When It Reigns (Cursed Reigns, #1)

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Misty didn't give the trainer time to answer before she shoved Nyaxia out of the way, pushing her sister on the ground in apathy. Nyaxia's jaw dropped as Misty launched herself at me and tackled me to the ground, her entire weight falling on top of me as we hit the sand.

I wheezed and my arms got pinned between my chest and the larger Dracon – demon's – chest as paralysis took over and she slumped on top of me. Warm liquid oozed where our vests met, and I heaved Misty's limp body off me. She rolled onto her side at the water's edge and remained motionless as black blood bubbled on my vest. I rushed to unzip it and tossed it on the ground as the substance ate away at the sturdy fabric, disintegrating it into a pool of the sizzling blood.

"Misty is out!" Trainer Reishell shouted. "That means Aeryn is – "

"What did you do!"

I whirled around as Nyaxia's distraught eyes locked on me, morphing into vehement rage as she seethed. Her focus changed to her sister's fallen form and she sprinted over to Misty, flipping her onto her back as she knelt beside her.

My face paled as Nyaxia lifted Misty's head into her lap, smoothing back the graying strands of teal braids from her face. Misty's black eyes stared unseeing into the cloudy sky, and I wavered on unsteady feet, dropping to my knees in the sand. I tracked my eyes down the length of her body, pausing on her unmoving chest where the hilt of my dagger protruded. Black blood spurted around the wound, flowing down her body as it ate away at the delicate skin and popped on her bones. My dagger remained unscathed due to the ruben protecting it as her body became a victim to the molten blood infecting her.

I swallowed the acidic bile that crawled up my throat at the sight.

That made three. I'd killed three Draconians during this challenge.

But Misty had no longer been one of us.

Nyaxia turned her tear-ridden eyes on me and laid her sister on the ground, rising to her feet. Hyrule's scale gleamed in Misty's pocket as her torso was obliterated by the boiling blood.

I sent two throwing stars at Nyaxia and bolted for Misty without tracking to see if weapons landed on their target. I stooped down and took the gold scale from Misty's pocket before it, too, could suffer a similar fate and screamed when a shocking pulse smacked the center of my back, ramming me face-first into the sand. The scale shot out of my hand and skidded into the water as my hair was yanked up, snapping my head back.

Nyaxia stood over me and hissed in my ear, "You're dead."

A heavy thud sounded behind her, and a new voice rumbled, "Kill her and it'll be the last thing you ever do."

Chills erupted down my spine at the cold tone, and I bit my lip to keep from yelling out in pain as Nyaxia's hand jerked, clutching my hair.

"Stay out of this, Zoran," she warned, bringing a knife across my throat.

"I don't want her to have that scale either," he said, voice lowering several octaves, "but your sister was Cursed. Misty would have killed you. We both know you wouldn't have been able to take your sister's life if the princess hadn't done it for you."

Fiery pain flared on my neck where the blade cut a shallow slice as Nyaxia's grip faltered.

"Why are you defending her?" she growled. "She's a disgrace to our race and princess by default. She doesn't deserve the title you call her by."

"I find it endearing, but I'm not doing it out of respect."

His iciness made me forget about the hot sting on my neck from the thin wound.