It was a race.
Easy enough.
Lothaire continued, “Anyone who remains on the lawn after five minutes will perish.”
I choked.
Well, if that wasn’t ominous.
Huge black numbers appeared, floating in the air above Lothaire: “5:00.” Five minutes.
“BEGIN!” Lothaire’s voice boomed from above.
There was no time to process what was happening. All of us bolted forward off the white line and—
Pain.
As soon as I stepped onto the lawn, I fell to my knees like I’d run into a wall.
I writhed.
Gagged and grabbed the sides of my face.
My neck burned like it had been set on fire and pumped with bullets. At the same time.
My eyes watered.
Muscles tensed.
Brain ached.
Bodies contorted on the ground around me.
Hyperventilating for what felt like an eternity, I saw a glimpse of the timer through my throbbing eyes. Four minutes, forty seconds.
My senses struggled to process just what was going on. I reached shaking hands forward but didn’t feel a physical barrier.
Somehow it hurt to move forward.
Around me blurry competitors tried to crawl.
Pain. Pain. Pain.
I blacked out for a second, then opened my eyes. Four minutes, ten seconds.
The worst pain was on the sides of my neck, and my stomach churned as I pushed my fingers against my skin. I pressed harder, and the pain lessened for a second.
My hands crawled upward to my ears. Something warm and sticky was pouring out of them.
Nausea, dizziness, muscles cramping.
It was too much.
Face pressed into the ground, I sobbed as once again I blacked out.
Consciousness returned in a tortured rush.
Squirming, I continued writhing on all fours, desperate to ease the discomfort.
Wrenched my neck back to look forward. Three minutes, thirty seconds.
I pressed my finger into my ear, and the pain went from a one thousand out of ten to 999.
Sound.
It’s sound.
My thoughts were like sludge, like I was squeezing them through a tiny straw, but some subconscious part of my brain put the pieces together.
There were dark enchantments that violated the Angel War Crime Convention. Enchantments that broke the sound barrier and incapacitated entire cities during war. Broke eardrums and ruptured arteries in brains.
A painful way to die.
The enchantments were activated in a closed environment, then air particles were accelerated until they reached the speed of sound.
The effects were horrific.
And I was experiencing the trauma firsthand.
Liquid streamed down my face as I looked up to see Cobra hauling Ascher forward across the lawn in front of everyone.
The jewels embedded in Cobra’s skin had transformed into hundreds of shadow snakes. He glanced back at me, snake eyes flickering.
He mouthed, “Get up and move.”
Snakes didn’t have ears. Was that helping him? He seemed unaffected.
Meanwhile it felt like I was dying as I tried to move forward.
Cobra’s ascent proved it was possible.
I clapped my hands over my ears and staggered to my feet, moaning at the agony of moving. The ultrahigh sound pounding against me was so horrendous that it felt like wind was pushing me back.
My skull vibrated, and everything trembled.
The decibel level was so extreme that it had physical properties.
I whimpered. Knowledge of what was going on didn’t change the reality that I was vibrating in the middle of a field with blood gushing from my burning ears. It didn’t lessen the agony.
John was writhing on the ground next to me.
Slapping at his hands to get his attention, I showed him my covered ears, and he mimicked me. Nodding in understanding, he dragged himself up.
The timer counted down mercilessly. Three minutes.
All around us, competitors were hobbling to their feet and trying to pull up their teammates.
Cobra and Ascher were the only ones who had made any progress. They were already halfway across the lawn.
Two minutes, fifty seconds.
How was time going by so fast when every second felt like hell?
I swallowed down my panic and shuffled forward. The finish line was about a hundred yards away, and we would have to walk fast if we were going to make it.
I took three jagged steps forward, then glanced back.
As my neck screamed in pain at the jerky movement, my eyes widened.
Scorpius was passed out with a large pool of blood spreading beneath his head. His large pale body was completely lifeless, blind eyes wide open, staring at nothing. Even the eye tattoo on his neck was shut tight.
Tara stared at me with sightless eyes; Horace gurgled as he went still; Sari glared at me with disgust.
Fuck.
I looked back at the timer. Two minutes, thirty seconds.
Other competitors were trying to help up their teammates. Some were puking blood, while others sobbed and refused to move.
The vibrations shaking through my bones were making it hard to see. Thick wetness poured down my face, and I knew it wasn’t tears.
My already weakened knees screamed in protest as I moved.
If I tried to carry Scorpius, I might not make it.
A headache split my temples like an ax was being bashed against my brain.
There was no time to plan.
I trembled with adrenaline and pain.
John motioned for me to move forward, then grimaced when he saw what I was staring at.
Two mammoth furry creatures hobbled past. They had wiry gray hair, long snouts, and mouths full of jagged teeth. They dragged themselves on all fours across the field. The leviathan competitors.
I ignored them and strained every pulled muscle in my body as I staggered toward the pale devil. Fell on my knees beside him.
Vision wavering.
Head splitting.
Arms shaking.
I dragged Scorpius’s arm across my shoulder and hauled us both upward.
It was like lifting three boulders at once. Stitches popped, and blood gushed down my limbs. We vibrated together, and his immense, muscled physique was the heaviest thing I’d ever supported.
He was dead weight.
Vomit dribbled from my lips.
His blood mixed with mine.
I squeezed my thighs for power and dragged his heavy body forward. One step at a time. Toward the other side of the arena.
One minute, fifty-nine seconds.
Dark spots dotted my vision.
I could barely make out competitors walking forward in front of me like they were fighting through an invisible wind.
Cobra carried Ascher across the white line and collapsed on the far side of the field.
That was the last thing I saw before I closed my eyes. It hurt too much to see.
I just concentrated on one step.
At a time.
I shoved us through the vibrations that hurt like pain but blew like wind.
The weight leaning against me lessened. Either Scorpius started walking or John was helping me. I didn’t open my eyes to check.
As I pushed forward, my toes cramped, then my calf muscles, then my quads.
Each step was like stabbing my foot down across metal spikes.
Everything hurt.
The vibration got worse.
Sweat, blood, and tears poured down my face.
I trembled.
Just wanted to collapse and give up, lay myself across the lawn and accept death.
Why did I want to live so badly? I couldn’t remember.
Hands dragged me forward, and if it weren’t for the support, I would have fallen to my knees in misery.
It was like walking underwater, but the water was lightning electrocuting my cells, a thousand hits per second.