We'd only just finished eating and passing the water around when our next visitors arrived. The hot blond jerk that spit on me was headed this way.

Several guards and Hedera were following him. He stopped at the guard's tree and spoke quietly to Pitch for a few minutes while we all watched.

I was getting more freaked out by the second. What was he doing here? I thought the Queen was going to come for us. If he was just coming to be a jerk again, why was Hedera with him?

He walked toward us, and we all stood. Shoulder to shoulder, we waited to find out what was going on. The look on his face was way too smug, and I could feel Tate tense at my side.

The jerk stood in front of us without saying anything. He and Tate just gave each other stink eye until I thought I'd explode with nerves.

Finally, Tate broke the silence, "Why are you here, Lochlan? Where's the Queen?"

Lochlan broke into a huge shit-eating grin, "I told her about our talk yesterday and how you were so disrespectful. She decided your insolent behavior earned me the right to choose the first fighter." He bounced excitedly, "The opponent's already lined up, and he looks ready to do some damage."

My stomach dropped at the thought, but Tate shrugged, "Why would I show you respect? You're simply one of the Queen's underlings. You have no talent or skill that would make me even consider showing you anything but the contempt you deserve." He smirked, "You're just a hateful little nobody."

Apparently, Tate was jumping right into his piss off the person picking the fighter plan. It was working, too; Lochlan's smile turned into a sneer. Tate stood back with his arms crossed and aggressive confidence coming off of him so heavily; you didn't have to be Ash to feel it.

Tilting his head, Lochlan smiled, "I had an interesting talk with Pitch. It seems that in what must be a difficult time for your sad little group, you've managed to find a love interest."

Tate straightened, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jo's head whip in my direction. She reached over and took my hand, squeezing it. Taking a step forward, Tate angled his body, so he was blocking me from Lochlan's view.

"How sweet and tragic," Lochlan gave Tate a fake frown. Turning to the guards behind him, he pointed to me and said, "I want him, the human."

Hedera looked away as she waved her arm to open the cage. The guards stepped forward, and Tate let out an angry roar that made everyone stop moving.

Jo wrapped her arms around my waist like she was going to hold me back from them. Ash looked sick, but he was standing strong. The emotions had to be a lot to handle.

Tate moved to keep himself between the guards and me. With his arms spread wide, he growled, "You will take me, or I will take you all out."

The guards didn't move. None of them looked like they were in a hurry to fight Tate. They glanced back at Lochlan as though they were hoping he'd change his mind. I already knew he wouldn't. He looked way too pleased with himself.

He grinned at Tate, "You will let them take him, or I'll convince the Queen to change the lineup for the fights. I'm sure she would enjoy seeing one of you kill the other."

Tate jerked as if he'd been hit, "You'll have to convince her from the grave."

"Big words, but even you can't win against all of us," Lochlan's smile was full of hate.

He was right; there were too many. Even if we could all get out of the cage to fight together, we were outnumbered three to one. Anyone left alive would be trapped here and forced to fight in the trials. I couldn't let that happen.

Tate took a step toward the guards, and I put my hand on his arm. He didn't take his eyes off of them, but he stopped moving.

I said, "Let me go, Tate. There are too many of them. Only one of us has to go."

Only one was needed to cause the distraction; the rest could escape—one life to save three. There wouldn't be any need to wait for me. I wouldn't be able to get out the way he thought he could.

Tate didn't move, "No, you're not going. They'll have to fight us here, together."

I looked back at Ash and could tell he agreed with me; there were too many of them. He looked at Jolie like he was caught between wanting to fight beside his friend and wanting to take her and fly away as fast as possible. I was glad. I wanted him to grab her and run, protect her the way we'd always protected each other.

Getting his attention, I motioned to Ash what I need him to do. He started to disagree, but when I glanced at Jo, he nodded. She shook her head frantically and pulled me closer to her.

Leaning down, I whispered in her ear, "I love you, manita. Go home."

She was still shaking her head as Ash walked past, "No, no, no!" she yelled, but she was too late.

Ash grabbed Tate's arm, causing him to give him a quick look. Understanding dawned on his face a second later, and he tried to pull away, "NO!"

Before Tate had a chance to stop him, Ash leaned in and said, "Sleep, brother."

The look of horror on Tate's face as he fell to his knees broke my heart. Before he could fall any farther, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and lowered him to the ground. I could tell he was straining to keep his eyes open, and I was sure the guards were about to take me.

Leaning down to rest my forehead on his, I whispered for only him to hear, "I wish I could stay and be your favorite."

He moaned softly like he was in pain as his eyes closed. I kissed his cheek as someone grabbed my arms from behind.

They were pulling me away, but I kept my eyes on Tate's face as long as I could. I wanted every second of him I could get. They walked me out of the cage, and I saw tears streaming from Hedera's eyes, while Lochlan looked like he'd just won a prize.

I couldn't work up enough emotion to care about them. I'd just found and lost everything, and I couldn't feel a thing.

There was a guard on either side of me, holding my arms, pulling me. I heard Lochlan tell Ash to shut Jo up before he did it himself. She'd been screaming at them since they put their hands on me; Ash was holding her back.

He leaned down and said something in her ear. She got quiet in time for me to hear Lochlan tell Ash to carry Tate. Good, I didn't want any of them to touch him. He was probably going to be mad at Ash when he woke up, but at least I knew he would protect Tate while he was out.

Then Lochlan said, "Hedera, guard Ash. We don't need to worry about the humans; the guards can handle them."

I looked back, and Jo was being led by two guards, the same as me. Ash had Tate thrown over his shoulder, and Hedera had a vine hovering in front of her toward him. It was coming from a little bag that hung on her belt.

I guess she was supposed to lasso him with it if he tried to fly off. I didn't think there was any danger of that. Tate looked heavy, and even if he wasn't, there was no way Ash would leave Jo behind.

We walked until I saw a big crowd up ahead. As we stopped, Lochlan ordered Hedera to cage my friends. I turned to look at them; Ash was standing there with Tate still hanging over his shoulder and his arm around Jo.

She was looking at me with red eyes and a wet face, she'd been crying. She never cried, unless she'd just been sick.

I gave her a reassuring smile and she burst into fresh tears. She was the best friend I could have ever asked for. I hoped she would go home and live an amazing life with Ash.

Hedera waved her hands, and her vine grew and flew through the air. She made a cage around the three of them, but it wasn't like the one we'd been in. I guess she needed the full plant for that. This cage was smaller and much less substantial looking. I could tell Jo was already thinking about how to get out of it.

That was good. There was no way I'd be able to give them as much time to escape as Tate would have. I'd make the fight last as long as I could, hopefully it'd be long enough for them to get the hell out of here. If they could wake Tate it should be plenty of time with two of them able to fly.

With the cage made and my friends trapped inside, Lochlan told Citrine and Pitch to stay and watch them. "I'll be back for the next one when this one's finished. I don't think it'll take long," he laughed.

Jolie looked like she was thinking about breaking through the vines to reach him, but Ash kept his arm around her. I still couldn't seem to care enough to really be angry, it was all too unreal, I was numb.

The arena was about a hundred yards away; we got there in no time. They pushed me toward the crowd and it felt like I was just going through the motions. I couldn't feel my feet touch the ground. I heard them yelling at me but nothing was clear, it was just a dull rumble of sound, like the ocean.

They pushed and hissed as I walked through the masses. I felt nothing, I barely saw their angry faces. It was like it was all a bad dream and I was just watching it happen. I was totally detached.

Finally, the crowd opened and I was standing in a big circle of spectators. The arena was just an open area that was nothing but dirt. The only thing keeping us in were the guards and faeries that had come to watch.

There were hundreds of them, and they surrounded the fighting area. Sitting above everyone in the only nearby tree was the Queen.

She looked annoyed seeing me standing there and called Lochlan up to her. He rushed to her side and after a minute of talking she laughed as though she'd just been told the best story.

Standing on a thin branch she raised her arms. "My faeries! I know you were all expecting to see Tate fight our champion first today."

She waved her arm to the side and I saw the biggest man I'd ever seen in my life. He was a mountain with wings and an angry face.

Oh, shit. Some of the numbness was going away and I wanted it back.

"We have something even better! First, we will see him fight this human. A human that Tate has shown a special interest in." The crowd gasped and sounded excited. "I am sure that after the human is gone, Tate will give us an even better show!"

That did it, the fog lifted from my brain and I felt everything in excruciating detail. My heart was pounding in my chest and I had to force myself to focus.

How was this happening? It didn't matter. Hopefully, Ash, Jo, and Tate had figured out how to get out of here and there wouldn't be a second show. This wouldn't be for nothing.

"Let the trials begin!" The Queen yelled, and everyone took a step back. The guards disappeared from my side and the giant took a step toward me.