Fawn

e. *Gauntlet*. It tasted of iron and fear. I pressed my back against the s

King hadn't lo

ed*. A spectacle. The thought was a shard of ice in my gut. My wolf, a creatur

high and thin, cut short by that same wet, tearing noise. My stomach clenched, but there was nothing left to bring up.

there? Three? Four? Eac

bolt scraped again, louder this time, more urgent. I flinched, scrambling b

torch. Two guards filled the doorway, their faces grim, their scent

r feet,

sed under his breath, strode in, and hauled me up by my arm. His grip wa

from the courtyard grew louder, a wall of noise I was being forced to walk into. The air

ickering, monstrous shadows. A crowd of rogues, hundreds of them, packed the perimeter, their f

ravaged remains of what had once been a girl in a white tunic. A pack of g

They were trembling, their eyes wide with a terror so absolute

silhouette against the firelight. He raised a ha

he boomed. "A test of wi

he hands of the girl next to me. It was dark wood, wrapped in what looked

away. It was another captive, a young man, his hands bound

it, then at the kneeling man. She le

ated, his voice flat, "or you

and brought it down in a clumsy, weak arc that barely connected with th

disgust. "Useless. Fe

ged her toward the pit. She didn't even scr

hands. The silver wire felt cold, electric, against my skin. It did

the jail

at me, his eyes pleading. I looked at the pit, where the fera

ce, or become the next vi

dusty ground with a soft thud. A gasp went thr

t me, his eyes narr

my entire life. I wouldn't become a predator, not even to save my

like a whip. "You dare defy me in my own Gauntlet?" He pointed a thick finger at

oved toward a heavy iron gate at the edge of the pit. The feral wolves inside stirred, the

groan of protesting meta

n, it h

se and the frenzy as if a switch had been flipped. The air grew heavy, thick with an authority so immense it was a physica

thin sound of pure terror, and flattened th

terrifying unison, bowed their heads. N

was now stone-still, his face pale, his eyes wide with a

orn sounded in the distance,

placed by a new, unknown dread. The power in the air

g there, the dropped club at my feet, and his expression shifted. I was no longer a disobedient

ice a low, panicked hiss.

t drag me this time; they hauled me, half-lifting me off my feet, ru

ntering the arena from the main gate, a silhouette of breathtaking size and power against t

ear as they hustled me past him. "You will be