The Usurper's Throne

29

Roger's plan was to keep me in the dark realm overnight. He swallowed a car into the dark realm, and we drove back to the castle invisibly. Thankfully, there were no other cars on the road. At the fight tomorrow, I would have to be present because I was collateral. The very idea sent panic into my system.

I was stuck. If Damien died, I would die. If he won, I would forever be his plaything. What was I supposed to do?

The night was a blur

Roger was nothing if not sympathetic to my fate. He listened to me for hours as I tried to rationalize a way out of this.

There was none. Finally, Roger made me go to sleep. I needed my energy for tomorrow.

"No matter what happens, remember that you have people who are on your side."

++++

I woke up, confused why everything was cast in a gray shadow. Once I realized that I was in the dark realm, the reality set in.

What if I had run away before the Hunt? I would be living with humans in a small town, trying to make something of myself. I wouldn't be collateral in a fight to the death between my manipulative marked and a corrupt king.

How had I ended up in this place?

With my nerves, I thought the day would pass slowly, but the fight arrived far sooner than I would have liked. Damien was gone, already preparing in the throne room. Roger let me out of the dark realm in my room. I locked the door and then showered, changing into my athletic clothing. If I was going to run, I was going to run.

I stayed in my room, waiting for the fight to begin. A part of me wondered if I never showed up to the fight if I could lose my status as collateral.

As the Old Magic did, I realized that my feet were moving before I did.

How desperately I wanted the Old Magic to bite the dust.

My feet led me into the midst of a crowd, all looking on a circle of salt that had been drawn. I saw Damien across the hall, dressed in all black. The king didn't look prepared; he wore khaki pants and a purple polo with his regal cape over his outfit. It was surreal.

Finally, Damien's eyes met mine and he began pushing through the crowd to reach me. It would have been a sweet moment if he wasn't a psycho.

In a puff of gold, his feet suddenly led him inside the circle. For once, I was grateful for the Old Magic. He stared at me and then blinked to the king who had also been pulled into the circle. So, it had begun.

"Usurper, what are the stakes you have declared?" the king asked.

"My life and that of my mate's. Who has magically returned. What did you offer in return?" It took everything in me not to jump in that circle and start laying hands.

"Agreed. My life and throne."

"Agreed."

"Starting now, the first to leave the ring or die forfeits his life and claim." The salt outline on the ground suddenly blazed to life, a golden trail of fire securing the two men inside the ring.

The usurper is going to die. What an idiot. Doesn't he know—

What's gunna happen when the king dies? Maybe I should have been nicer to the kid.

His mate? He put her life on the—?

Where is she? We need to leave before the fight even begins...

I grimaced. People were never quiet about their thoughts, but these were ear-piercingly rambunctious—everyone's panic was escalating their—

"Take her now," the king commanded, gesturing to me. Suddenly, two very strong hands grabbed my upper arms.

"Get off me," I snapped, yanking my arms back. The two men clearly didn't care and simply pulled me forward. They marched me up toward the throne. They walked me past the throne and past the purple curtains into a back room. I cast one final glance to Damien, who wouldn't meet my eye. Indignation flooded my chest.

I struggled a bit, but the men were clearly stronger than I was. I thought of buffeting them away with a well-timed gust but realized that it would be hard to pull a strong breeze. All the windows were closed.

They led me to a stairwell and practically pulled me up the steep steps. It was narrow, so one pulled while the other pushed. "Stop pushing," I said.

"Then move faster, kid."

I tried to tune into their thoughts, but everyone down below was thinking so loudly. Their thoughts were getting lost in the mess.

...up...

Up? Duh. We were going up. The one word of a whispered thought. My heart thudded as we passed a small window. If they were putting me in a tower...I was getting a little tired of the tropes. After a single flight, they pulled me out onto a balcony that overlooked the room from the side. There was a small metal railing between us and the huge open room. Normally, there were two chairs up here for viewing the court proceedings.

Instead of two chairs, in the middle of the balcony hung two chains from the ceiling and two chains on the floor. My brain tried to comprehend what they were for until memories caught up with me. I caught my breath and my body seized.

Suddenly, I was back in the desert. My body was limp, carried into the chair, my limbs and head bound. Leviathan slowly crept out of the depths and latched onto—

I blinked frantically, furiously attempting to take the memories away. I couldn't move. The men dragged me forward and I screamed. Everyone's eyes darted to me, including those of Damien. Finally, he looked at me. He made eye contact. I wanted to claw out those gorgeous eyes.

Why in the world did he put my life at stake? There were two more guards already at the balcony and when I had been carried to the chains, they swiftly cuffed my ankles. Then, they worked together to cuff my hands. Panic was rushing over me in waves. Everything that Elijah taught me about gaining the upper hand in the situation went out the window. I had broken a rule—don't let them tie you down.

I heard a rattling, and the excess chain was pulled up. It continued moving, even as my arms were as high as they could go. "Stop," I yelled. "Damien! Help!"

The chains didn't stop but picked me up by my wrists. The short chains at my ankles pulled taunt and I was stretched and suspended in the air. I gasped as pain began to build in my arms and legs.

What is that? The girl? She's like, twenty. Why is she in the middle of this?

Why are they doing that?

Is she going to die? They can't do that yet—

Look at that fine piece of—

"That was not part of the agreement," Damien snarled, his eyes flashing yellow.

"What?" the king said. "The elemental is not your mate. You have not mated her. She is only your marked. I can do with her as I please."

Damien's face dropped.

The king laughed. "Clearly you have much to learn about the old magic. Her life is forfeit. If you die, you lose the Alpha's Claim. I can do with her as I please. Why would you assume I would kill her? I know what she is, and I am not my ancestors. I would rather burn my forest than kill an elemental." Damien's eyes went wide in shock. The king laughed. "You think I wouldn't recognize an elemental when I smelled one? She reeks of the old magic. You really thought you could hide her by marking her?"