Maeve's P.O.V.
Lightning flashes across the sky as we all gather on the castle grounds. Xavier, the new general, stands in the center of the circle.
"No killing," his voice booms. "You are all to remain in your human forms. Other than that, there are no rules. You will all be chosen at random. Whoever pins their opponent for ten seconds or renders them unconscious wins."
Not everybody came to fight, many came to simply watch. I am surprised at the amount of wolves that came, but we do love a good fight.
Xavier points at a brute of a man. "You and you."
The second male looks tiny in comparison to the first."That hardly seems like a fair fight," Raven grumbles from my left. She is the only human who attended today. Amara and Morgan were completely disinterested in this and are off playing in the castle.
"Not really," I tell her. "There is always going to somebody bigger or stronger. Fights are never fair."
She hums in response as I look at the first two fighters. The big one is too cocky. And the small one has a calculated look in his eyes. I turn to my right where Sebastian is sitting. "A hundred pieces of gold that the small one takes it."
He grins and offers his hand for me to shake. "You're on."
We watch as the men circle each other, both waiting for the other to make the first move. Thunder booms above and it starts to rain.
The small one makes the first move and we all watch with bated breath as the large one takes him down, but he quickly rolls out from underneath the brute.
The storm grows and the falling rain causes the ground to become muddy, causing their fight to become a little more difficult. The wolves cheer and roar, goading the fight on, uncaring of who wins or loses. The atmosphere can only be described as primal.
The fight eventually comes to an end, with the little one on top as I predicted. The crowd continues to chant as two more fighters are selected.
SebastIian plops a small drawstring bag into my lap with a smirk. "Remind me not to bet against a witch again."
I purse my lips. "Now why would I do that? I love gold."
The day continues with little bets, most of which I win. Being apart not from him so soon after our mating ceremony has not been easy. I haven't given myself to really think about everything, apart from my meltdown a few nights ago. But I crave to be near him now, to be touched by him.
I look at him seriously, momentarily ignoring the chaos around us. "I know that this is not what you expected. But, when things calm down over here, I will be able to divide my time equally between our two kingdoms."
I miss the dragons, if I'm being honest. I felt more accepted there in two weeks than I ever have with the wolves.
He pulls me in for a kiss, both of us drenched from the rain. It's short and passionate, so when he pulls away I'm left wanting more. But it isn't the time or place.
"Come home with me," he says softly. "After this is all over. Just for a little bit."
"Alright," I agree too quickly.
We continue with our bets, but it's all I can think about, and he knows. That is until Raven says, "I want to fight."
"I would highly advise against that," I say.
YOU ARE READING
Their Banished Queen
FantasyCalatia is a world that has lived without war for five hundred years, ever since they split away from the human world. But when Maeve finds herself as the sole ruler of two kingdoms, it becomes abundantly clear that the time of peace is coming...