomph of any magic around me.

I fed it into the sedative bomb, which was a glittering red liquid. My power flowed into the glass vial, making it glow. Then I hurled the glass at the wolf, trying to shove even more of my amplification magic toward the crimson bomb that flew through