Page 113 of Blood Beneath the Snow

But Björn wasn’t out to kill—not yet, at least. “How kind of you to offer her an easy out,” he spat. “But I want to play with my food.”

Erik and Björn circled each other like predators, my presence forgotten for a moment. A cold gust of wind sent goose bumps up my arms, and I gripped Aloisa’s hilt with all my strength. The crowd was divided—half cheering for Erik and the other half for Björn.

I scowled. This was nothing more than bloody sport to them. I took a step back from the impending battle, wondering what my best move was. Björn glanced my way for a half second, long enough to shoot me a feral grin. “Don’t worry, little sister. I’ll come for you once I’m done with him.”

Erik moved first. He lunged forward, swinging his sword in a long arc, but Björn brought his own weapon up to parry. The sound of metal on metal echoed over the roaring crowd.

Erik’s Lurae threw Björn back, but Björn twisted out of the way of a fatal blow and stretched out his hand to throw more flames at his attacker. Erik barely managed to drop to his knees and roll forward, swiping his weapon at Björn’s feet.

I couldn’t blink. If I did, I might miss the winning strike.

But my instincts screamed at me to hide, and I knew they were right.

I ran to the nearest boulder and began climbing as the fight continued behind me. The hiss of flame against the sand and Björn’s war cries filled my ears, but I forced myself to focus on the rock, quickly finding handholds until I was at the top, a few feet higher now than either of my brothers.

I took a shaky breath at the realization they were both much, much faster than me. If I had to fight Björn, I’d be ashes in moments. I watched Erik expertly dodge Björn’s blasts of fire, only possible because of his extensive years of military training.

As he leapt back and forth, trying to close the distance between himself and Björn, I gritted my teeth. If Erik didn’t win this duel, Iwas most certainly going to die today. I found myself wishing I’d made the Hellbringer teach me how to use a bow and arrow. A ranged weapon could have performed miracles from my vantage point. But I wasn’t willing to sacrifice one of my three daggers—not when I’d need them desperately when my remaining brother turned his attention to me.

Erik pulled out a knife he’d had hidden on his person and flung it at Björn. The fire wielder tried to dodge, but it had been an unexpected move, and the blade managed to slice his leg.

Björn hissed, his hand dropping to his wound, and Erik took his moment to dive. His greatsword came swinging toward Björn’s free arm, but Björn whipped around before it connected and blasted fire so hot that the blade melted.

The crowd was in an uproar. Erik looked stunned, and I wondered if anyone had known that Björn was so powerful.

Despite his shock, Erik barely missed a beat. He was up close, fighting Björn as tightly as possible so his younger brother wouldn’t have the chance to use his fire. Erik pulled his secondary weapon from its holster—a war hammer.

“Come on, Erik,” I muttered, clutching Aloisa’s hilt until my knuckles turned pale. “End him.”

The clamor of clashing metal echoed throughout the arena. The crowd was enjoying this.

I watched Björn grit his teeth, arms shuddering against Erik’s strength. Still, he managed to defend himself, though each clash of their weapons brought Björn’s arms lower and lower.

Finally, Erik forced Björn to his knees. My youngest brother let out a cry of fury and tried to push Erik away, but to no avail. Then Björn looked over and made eye contact with me. His face contorted into a smile and my stomach sank.

In a flurry of motion so fast I nearly missed it, Björn twisted on his knees out of the locked weapon position in which Erik had himcornered. Before Erik had the chance to turn and strike again, Björn summoned his magic.

Flames pulsed from his fingers and met flesh.

The crowd screamed, not in victory but in horror, and I screamed with them as I watched Erik’s body char under Björn’s hands until flesh melted away to reveal bone and his ashes drifted away in the wind.

The crowd quieted. I swallowed the sour taste of bile.

And Björn tilted his head back and laughed and laughed and laughed.

I dry heaved onto theboulder, but the battle didn’t stop. There was no silence to honor Erik’s short, misguided life. I hadn’t even recovered before the first hint of flame flashed in my peripheral vision and I stumbled out of the way.

All around me people screamed.

Björn’s hair shone bright fire red under the noon sun. Nausea roiled in my stomach, and I had to work to keep myself from vomiting right then and there.

He would kill me the same way he killed Erik. But with me, Björn would take his time. I tried to ignore my shaking hands, but as another pulse of fire forced me to dodge the other way, I turned, panic flaring in my chest.

There was no escape. There was no getting out of this.

I hefted Aloisa and the crowd exploded. If I had thought them loud before, this was a tsunami of sound barraging my ears.

I glanced toward the box where I knew Father sat, his face impassive. What must Mother think of me: a foolish twenty-one-year-old Nilurae, here to defeat her power-hungry brother? I couldn’t do this. Ihadto do this.

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