With a sharp inhalation of air, he launched himself across the square at me. He was a dark blur, more wind than man as he moved. I darted to my right, only attempting to sidestep him, but I misjudged his speed. Pain exploded in my left forearm and I looked down to find three long, ragged cuts across my pale skin. Blood welled up and streaked down my arm before finally dripping to the ground. My eyes darted back to Nicolai, to find that his fingers were elongated and tipped with long black claws.

Frowning, I bit back a curse and slowly took a couple steps away, circling him. He could partially shift. That meant he was either a lot older than I initially thought or a lot more powerful. Shifting specific body parts was very difficult, demanding a great deal of energy and control. I had seen Alex do it only once, and it left her shaking and sweating afterward. I knew I could stretch out the fight in an attempt to wear him down, but I think we both preferred to have this done before Danaus woke up from his catnap.

Nicolai lunged for me again, but this time I remained still, my feet planted and legs braced. Ducking under massive arms that reached out to grab me, I punched him hard in the side, under his ribs. Air exploded from his lungs in a harsh grunt. His right heel scraped against the ground as he struggled to regain his balance against the unexpected blow. Before he could draw in a fresh lungful of air, I slammed my left fist into his jaw, wincing at the impact. I didn’t want to hurt Nicolai, but I needed to knock him out so I could finally end this contest.

The punch knocked him on his ass. I immediately backpedaled a few steps as he rolled back to his feet, sucking in a couple ragged breaths.

“What are your orders?” I demanded. We circled each other, only a few feet of empty air separating us.

“Kill you,” Nicolai evenly replied. The werewolf stepped forward in a blur, swinging his right fist at my stomach. I jumped backward, dodging the blow and landing balanced on the tips of my toes. He dipped down before I could land flatfooted again and swung one leg around. His foot and ankle connected with my toes, knocking me back.

Instead of landing flat on my back, I caught myself on my fingertips, continuing the flip over. It wasn’t pretty, but I managed to land on one foot and a knee, ready to lunge at him.

Nicolai backed off a couple steps when he realized his attempt to knock me on my back had failed. Fists raised, he waited for me to rise to my feet again.

“Just kill me?” I continued. “What about Danaus? Or Tristan?” I needed to understand this game Jabari was playing. I knew the Ancient would send Nicolai after me, but what was his rationale for doing it? Did he want me to rid him of this pet? Or was Nicolai a greater threat than I was giving him credit for? My death here would put both Tristan and Danaus at great risk. And with the appearance of the naturi in the main hall, I was beginning to seriously wonder if Jabari truly needed me alive any longer. I knew my nights were numbered, but I now felt as if I had fewer of them than I had previously believed.

“He named only you,” Nicolai stated. His heavy breathing and his fast heartbeat were the only sounds in the empty campo. No sound came from his footsteps as we started to circle each other again.

“Alex?” I swung at him, but he dodged it. Unfortunately, I had overextended, positive that the blow would connect. Off-balance and moving too slow, I swallowed a curse when I felt Nicolai’s large hands wrap around my shoulders. White light exploded before my eyes when he slammed his head against mine. The pain was immediately followed by a second swelling of pain as his fist hit my chin, snapping my head around.

Somehow, I remained standing, though I had yet to open my eyes. I didn’t need to see him. I could hear him. I could smell him. I could feel the heat pulsing off his massive frame. Gritting my teeth, I drilled my right fist into his side. The sound of at least two ribs breaking was unmistakable.

“Just you,” he grunted.

Taking a couple unsteady steps backward, I blinked my eyes a couple times to clear my vision. Good grief, that man had a freaking hard head! Nicolai stood a couple feet away, still upright, but one hand was now pressed against his wounded rib cage.

I snorted softly. “I’m a lucky girl.”

“Sorry.” The single word escaped him in a nearly breathless whisper, causing a frown to tug at the corners of my mouth. We were all trapped in this collection of islands one way or another.

Nicolai came at me again, his talonlike nails aimed to remove more than one layer of flesh from my body. I didn’t try to dodge him this time. Grabbing his upper arms, I used his momentum to help me throw him away from me. Unfortunately, the lycan was smart enough to wrap his long fingers around my wrists and pull me to the ground with him.

We landed in a heap with him beneath me. Both of us grunting, we slammed into the hard, stone-covered ground. Rolling several feet as we struggled for supremacy, our legs tangled in each other. When we finally settled in one spot, Nicolai was on top of me, his knees resting on either side of my hips as he struggled to keep my arms pinned on either side of my head.

A little golden flash of light caught my eye, and my gaze drifted down to find a gold cross dangling from his neck on a thick gold chain. The little piece of metal had caught a sliver of moonlight and winked at me. It didn’t glow or heat up like so many of the movies liked to show. But I could feel it throbbing with power, beating against me as it fought to keep me back away from the werewolf. Nicolai’s faith was strong. Without uttering a word, I knew he believed very deeply that God and the heavenly host would keep him safe from me.

A hiss escaped my clenched teeth and I pressed back into the cool, broken stone in an attempt to put some distance between me and the cross. Touching it would burn me, and since it was a spell-induced burn, I would never completely heal from it. And I preferred not to have a cross-shaped scar somewhere on my face.

“Thought of everything, didn’t you?” I taunted. The words pushed past my lips in a harsh whisper since I couldn’t unclench my teeth. Nicolai remained silent, focused on keeping me pinned, but even that was faltering. He was strong, but I was still stronger. I managed to lift my arms a couple inches off the ground, beginning to push him off me. With one last groan, he relaxed the pressure he was using to hold me down for less than a breath before slamming my arms back down to the ground. The sound of bones breaking shattered the silence.

I screamed, my back arching off the ground a little. He had brought my right forearm down on a rock, snapping the bones in half. My vision swam in the pain for a couple seconds. The thought of defeating him without killing him vanished. Instinctively, I brought my knees up between his legs. The surprise and pain was enough to finally push him off.

Before he hit the ground, a circle of fire sprang up around him, stretching more than six feet into the air. Scrambling to my feet, I cradled my broken arm against my chest as I darted off to the darkest niches of the campo. One of the far corners held a type of two-walled arbor, thick with vines. The shadows were deep, affording me some cover.

Mira!

I flinched at Danaus’s sudden presence in my head. The touch was tentative and distant, making me think he was still leaning against the wall where I left him.

Go away! I mentally snarled at him. I’m busy trying not to get killed.

You’re hurt.

Go away! I wasn’t surprised that he could tell I was injured, since the pain seemed to fill my entire frame. Yet I stiffened when I suddenly felt the small wave of power sweeping through me. Danaus and his warm touch were slowly moving over my body, searching for the injury. It’s my right arm. It’s broken. Even the thoughts sounded shaky and frightened in my head. Nightwalkers couldn’t do this. We could read one another’s thoughts and emotions, but we could not reach out and touch each other like this.