Reaper (Dark in You 8)

The fire-breathing asshole was a real problem—setting alight tails and manes, and burning the legs of whatever hellhorse was in front of it at the time. Which was stupid, really, because constantly exhaling flames took up strength that could be spent on, you know, running. But you could never count on a hellhorse to do the expected, so …

The racing steeds flew across the track, their coats covered in a fine sheen of sweat. It was clear that some were beginning to tire. They fell behind little by little. Others inched forward as they ran, including Teague’s steed.

Piper tensed as she noticed they were now speeding toward a hedge that kept randomly bursting into flames. “Oh, hell.”

They jumped. Some went unscathed, but not all. Squeals came from those who got hit by the flames, and Teague’s steed was one of them.

Khloë went stiff. “No, no, no, no.”

Piper puffed out a breath of relief when it didn’t tumble into a ditch but instead ran on, steam shimmering off its coat.

Khloë dabbed at her face as if to cool it. “Nerves. Shot. Nerves. Shot. God, he’s covered in wounds.”

Yes, there were slices, bites, burns, and small puncture wounds from the thorny hedges.

“The other steeds are in no better shape,” said Piper.

Fire-breather was a mess. And it right then decided to burn the flank of Teague’s steed. Son of a bitch.

“I am sick of that … goober,” Devon growled.

Apparently she wasn’t alone in that, because the hellhorses either side of said goober body-slammed it in unison. Its pace faltered, and it went down on one foreleg. In doing so, it tripped up another, taking them both out of the race.

Khloë grinned. “And the fire-breathing A-hole goes down.”

“Only eight left,” said Keenan, splaying his hand on his mate’s back.

Rocking back and forth on her heels, Raini made a sound of dread. “The final part of the track is always the worst.”

It was. The hurdles were closer together, the ditches were often wider, and the jumps could sometimes be higher.

The steeds upped the dirty-trick ante to distract each other—sinking teeth into coats, bashing each other’s bodies, puffing out smoke to obstruct the vision of others. But none of those tricks worked today. Every beast surged on.

There were more hedges. More walls. More ditches. More injuries. More falling hellhorses.

Soon, only five remained in the race. And all five were fast approaching the second to last hurdle. They began to seriously pick up the pace, their hooves thudding on the track harder and faster than before.

Teague’s stallion put on a burst of speed just before it jumped the next hurdle and cleared the ditch, landing right into second place. The steed it had just overtaken tried catching up but couldn’t.

“That’s it, you got this.” Her joined hands pressed against her mouth, Khloë shifted from one foot to another. “Come on, come on, come on.”

A hand to her throat, Harper said, “Okay, one more to go. Just one.”

Which might have been reassuring if the hurdle wasn’t an absolute fucker. Snakes writhed along the wall, hyped up somehow—maybe on pheromones or something. They hissed at each other and pitched their heads forward threateningly.

Khloë slapped a hand over her eyes. “No, I can’t watch. I can’t.” But she spread her fingers and peeked out at the track.

As the hellhorses closed in on the hurdle, the spectators’ voices and cheers rose in volume. The commentator’s voice came sharp and fast and edged with urgency.

Teague’s stallion edged more and more forward as it reached the obstacle. It leaped high, clearing the wall in one smooth jump and narrowly escaped being bit by a snake … and landed into first place. Then it was galloping even faster than before. The others tried catching up, but they had no chance. It had left them in the dust.

“That’s it, that’s it, that’s it, don’t fall, don’t fall, don’t—Yes!” Khloë jumped up and down as Teague’s hellhorse zipped over the finish line. “It won!”

Keenan hugged her, smiling. “I don’t know why you’re ever surprised.”

Applause rang out across the stadium. There were no doubt a few curses and boos as well, but the cheering was so loud and wild it drowned them out.

Beaming, Khloë snickered as Teague’s hellhorse tossed its head in a very arrogant gesture while smoothly coming to a halt. “Cocky fu—fiend.” She sagged. “I am so glad that’s over. Now I need to go pee. My bladder can’t take this kind of stress.”

As the imp and Keenan left for the restroom, Piper and Levi returned to their seats.

“I really will never know why even crazy creatures would put themselves through that,” Piper told him. “Devon’s right, it’s sadistic. Who actually seeks out pain?”

“I can’t say shit about it,” said Levi. “I fight in the combat ring often enough. Haven’t since I found you, though.”

“I watched you fight a few times.” She wasn’t about to admit it right there, but she’d had quite a sexually primal reaction to observing him let loose like that.