Chapter 19
Mari
Ihad to be hearing the words wrong. Priscilla had named me her…champion? In a fight against a Fire Weaver?
Priscilla turned to where I stood in the shadows. “Briar Queen, you have been named, and you cannot deny my request, seeing as you are…human.”
The gasp that ran through the crowd wasn’t only on Gabriel’s side, but Vin’s too. His wife stepped forward, her hair shorn short, a dark brown, like charred wood. Eyes that did indeed seem to flicker with the light of a flame.
Her name was Shazeera, third wife to Vin, and she smiled as she took me in. “It will be my pleasure to kill this human. She can be the first of the cleanse.”
Whatever fear that had begun to build alongside the realization of what she was going to do if I didn’t stop her, steeled me in a way nothing else could.
Chin high, I stepped out of the shadows. “As you command.”
“No. She is not my intended.” Gabe said, his voice hard. “And a mere human? You cannot be serious? Or is it just that you are so afraid to lose, you would deliberately choose someone obviously weaker than you?”
While I understood what he was doing, it still stung. I had killed a Fallen before and could do it again.
“If she is strong enough to fuck a king right under his fiancé’s nose, she is strong enough to fight at his side, Gabriel. She will take my place, or she will die by my hand for insubordination, and your crown will be forfeit.”
Priscilla’s words silenced the world around us.
It was my turn to laugh. “You think I am sleeping with your man? You are just jealous that you cannot hold a conversation without grabbing his dick to grab his attention. Some adults, Priscilla, speak to one another. There are many Fallen here who can distinguish truth from lies, so let me say it clearly: I have not slept with our king, nor have any of the Doves that I oversee.”
The truth was there in my words, and they rang through the courtyard.
Not that it would change what was coming for me.
But at least if I was going to face a Fallen, I would do so with my own face.
I slipped off the ring on my left hand and tucked it into my pocket.
How long had it been since I’d just been me, not Mari, not Innia, but truly me?
Funny that it would take this to force me to it.
I could feel Gabe’s eyes on me, and it took all I had not to look his way. To see if he wanted me still…
The stunned silence was broken by Shazeera. “I do not care, I will kill her either way, but she speaks the truth.”
I dipped my head in her direction. “Well met, Lady Shazeera. I’m sure your death will make his fourth wife very happy.”
Laughter rippled through the crowd. Her face hardened as if her gift was with stone instead of flame. My feet led me over the line of salt where there was no going back, before Gabe said anything else that might condemn him.
One thing to have a human pet, but another to put her above your wife or intended. Even I knew that.
Gabriel stepped across the salt on my right. “Not how I saw my day going when I woke.”
Gabe
“Shazeera is going to try to target you,” I warned, keeping my voice low. “But remember that you’re no match for her. Just play it safe for as long as you can, and trust that I’ll come for you.”
She nodded, meeting my gaze. “Understood.”
But there was a fire in her eyes that told me that she had other plans.
Son of a bitch.
I turned away to assess our two opponents as they strode toward the center of the large salt ring. The sooner I killed Lord Vin and was able to turn my attention to Shazeera, the better.
Part of me actually considered just killing her now.
I sucked in a breath, coming up with a quick plan as I strode forward, gesturing for Mari to follow.
I’d find some way to resist his magic, then catch him off guard in the opening exchange. Anything less meant almost certain death for Mari.
Not an option.
“Saying a little prayer to the gods, Gabriel?” Vin called as he and his wife came to a halt a half dozen feet from the ring’s center. “They can’t help you now.”
I ignored him, using the final seconds before our fight began to take stock of the situation.
Traitor or not, I could not deny his skill as a warrior.
Algrin himself had told me as much, saying he was the only living Demon who had bested him in sparring, and that had been in a duel without magic years ago, before he’d even reached his prime.
Shazeera would be no easy mark either, dragging her lowborn family all the way up to nobility with nothing but magic, wit, and raw cruelty.
And, as if that wasn’t enough, I could sense that neither of them had so much as a trace of metal on their bodies. Even their weapons seemed to be made out of some kind of chiseled stone.
Which meant my own magic would be next to useless.
Clearly, they’d been forewarned. I cursed myself for showing it at the coronation, thinking it would act as a deterrent. All I’d done was prepare my enemy.
It wasn’t a mistake I’d make again.
And, luckily, I had a few tricks up my own sleeve as well.
Lord Vin’s confidence was almost palpable as he stared across the ring. He didn’t stand like a fighter; he stood like the ground belonged to him. As far as he was concerned, he was already king.
We’d see about that.
“Challengers, are you ready?” Rufus’s voice boomed from the edge of the ring, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“We are,” Vin called.
“And you, Your Majesty?”
The air was thick and heavy with tension, and my wings began to tingle as they unfurled. First exchange, I repeated mentally, sparing a final glance at Mari as I spoke.
“I am.”
“Begin!” The word cut through the tension like a thunderclap…a brewing storm that had finally broken.
I pushed off the ground, watching the world blur around me as my wings stretched open, propelling me right at the two of them.
Shazeera leapt backward, her eyes wide with surprise as fire began to swirl around her fingertips.
But Vin had different plans, stepping forward to meet me as he yanked his sword from its sheath.
I was on him a heartbeat later, the sound of our clashing blades echoing off the cavern’s walls. He staggered backward, eyes widening at the force of the blow.
And now you know, motherfucker.
I whirled, using the moment to create a few feet of space, then spinning as I tore my dagger from my belt with my free hand. If she was going for Mari as expected, then Shazeera would be…
There.
I whipped my hand forward, forcing every bit of magic I had as I released the blade, aiming it right at her exposed side. It was a perfect throw, but I had no time to watch it hit as I turned to block Vin’s impending counterattack.
And there he was, his black, obsidian sword raised high above his head, just as expected. Now, all that was left was to…
Shazeera let out a scream as my knife struck home, but I had no time to celebrate as Vin’s magic slammed into me, blasting my defenses to bits in a single blow. As I moved to parry, my sword arm went stiff, freezing in place as if it had been turned to stone.
I clenched my teeth, lurching sideways, out of reach of his slash. Searing pain shot through my calf as I landed, and his sword was streaked with crimson when I rolled to my feet. The pain only intensified as I stood.
I spared a quick glance at my leg, seeing the six-inch slice on the back of it, gushing with blood that was now pooling on the stone below.
Not lethal, but not good for my chances of winning this fight.
Had turning my back on him to attack Shazeera been too careless? I’d expected him to fight me for control of my body, but he was far more powerful than I’d imagined.
He turned, flashing a wicked grin as he strode toward me.
“Shortest reign in Demon history, methinks. Now bow to your new master!”
I pushed back with everything I had, struggling to even raise my sword. In Mari’s memory, he had been able to force ten demons to their knees at once.
But they weren’t me.
Vin dashed forward, and I lurched forward to meet him as he unleashed a flurry of attacks in two domains at once; physical and mental.
His sword flowed like liquid, whipping from one attack to the next, slowing me down while his mind threatened to control me completely if I lost focus for even a fraction of a second.
But even as he rained down on me with attack after attack, I saw a glimmer of hope. His swordplay was nearly perfect, but there was a hole in his game. No doubt due to his confidence in his magic, he left himself just a bit too open after each attack, like he knew a counter wouldn’t come.
And, if I couldn’t regain control of my mind, it wouldn’t.
My calf screamed with pain as I stepped toward him, determined to end this. If it had just been a duel between us, I would’ve waited it out, looking for the perfect opening. But this wasn’t a duel. And, as my eyes flitted toward Mari, it became even more obvious that time was not on my side.
The wound in Shazeera’s side had hardly slowed her down, and she was whirling after Mari in a tornado of obsidian and flame.
I had to end this.
Now.