The tiger moved a leg before it fell still. A small breeze ruffled its fur.

The crowd cheered.

But one voice stood out above the rest.

“Open the other door!” Rodric screamed.

The door I hadn’t chosen slid open. Another tiger roared out.

I pulled my blade from the tiger’s chest and turned to face the new threat.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dimic already at work picking the lock. I just needed to buy him more time.

The second tiger snarled as it ran forward.

It leapt as it reached me, throwing its paws around. Its teeth snapped inches from my face. Hot breath washed over me.

Its paws ripped into my dress, tearing through the bottom half.

It took all the skills I’d learned while being hit from all directions in the shifting hills to keep the tiger’s claws from biting into my flesh.

I threw my sword in an upward arch to block both front paws at once. The tiger put more weight behind its attack. I could barely hold my sword up against the force as it brought its weight down.

It threw itself forward, and I fell backward. I rolled out of the way just as a paw dug into where my head had been.

The tiger would’ve snapped at my neck if a pair of shackles hadn’t smashed into its skull.

It whipped around, hissing.

“Over here, you flea-bitten mongrel,” Dimic taunted. And then he took off running.

So did the tiger.

I rolled to my feet.

The tiger was gaining on Dimic as they raced to the edge of the arena.

Dimic leapt onto the fallen bit of railing, balancing on the thin beam and climbing up, disappearing into the crowd.

But the tiger didn’t stop. It pounced over the railing and into the crowd too. People ran everywhere.

I moved toward the chaos.

Cion, free from his shackles, was ahead of me, running to make sure his brother made it away safely and that the tiger didn’t hurt anyone else. He clutched the sword Dimic had been carrying in one hand and had the other wrapped around his still-healing side. I raced to catch up with him. I wanted to tell him to get away from the arena, but I knew he wouldn’t go. Not until Dimic was safe. Not until everyone was safe.

The tiger was tearing its way through the stands. Several guards had spears pointed at it. It leapt forward, breaking a spear with its paw and biting into the guard’s leg. The tiger whipped the man around, knocking him into the other nearby guards.

I lost sight of Cion and Dimic as I hauled myself up the broken railing into the stands and ran through the wake the tiger created.

I raced along several rows below the tiger, dodging fleeing bodies. I saw the path the beast would take and dashed up a staircase to cut it off.

Halfway up the stairs, I nearly ran straight into my father. I skidded to a stop.