Page 13 of A Fate of Wings
“What battles will we see today? I hope there’ll be more blood than yesterday.”
“Undoubtedly there will be.”
She perked up. With each step we drew closer to the colosseum, a fluttering started low in my belly. What would the Beast do today with a sword? Would he win his battle without killing his opponent? I had little doubt he could take heads with a sword, but could he incapacitate them instead?
The regular winds of the Autumn Court stirred across the land in small flurries, lifting leaves into the air. The leaves spun in vicious circles as though looking for a destination but not being able to escape the force of the wind. I empathized with those leaves. As the siren queen, it forced me to be and go a certain way. Choosing a mate was my minor act of doing something for myself.
We strolled under the grand arches of the colosseum and settled in our seats. Our handmaidens took their positions behind us, ready to serve us when needed. My personal guards stood as close as they could to me. I twirled the gold staff in my hand. The sunlight caught the rubies and flashed glints into the crowd.
The Beast was the first contestant to enter the arena. I stopped spinning the staff. All my attention caught on him. Every time I saw him, my body thrummed with need. I’d almost used my siren’s voice and lured him to me, my desire for him was that strong. He hefted a massive sword into his arms. The dragon shifter entered the arena next. Even in human form, the dragon was larger than the demon. Both men were so bulky that every movement they made rippled their well-defined muscles.
Their swords clashed. The thuds were so loud it was as though a boom of thunder rocked the stadium. Both men held their ground. The blow would have knocked any other creature to the floor. They exchanged blow after blow. Sparks flew from the swords with the speed and ferocity of the strikes.
Melanie yawned. “Where’s the blood?”
I inched forward in my seat as the dragon shifter almost caught the demon with a blow, but at the last second, he avoided being struck. The Beast’s lips lifted in a determined grin. He ducked and rolled, sprang up behind the other man who then spun, swinging low, but the Beast had already jumped and as thedragon shifter’s blade hit the dirt, the demon swung his blade downward and severed the hand holding the sword.
“Finally,” Melanie said.
The man shifted into a dragon and roared a flame of fire into the sky. He limped with his missing foot, gave up walking, and launched himself into the sky. The sky darkened into a dusty gray and rain pelted in a sudden burst that made our handmaidens snap open the umbrellas sheltering us.
“He would have been handy to have around,” Melanie said, wiping a drip of rain from her brow.
“Yes, I suppose a dragon would have been an appropriate mate.”
The demon walked closer to our seats, laid his sword on the ground, and bowed over the bloodied blade.
“My queen.”
“Impressive,” I said, twirling a strand of hair around my finger. “If you wish to continue the last part of the trials, fetch me back the heart of a chimera.”
I’d test this beast, as I’d test all the other winners from today’s contestants with a near-impossible task next.
“Anything for my future mate.”
The beast dipped another bow. In an impressive display of power, he created a portal and then disappeared through a sparkling aquamarine vortex. Two new warriors entered the ring, but the beast had captured my attention. The men fighting in the pit may as well not have existed. A cheer broke out through the crowd as one after another the competitors fought, and left a winner standing. Each winner received a task in another realm. A task that was brutal and difficult. Practically impossible. A test of their determination and grit to be my warrior mate. For I grasped the threats surrounding me. Realized they’d one day come for my head again or worse.
There were worse things than losing one’s head in the immortal realms. Most supernatural beings could grow their heads back after an extended amount of recovery time. But if they removed your head, then you were almost bound to die because decapitating an immortal was a way to get to their true weakness. The one that would kill them. Decapitation could even kill some immortals. I suppressed a shudder. I’d seen worse, doled out worse myself. At present I held a mermaid captive in my dungeon, torturing her with the constant deprivation of water, all because she’d endeavored to make humans believe she was a siren. Humans were fools. I wouldn’t have the siren’s name tarnished by one egotistical mermaid.
Her screams were a constant delight.
“Well, I’m glad that’s over with.” Melanie stood and dusted off her satin gown, even though there were no specks of mud on her and the rain had long since stopped.
“Come now.” I rose and hooked an arm through hers. “It was entertaining, at least.”
She rolled her pretty aquamarine eyes and fluffed the feathers in her wings. “Yes, all those limbless bodies were a delight.”
“The healers will have their jobs cut out for them today.”
“We don’t give them enough work,” she said. “Perhaps I’ll make more for them.”
“I’m sure you will, Melanie.”
Knowing my sister, heads were the last thing she’d remove since she was more bloodthirsty than me.
We made our way down the stone stairs to the cobblestones underneath. Our leather boots struck the pavers in a soft thud like the beats of a drum making music. Behind us, our handmaidens kept their feet quiet as though they weren’t following our every step. We’d grown up with servants waiting on our every demand. They may be beneath us in status, but in private, we treated them as though they were our friends. Well, Idid. I wasn’t too sure about my sister. I ducked a glance behind me. Her handmaiden made sure to not meet my eyes.
Was it my queen of the siren’s status or more?