Arden fired the weapon and the boom that went off made the trees shudder and sway, as if they were alive and cognizant. Whatever Arden fired at them shot toward the Fae before veering too far to the left. It slammed into a tree and lit it on fire in a blazing ball. The tree began to scream, and Danica cringed at the sound it made.
“The object is to hit them,” Phi teased.
Arden growled from outside the car, holding on tightly as Danica swerved around another barely marked trap. “Shut up.”
He fired again, the inferno heading toward the Fae before veering right at the last minute, missing them again.
“Really? They must have some sort of protective field around them.” Phi leaned forward, drawing their attention, but the moment his eyes widened, Danica focused back on the Fae car in time to see the male lean out the window with his own large gun.
“Arden!”
But it was already too late. The Fae fired the weapon and before Arden could duck back inside, it slammed right into his chest in an explosion of glitter and flowers, pretty despite its threat.
Panicking, Danica watched as Phi dragged Arden back inside the window, her heart coming up in her throat at the sight that met her eyes.
She’d expected there to be blood and gore. What she hadn’t expected were the vines and flowers blooming from Arden’s throat and chest, choking him. He clawed at them desperately, ripping them from his chest, drawing blood at his throat and where the vines were ripped away. But for every one that was ripped away, a handful more took its place.
“Don’t panic,” Phi instructed, reaching into his bag. “It’s only Fae tricks.”
Arden began to convulse but Danica tried her hardest not to panic and focus on driving, on keeping the distance between them and the Fae team the same. Before it could get really out of hand, Phi leaned back forward with a bottle of liquid he began dumping over Arden like holy water.
“What the fuck is that?” Danica asked. She’d meant for her voice to come out steady but instead, the panic was apparent in the squeak. It was too highly pitched.
Phi tossed the bottle out the window to shatter against a tree trunk. Something screeched but didn’t attack. “The antidote. It is a good thing I like to be prepared.”
Alternating between watching the course around them and glancing at Arden as the vines began to crumble and wither away, Danica tried her hardest to slow her racing heart. When Arden slumped in the seat panting hard, she blew out a sigh of relief.
“Blood,” Arden rasped. “I need blood.”
She didn’t hesitate. Danica thrust her wrist toward the vampire despite her rules and waited for him to strike. “Here.”
“No.” Phi grabbed her wrist gently and pushed it back toward her. “You need your strength to win. Keep us on course. Stay back away from the Fae until we’re at full strength again. Watch their tricks.”
“How far do we have until the finish line?”
“Eight miles.” Phi met her eyes. “We’re close enough that you can close the distance if needed. I’ll feed this asshole and then we’ll overtake them.”
Danica nodded and tightened her hands on the wheel until her knuckles were white. They were almost there, close enough to win, and it would be down to her to overtake the Fae and win.
Phi thrusted his arm toward Arden and the vampire bit down on skin hard enough to make Phi grunt. “Okay, asshole. There was no need to make it hurt.”
“The sweet bites are reserved for Danica,” he mumbled around Phi’s vein, making the prince roll his eyes.
“Just hurry up. We don’t have time.”
Slight color returned to Arden’s cheeks and Phi pulled his arm away. The two puncture wounds healed quickly, and Phi rolled his shoulders before settling back in his seat.
“Welcome back,” Danica murmured, glancing at Arden.
“Were you worried for me?” He reached across and curled strong fingers around her forearm, further reassuring her. The words came out a tease, but the look on his face was anything but.
“Of course, I was,” Danica scoffed. “You can’t die on me now.”
“There will be no dying,” Phi ordered. “Now, catch those Fae bastards and let’s finish this.”
Nodding, Danica shifted and shot forward, gaining ground quickly. She’d been holding back while Arden healed but now that their team was whole again, there was no reason to play it safe. The roar of the engine filled the air around them, the tree line beginning to blur as she expertly maneuvered the car around the course, closing distance between them and the Fae team. It was easy to see their position in the near darkness. Iridescent wasn’t the best color choice in the Dark Forest.
Here we go, Danica thought as they drew closer, less than fifty yards between them. The Fae leaned out the window again, a large gun in his hand, but they were safe inside the vehicle. Before he could fire off a shot, before Danica could swerve around whatever he planned to shoot, both of their plans were thwarted by the massive creature that came barreling from the left.
Danica swerved, her instinct carrying her around the legs of the thing, her heart jumping into her throat yet again, but still, she kept her cool.
“Troll,” Phi said, answering her unspoken question. “Don’t let it touch us. If it catches us, the beast will crush the car with us inside.”
The footsteps of the troll made the ground shake with its force, the weight behind it too much for the earth. Even through the rolling tires of the car, Danica could feel it, telling her all she needed to know. This was to be a dangerous game of keep away.
But the troll didn’t only go for them and that’s how Danica knew it was just a part of the race and not the King’s doing. The troll focused on the iridescent colors glittering on the Fae car and went after them, gaining speed quickly with its long strides. The floorboard shook beneath her as Danica shot forward, chasing the troll, her instincts screaming at her.
“What are you doing?” Arden asked, clearly confused at her actions. The object was to stay away from the troll and here she was, gaining ground on it.
Danica didn’t answer, her eyes on the feet of the troll as it went to stomp on the car. The Fae attempted to swerve, to avoid the foot, but they were a few seconds away from being a pancake. If she were smart, Danica would allow it to happen and be in first place, but that wasn’t how she worked. Instincts were king in this race, and Danica was going to use hers.
Something glittery slammed into the troll, from whatever weapons the Fae had, but it did little more than piss off the thing more, a massive roar echoing in the trees. It made him set his foot down before reaching toward them with his hand. Without thinking further on it, Danica gunned the engine and aimed for the legs.