Page 84 of Alpha Exile

I don't like the sound of that, and based on the way Bastian flattens his ears against his skull, neither does he. There has to be a reason why she's heading towards the arena—I just can't think of it.

What could be there for her, Bas? Any ideas?

He shakes his head, worry radiating from him through our mate bond as the arena comes into view on the horizon.There were other warriors there, but most of them had been moved by the time they brought you. Demetri is gone, and so is Ambrosia... I don't know what could be there except our blood.

Seeming to realize what he said a moment later, Bastian nearly stumbles, his eyes going wide as he swings his head towards me.Could that be it? Could she be looking for my blood?

She would've gone straight there if that were her goal,I reason.There must be something else, something deeper. The vampires may not have been the first ones to use the arena—it looked older than that. Maybe there's something there that she's looking for.

Finn reasons,So we won't let her get it.

Right. Easy enough. At least, I hope.

She's just ahead,Roarke warns us, the hackles between his shoulder blades rising up as we race closer and closer.I can feel her.

We slow down as we get to the edge of the arena, its columns stretching above us. I feel a prick of unease at being here again, even though I know there's no longer a horde of vampires waiting in the wings to kidnap me, and they wouldn't succeed even if they tried.

I'd just incinerate them on the spot and move on.

Wanting to feel my flames in my fingers, I shift to my human form, my mates gathering around me as their powerful wolf forms. We stalk through the arena's wide-open entrance and make our way into the upper stands, looking down into the arena sands below us, just like the spectators did when Bastian and I fought in the middle of it all.

I see her in the same moment Roarke tells us psychically,She's here.

Somehow she got a new dress, one that's as black as the long strands of hair that flow between her shoulders and skim her hips. Arms raised overhead, she chants strange words in a low voice, her eyes fixed on the ground at her feet. Magic writhes against her pale skin, dancing with oily black light and twisting unnaturally.

She isn't alone. Four hulking male vampires are chained up behind her, their well-developed muscles pushing against pale skin, huddled in the shadows at her back. As Delphine's magic stretches overhead, its eerie blackness blotting out the sun, they pace forward, manacles and chains clanking.

Those are the Ivanov Brothers,Bastian says, shuddering.I didn't think they were still being held here. They used to chain them up with me and Ella, then cut us with knives and dare the brothers to break free and eat us alive.

Follow me.Roarke crouches down, stalking between the seats and moving closer to the arena's center.Bastian, anything you know about those four?

Not much, except that they're very, very old and powerful, but I've never heard them speak. One of the vampires in Demetri's cadre once told me that they were turned as children during the Black Plague, and they grew up as vampires, feasting on werewolf blood so they'd grow. I don't know if that's true. I didn't think vampire children survived the change.

They don't, typically, which means we have no idea what these four are like at all. They may be powerful like the ferals, which would explain why Delphine has gathered them together—she'll need a new power source to drain on now that her army has been slaughtered.

As we get closer, something begins to raise out of the sand at Delphine's feet. A pleased smile curls up her lips, and I notice with a bit of shock that she looks older now. The perfect face, unlined and unmarked, has little smile lines and crow's feet—ones that weren't there just a few days ago.

Even more startling is the way her back curves, her posture bowed and weakened as if she's injured herself. She must have been draining more of her immortality from the vampires than we realized—without them, she's become a shadow of her former self, though the black magic curling above her head still pulses with strength.

See that?Roarke sounds grim.She's aged now. I can sense her weakness, her desperation.

Then this is the moment to strike,Lance suggests, pointing his muzzle towards one of the hallways that leads from the stands down into the arena proper.We have to take her before she finishes whatever spell she's working on.

"Agreed." I assess each of my mates slowly, reaching down to grip the dagger. "Everyone ready?"

They all nod their heads slowly, Roarke the final one to give his assent. Below us, Delphine reaches out to unchain the vampires behind her, and they stride forward as a strange pedestal rises from the sand and begins to glow with otherworldly light. Delphine watches them with a feverish expression, petting a leather satchel at her waist, her eyes hungry.

We'll go after the brothers,Roarke says, tensing as he stares across the open space between our hiding place and the hallway down into the sands.Delilah, you go after Delphine. Signal if you need any help. On three.

One...

Two...

We burst from the stands, racing as fast as we can towards the slanted tunnel into the arena. There are bars at the bottom of the tunnel to keep the fighters from racing up into the stands, so I let my flames surge into my fingertips, bringing a ball of pure energy into my palms and pressing it together until it's a dense witchbomb.

As it flies from my fingertips, I hear Delphine scream out, "Attack them, and bring me their blood!"

The witchbomb explodes on the bars, and moments later we jump through their scorched and twisted remains, landing on the hot arena sand. Shadows stretch all across the arena from one end to the other, the black magic over our heads blotting out every bit of sunlight.

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