Page 67 of Queen Isabella

“It must be deposited safely inside the arena,” Andren added with a smirk directed at Phara.

Isa’s brow furrowed at the somewhat sinister comment that hinted at a strategy that wasn’t mentioned in their overly simplified explanation.

“Um, okay.” She turned her gaze back to the field.

Sports were never her thing back home. When her brother and father watched soccer, she’d been in the kitchen with her mom or studying. At least this round sounded like it would have a definitive winner. She still wasn’t sure who won the last one.

“Oh, who is that?” Isa pointed and squinted at someone flying toward the makeshift arena.

“That was fast,” Bellator commented.

“It was.” She smiled at him over her shoulder. He’d been quiet all morning, and she worried he fibbed about feeling well enough to compete.

“Oh,” Rego groaned in disappointment.

She turned back in time to see an orange and yellow eagle drop something that looked like a rabbit into the circle. She expected him to go back out hunting again, but he simply hovered overhead. Apparently, his turn was done. A minute later another of the Nemus eagles dropped another rabbit, and hovered with his teammate. Isa looked toward the woods with a frown, wondering where her hive was.

Gregis growled in frustration. “They must’ve found a nest ofculus.”

“Or the Nemus are very adept hunters,” Andren boasted, his confident gaze focused on her.

“I’m sure you are.” She politely smiled, though that wasn’t the face she wanted to make at him.

Phara burst out laughing and her gaze swung to him.

“What?!” she demanded, suddenly embarrassed. Had he read her mind about wanting to stick her tongue out at Andren?

“It would seem Artifex wants to swiftly put an end to this hunt,” Phara chuckled, pointing to the forest.

What looked like a buffalo was clutched in the talons of the oversized purple hawk. If the other Nemus eagles who were also returning caught anything, it was too small to tell at this distance.

“Oh my. That is a big creature.” Isa grinned. It was just like Artifex to do something over the top like this. Check and mate.

“They’ve got a wholepecus!” Andren declared in awe.

“We understand what is at stake,” Bellator murmured the snarky retort.

He was talking about her, and she couldn’t help but grin wider, feeling all warm inside.

A pair of Nemus eagles attacked the oversized version of Artifex as he flew over the prairie. They were the Nemus who had already dropped their kill. The eagles swooped in and gouged Artifex’s back with their sharp talons.

“Hey.” She frowned.

Another Nemus reached the circle, dropped its prey, and joined in the attack. She didn’t like this trend, since there were eight more eagles coming in hot.

The number of eagles haranguing Artifex quickly doubled. Her brazen alpha faltered, as a portion of him dropped away. The purple blob fell to the ground. Except it wasn’t a blob. That was a person, a member of her hive who’d been injured, forced to separate, and plummeted to the ground.

“No.” Isa gasped and was on the edge of her seat.

An instant later, the same purple blob turned into a hawk and shot off the ground, again melding with Artifex. She sighed, relieved he wasn’t hurt, and slumped back in her seat.

“Steady! Keep a hold of thatpecus,” Phara cheered on his hive, as more of the eagles tried to force Artifex to drop the beast. Phara was joined by the rest of her hive, yipping and barking.

“It's not easy staying fused like that,” Rego commented to her in between excited whistles.

All the Nemus eagles had deposited their prey in the arena, and it was a small pile. If Artifex made it with the giant cow, her hive would definitely win this round.

“Come on, Artifex!” She clapped her hands, then remembered more than just Artifex made up the giant purple hawk. “Come on, servitors!” she excitedly amended.

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