Page 11 of When Roses Burn

And in that second, I realized my mistake as the sorcerer threw up his fingers and a ball of black light streaked toward me. Getting over my shock, I threw myself to the side, but not in time to avoid the spell that crashed into my shoulder.

CHAPTER FIVE

Knox

I jerked back as the ball charred into my flesh. Smoke spiraled from my skin as the spell dug through flesh and on toward muscle.

Gritting my teeth, I braced myself for what was to come before grasping the spell. My palm sizzled as I tore the spell free of my shoulder and back at the sorcerer, who deflected it with a flick of his wrist.

My fingertips still sizzled as smoke coiled from them, and the ball hit the floor. Blood oozed from my shoulder, but the pain was already lessening as the sorcerer unleashed another ball of magic.

This time, I threw myself to the ground in time to avoid it and rolled before leaping back to my feet. Behind me, the spell crashed uselessly into the bars.

The sorcerer spun, tracking my movements. He unleashed another wave of magic that had me on the run in a way I’d never been before.

Leaping high, my claws extended again as I caught the bars ten feet above the ground. The claws in my toes tore through my boots and clicked against the metal as they encircled the bars.

Unprepared for the move, the sorcerer’s magic crashed uselessly into the bars below me before he repositioned himself. But now, I had the advantage as I sprinted around the cage so fast he couldn’t keep up. I clung to the bars while I made my way around the circular structure.

The sorcerer was starting to get his bearings again when I launched myself off the bars and across the center of the cage. Wind whipped at me as I flew toward the bastard who’d been so happy to taunt me only seconds before.

From outside our prison, the other eternals gasped as a black streak of energy nearly collided with my midsection. Twisting, it skimmed my stomach and sliced open my shirt before crashing into the bars with a metallic clang.

My hands and feet gripped the bars on the other side of the cage as the beast begged to be set free, but that wouldn’t happen. This fucker was mine.

The sorcerer spun as he tracked my movements, but again he wasn’t fast enough to keep up as I swept around the cage before descending. The caster was turning toward me when I landed on him with my claws extended and teeth bared so he could see my fangs.

His eyes widened, and if he had time, I was certain he’d shit himself, but there was no time for that. My hand swept up, and with an audible crunch, my claws embedded in the delicate flesh under his chin before bursting from the top of his skull.

An animalistic sound issued from me as I lifted him off the ground. Everything in me wanted to finish him off, but I restrained myself from killing him.

I studied his bulging eyes as drool slid down the corners of his mouth and his tongue clicked against my claws. To get back into the harem, I’d need a caster, and I already had this one.

I lifted my head and took in the crowd gathered around the bars, practically salivating as they waited for the killing blow. If I kept this man alive, word would rapidly spread amid the eternals, and while I hadn’t noticed any other casters in the crowd, I was certain they were there.

It would cause a scene and certainly be a first if I tried to take him from here. It also wouldn’t take long for word of what I’d done to reach Marina. She wouldn’t know exactly what I planned, but she’d know I was coming for her daughter… and her.

While Briar was in that harem, she was the one I could get to. And I wanted her the most. Her mother had turned me into a monster, but she was the one who’d ensured it happened.

And while I would make her pay for all of it, what I sought most from her was freedom for my kingdom. Once she helped break the curse, I’d make sure Briar suffered, but first, I needed her help, and I loathed her more for it.

My shoulders heaved as the cyclops who ran the matches stepped up to the door. Barmir’s blue eye fixed on me as the keys dangled from his hand. Outside, the other eternals shifted as their confusion mounted; this should have ended by now.

I shifted my attention back to the sorcerer as my teeth ground together. He was already in my grasp, but if I weren’t careful, I’d blow it. I could find another caster; I had no other choice.

Inaudible sounds issued from the sorcerer as I drew him closer and whispered in his ear. “She does taste delicious, but you’ll never know.”

With that, I grasped his shoulder and jerked up with my arm. His head tore free with a wrenching, wet crack as part of his spine also ripped out of his body.

The crowd cheered as I retracted my claws and dropped the sorcerer’s head on the ground. I stomped it with my tattered boots and smiled when it smashed beneath my foot.

I strode toward the door with blood still dripping from my claws. Before I reached it, the cyclops slid his key in the lock and opened the door. When I stepped out, he handed me a bag full of gold coins.

“Your winnings,” Barmir said in the guttural accent of the cyclops.

Barmir stood a good four feet over my six-foot-eight height. He easily had a couple of hundred pounds on me and shoulders that blocked out a portion of the room. He wore only a loincloth, but the material barely hid his dick and balls, and if he bent over, his ass would be on full display.

“Thanks,” I muttered as the crowd cheered.