Page 36 of Urban Gladiator

I kept my face serene while internally I was retching. Ugh! Did he really think a few sweet words would turn my head after he knocked me unconscious and imprisoned me?

His free hand slid around my neck, and he pressed his much larger body against my side. It really was a shame that he did nothing for me. Because if I’d met him before Rowan, I would take him up on his offer. He was hot as hell, and if the firm blade against my hip was anything to go by, he was packing some heat.

“Seal your promise . . . with a kiss.” I moistened my lips and dropped my gaze to his blue lips.

“What fire there is in you, Ember. What offspring we will make.”

He lowered his mouth toward mine. I gathered my magic. Drew it into a tight ball of energy in my chest. When his mouth was an inch from mine, I sent the power through my arms into my hands and then slammed my hands against his head.

Ansel flew backward off the bed with a roar. While he was airborne, I drew upon the earth, pulling thick vines up through the ground. When he landed, the vines twined around his body, restraining him.

“Let me go!” he roared, struggling to remove the vines.

But I added some extra oomph to the vines, making them as strong as steel. With my magic flowing freely, I blasted the restraints. They fell from my wrists like confetti.

I rose and dusted myself off before I addressed him, his face distorted in his fury. “The magic will wear off in a day. Next time you attempt to imprison a witch without her consent, you might want to wait and see how powerful they are. Because while most witches only have one element that their magic gels with, I can command them all. If we ever cross paths again, you’ll want to steer clear of me. Because next time, I won’t be so nice or let you off so easily.”

And then, without a backward glance, I raced out of his tent with his roar in my ears.

“BEAUTY!”

Outside, I inhaled the fresh air. It was pitch black out, but in the east, I spied the first fingers of dawn. I’d lost an entire night with the fucking jinn. Worried that his roars might draw unwanted attention, I picked up my skirt and ran. Turning away from the rising sun, I ran toward the mountains in the west. I ran until my side ached and my mouth went dry. I ran until the terrain around me changed, growing steeper as I entered the mountains.

And only then did I slow my footsteps. The sun had fully risen by the time I slowed my gait. Gasping for breath, holding my aching side, I searched for an easy trail into the mountains. What I really needed was to figure out the terrain and the best way into the mountains. I wasn’t a great climber. And while I could use magic, the last thing I wanted to do was find myself stranded on top of a mountain. An eagle screeched overhead.

Perfect.

I drew my magic up, needing spirit to hijack the eagle and its ability to survey the ground. “Let me see the world through your eyes. Let me see from the skies. Let me see the world I’m meant to see. As I will it, so mote it be.”

My body stood stock still, my eyes unseeing from my own body. I blinked and peered through the incredible vision of the eagle.

There was a path a few miles ahead that led into the mountains. There was a small bubbling river that fed into a lake. I could drink water and eat more of the bread still in my cloak pocket. And I could even conjure up an apple and some cheese, that would make a heartier meal.

Offering my thanks and gratitude, I released the eagle and jolted back into my body. With a destination in mind, I picked up my feet and strode in that direction.

Avalon was beautiful. I’d never ventured into this region of it before, and aside from my stint as the jinn’s prisoner, it took my breath away. I hated to leave it and everyone I knew. But I didn’t know what other choice I had except for death. And that wasn’t a choice—at least not a good one.

In the scheme of things, I’d barely begun to live, and the people of Avalon wanted to take my life away. They would rather terrorize and treat my people like second-class citizens. And why? Because of a war that happened two hundred years ago. Most of my people weren’t alive back then. Very few witches in our coven were over two hundred.

And while we were gifted with longer lives than humans, many witches had their lives cut short by other beings in Avalon for no other reason than the fact that we exist.

Juno, the coven mother, should have taken our coven out of Avalon decades ago. It was one of the beefs I had with her. She was shortsighted and narrow-minded. I had argued that the world outside Avalon had changed. They even had television shows and movies where witches and wizards were the heroes. Thank you, Halliwell sisters!

But Juno shot down my suggestion every time I made it. I think she was a little afraid of me. She had the power of foresight and likely saw my powers manifest with all the elements. And that made me more powerful than her.

If there’s one thing that Juno couldn’t abide, it was anyone who might supplant her as the coven mother.

I reached the path I’d viewed and began the trek up into the mountains. They were stunning the way they speared the heavens. Jagged granite peaks that looked as if they’d been carved by a hammer and chisel.

My breathing grew ragged as I ascended in elevation, and the air grew thin. But the view, oh my goddess, it was spectacular. I stared at the valley below with wonder. Up ahead, there was a slight fork in the trail. I took it, heading toward the water.

The trail leveled out and opened into a meadow full of blooming wildflowers. Oh, Iris would love it here. I missed my sister so badly I ached with it. We’d been each other’s sole family for nearly a decade after our parents were killed. I hoped she was all right and didn’t hate me for leaving her. But I couldn’t allow her to be sacrificed.

I could imagine sweet Iris with Rowan. He would have destroyed her. Without a doubt, Iris would have become a shell of her former self before he killed her.

It had been the right choice. And if my heart was conflicted over Rowan, so be it. Just because we gelled in the bedroom didn’t mean we would have elsewhere. I didn’t really know him aside from the fact that he’d barreled over my objections, plowed through my defenses, and taken me to the heights of ecstasy every time he touched me.

Even now, thinking about him got me wet.

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