Exiled heir the empty th.., p.35
Exiled Heir (The Empty Throne Trilogy Book 1), page 35
Cade didn’t turn to look at me, his back as straight as an arrow. It gave me no hints of what I was supposed to do next, so I did the only thing I could think of.
“Fine. I accept.”
Chapter
Thirty-Nine
Cade raised his chin, expression blank. He tugged on my arm, and I came even closer.
“Half an hour. The challenge grounds.” He reached up, his fingers brushing the back of my neck, tracing along the edge of the collar. “Prepare your consort.”
Then he walked up the steps and into the house. I followed behind him, unsure of what had just happened.
“Cade—”
I cut myself off when he shot me a nasty look. In his room, he slammed the door behind me.
“What do you think you’re doing?” His voice boomed, turning ragged at the edge of it, sliced with dull scissors and still bleeding.
“He was antagonizing me! He challenged you!”
“He was provoking you.” Cade buried his hands in his hair. “Probably on Sonja’s orders.” He bit back a swear.
His fingers fisted in his hair, and shadows twirled from underneath the cuffs of his shirt, circling over the back of his hand and onto his fingers. He turned to me and opened his hand until I handed him the mouse. He placed it in its cage and then shut the terrarium.
With his back to me, he said, “This is just the excuse she needs.”
“So what? I’ll beat him. I can do it.”
Tyson might be dressing up as an alpha, relying on a mage’s magic to give him the size and the power. But I actually was an alpha. It was in my blood. I could beat him.
“You—” He broke off again, frustrated, digging his hands in his hair again.
“What am I not getting? It’s a little hand-to-hand combat. I can beat him.” I walked forward, wrapping one of my hands around Cade’s wrist, where it still fisted in his hair. “I’ll be fine.”
Cade pulled away, glaring at me. “That’s not what a challenge is.”
Frowning, I said, “I’ve been in enough challenges to know that it’s just a dominance game. Sure, a little more bloody than our moms would let us get away with as pups, but nothing more.”
“Not amongst mages. Not with consorts.” Cade let out a breath that turned into an unhappy chuckle. “This is how she does it. This is how she proves to them how close I am to the edge.”
“What are you talking about?” I stepped forward, but Cade shied backward. “How does this prove anything about you?”
“Because most consorts are bonded with their mages!” Cade ended on a shout. “It’s not a challenge between you and him; it’s a challenge between me and her. Her magic against mine. Whatever spells she can shovel on Tyson’s wide chest against the magic she assumes I’m going to put on yours. And if you can’t control it—if I can’t control it—then they’re going to know that I’m losing my grip. They’re going to know…”
“That you’re almost flooded. That your metaphorical mouse is almost drowned.” My eyes widened. Then I shook my head. “I can still beat him. I’ve been in more combat than our little wannabe alpha has played on Call of Duty.”
“Consorts die in duels. It’s not just arm wrestling. It’s not playing.” Cade’s breath came short, but then he blew it out long, controlling himself by increments. “Mages don’t like to kill each other in combat, so they kill each other’s consorts. When you get in the ring with him, he’s going to try and kill you.”
“I know you might not believe this because of how we met, but I’m actually pretty hard to kill.” I tried for a smile but felt it die on my lips. “All evidence aside, I’m a cockroach when it comes to assassination attempts.”
Cade’s lips twisted, and he approached me, reaching up to brush his fingers over my collar again. Then, he unlatched it, tugging it free, dragging it through his fingers before putting it in his pocket. He wrapped a hand around my throat, his eyes locking on mine.
They were as blue as arctic waters, but I knew I wasn’t going to drown in them. He wouldn’t let me.
“I’m not paying you to die. You understand?”
“Yes.” My heart thudded in my chest, so hard that I knew he had to feel it under his fingertips.
“You aren’t allowed to get killed.” He tightened his hand for a moment.
“Or what, you’re going to kill me yourself?” I murmured. His pink tongue flicked out, wetting his bottom lip.
“Yes. I’m the only one allowed to kill you,” Cade said.
I swallowed, his hand still tight against my throat. “Good to know.”
Cade stepped back, looking me over. “He’s going to be covered in magic. You’re going to have to be careful.”
I lifted my hand to my neck. “No collars?”
“No.” Cade shook his head. “It wouldn’t allow people to show off.”
“So what am I going to do about the—”
Cold snake skin slithered off Cade’s wrist onto my neck.
I’ll take care of you, Basil hissed. If you die, can I eat your body? I think it would be… most delicious.
“Sure, if I die, you’re welcome to pig out. Hopefully it means that Cade won’t bring me back just so he can kill me again.” I looked down at my clothes. “Do I wear these?”
Cade pursed his lips. “Yes. And let me just…”
He raised his palm to my chest, and I felt something tickle my skin. Shivering, I pulled my shirt off and stared. Magic clung to my chest.
“What—” I asked, gaping. I poked at one of the lines, but it didn’t move the way that Cade’s did.
“It’s not real,” Cade said quickly. “I can’t actually give you magic without a consort bond. You won’t be able to fight him magic to magic.”
“Don’t worry. I can beat some knockoff alpha.” I had been in worse situations and found my way out. This was nothing. This was playground stuff.
Even I didn’t buy that lie.
He dipped his head, nodding. “Are you ready?”
I took a long breath in. “Anything else I should know? Any unspoken rules or…”
“In the ring, anything goes. I won’t be able to step in and help you.” Cade stuck his hand in his pocket again, and I heard the jangle of the collar clasp.
“Okay.” I nodded. Then, because I couldn’t help myself, I asked, “Does it have to be to the death?”
Cade shook his head quickly. “No. If one of you yields, it’s over.”
“But if I yield, it makes you look weak.” I tried to understand the politics, but it seemed grotesque, a holdover from a time when wolves weren’t even people to mages.
“Yes.” Cade hesitated. “But if you have to yield in order to save your own life—don’t hesitate for that reason.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “I’m ready.”
Cade crossed the room in a few steps, grabbing my face between his hands and dragging my mouth down to his. He kissed me like it was the only thing he wanted to do, like he was the one who was drowning.
When he released me, I almost stumbled. “I’m the only one allowed to kill you, do you understand?”
“Yes,” I said immediately.
“Good.” Cade raised his hand and gestured it through the air, like he was spinning an imaginary ball. Around us, the world shifted and shattered, and suddenly, we were in a large open space.
Seating encircled the arena, and most of the seats were already filled. Apparently, news of the challenge had already gotten around, and everyone was showing up to see who was going to win. The fight was between me and Tyson, but it was clear everyone saw it as an answer to the conflict between Cade and Sonja.
Tyson stood on the other side of the ring, having a quiet conversation with Sonja. They both looked up at our entrance, and she stepped back, extending out a hand. He shrugged out of his shirt, handing it to her.
His chest crawled with tattoos, ones that traced up his neck and down to his navel. There wasn’t a square inch of him that was empty.
Cade turned to me, his eyes dropping to my neck. “Do well.”
“You sure know how to give a pep talk,” I muttered.
Cade shook his head and stepped to the side of the ring, sitting down in one of the seats. He crossed his legs and laid his arms along the armrests, his hands dangling off.
“Consorts, are you ready?” Leon asked. He stood in the center of the ring. Sonja walked past him, ignoring me entirely and sitting next to Cade.
If Cade was trying for insouciant, Sonja looked every bit royal, as though she should be wearing a crown on her head. Her back was straight, legs crossed at the ankle, chin raised.
Tyson approached Leon, sneering at me. I came close as well. Leon extended out both hands, gesturing to me and Tyson. “Consorts of House Bartlett, you represent your masters. Fight well.”
He snapped his fingers, and his golden magic crawled up his skin and over his body. When he reappeared, he was sitting in the chair next to Cade.
Tyson didn’t wait. He lunged at me so fast that when I sidestepped, he still got claws into my shoulder.
I circled around him, landing a quick one-two combination on his torso. The second hit exploded, throwing me backward and leaving my skin charred and smoking. I shook my hand, blinking to clear my eyes.
Tyson was on me, grinning, his teeth extending long and both hands pinning me to the ground, one hand around my throat.
“Did that hurt?” he sneered.
“Barely even felt it.” I twisted under his hands, bringing my legs up so they crossed in front of his neck, pulling him backward, loosening his grip on my throat. Then I was on top of him, shifting into a wolf as fast as I was able to.
My wolf came instantly, almost painlessly, tearing my shirt and pants. Before I was even fully shifted, my claws and teeth raked into his torso.
He screamed and slammed an elbow into my chest, throwing me off. I felt a millipede of magic crawl across my skin under my fur, and for half a second, I thought it was Cade. It began burying itself into my flesh, eating away like acid. It burned my fur, the acrid scent almost as awful as the line of pure pain. When had he gotten the spell on me?
Physical contact, that elbow to my chest. That was how he transferred the spell to me.
Basil slithered from my neck down my side, and then my skin stopped burning. It wouldn’t heal—the wound was too deep—but at least it wasn’t eating through muscle anymore.
“Awwww. Should I go easy on you?” Tyson laughed, and he moved forward.
This time, I saw the red of Sonja’s magic extending out from his palm before he made contact, and I dove away, sliding until I came up behind him. I bit at his knee, wrenching back so that he fell hard onto his stomach.
Before he could use any more of the spellwork tattooed on his body, I danced away. He rolled over, still in his human form, although I saw the beginnings of hair on his chest and arms. His eyes sharpened, gleaming wolfishly, and talons extended out of his fingers.
Snarling, he slashed at me, and I used his movement to bite into his exposed chest. He wrapped an arm around my head, bringing it close, and I could feel the magic crawling over my skin.
He slammed us both into the ground, and Sonja’s magic draped over me, pinning me down, trapping me against the bare floor. Tyson kept his face close and hissed into mine.
“You’re no alpha. You’re weak. The only people you can claim as your own are those pups, and you let them get taken by the dryads.” He came even closer, his lips brushing my ear. “You’re pathetic. A real alpha never would have let his pack get taken away. He never would have let his pups get enslaved to someone else.”
I roared, feeling my bones pop and my skin strain. He was right. That was the worst part. He was right. I had no excuse as an alpha. If my mother had seen me, she would have been ashamed.
The guilt ate through my stomach, twisting it into a tight ball. Bile rose in the back of my throat, and I smelled burning fur as the magic began eating through. This was my fault. I never should have promised those kids anything. I should have fought every member of House Bartlett to get the pups off the property.
I should have begged Cade, begged him to let us go, begged him to have mercy.
Anything to keep those kids safe.
Roaring, I wrenched myself up, the magic shredding like real ropes. I spun around and growled at Tyson. His eyes went wide, but he was too slow. I slammed into him, flying at his chest, tearing through some of the magic. One of the lines withered on his chest, and from the sidelines, Sonja screamed.
Tyson’s head snapped to the side, his eyes searching for his mage.
Cade had said that when magic was destroyed or removed it was like cutting off your own hand. Tyson was covered in Sonja’s magic. It crawled over his skin. I used that distraction to grab hold of one of the lines on his arm, scratching at it with my claws until it broke, disappearing into the ether.
Sonja cried out again, but it seemed to give Tyson strength. His arm shifted, and he threw me off, dragging his claws over my face, leaving me bleeding.
I limped backward, circling him. Why hadn’t he fully shifted yet?
We were both stronger in wolf form. In human form, there were too many exposed body parts and not enough sharp claws and teeth. That had been why I had to attack JD before he had shifted. Human on wolf was always going to lose.
So why was he hesitating?
He can’t use his magic when he’s a wolf. Look at his arm. It took me a moment to parse Basil’s words, but then I saw that his human arm brushed over one of the spells on his chest before Tyson threw it into the air.
I recognized the lines of magic. It was the same type of spell Cade had used to pin me to the wall when we first met. This time, I was ready.
I darted low, then threw myself to the ground, sliding underneath it so the magic flew harmlessly over my head.
If I help you, can I eat your arm? Basil’s voice was in my ear.
I growled.
Basil sighed, clearly annoyed. Fine. But I want lots of mice when this is done.
I threw myself against Tyson.
Basil was there, and the explosion threw both of us across the arena. I shook my head, shifting back into human form and sprinting at him. Pulling my arm back, I brushed it across my neck, letting Basil crawl onto my hand.
Tyson leapt to his feet, bringing his own arm back, and I saw the tattoos, a thick blackberry bramble on his skin.
At the last second, I dropped to my knees, using momentum to slide me. I punched at his knee, the one I had injured earlier. Basil exploded against his skin, and I heard the snap of bone and tearing of flesh.
Tyson screamed, dropping onto his side and clutching at his leg.
“Yield,” I panted.
He glared at me, his canines sharpening. As he shifted, the magic moved from his torso down to his leg, bracing it the way that Theo’s leg had been braced the night before.
When he leapt at me, I was ready, grabbing Basil from where he coiled in my palm and stretching the snake between my hands through the air, the most dangerous garrote I’d ever held. I moved to the side, wrapping the line of tattoo around Tyson’s throat, drawing it tight and bearing him down, my knees braced against his back.
It choked him out, and he screamed, yelping helplessly.
“Yield to your alpha,” I snarled.
Tyson struggled but finally went limp. He pulled up his chin, revealing his throat. Immediately, I let go of Basil, pulling him off Tyson’s neck.
I should have felt proud. I should have felt satisfied. In all my years with Declan’s crew, I had never tried to claim a position as alpha. I had always been too scared of what it would mean.
My stomach churned. It didn’t feel like a victory.
Turning away, I walked off into the darkness.
Chapter
Forty
Cade found me, his footsteps quick as he caught up to me. He wrapped one hand around my wrist, and his magic squeezed us tight. When we appeared in his bedroom, I welcomed the pain, the agony of having my skin stripped off millimeter by millimeter.
“Here.” Cade reached out, grabbing a robe from the bed. He wrapped it around my shoulders. I stared down at the ground, my body aching, my muscles in pain. The scratch on my face was trying to heal, but it was too dirty, and sweat clung to my body.
“You won,” Cade said. He stared at me, his mouth working for a moment before he snapped it shut.
I screwed my eyes shut, grinding the palms of my hands into my eye sockets. I’d won—I should feel victory. Instead, Tyson’s submission hung over my heart, weighing me down. I had claimed another werewolf, one I had no interest or ability to protect.
The pups’ cries still rang in my ears. Tyson’s submission wrapped around my lungs, making it impossible for them to expand.
“Here.” Cade grabbed hold of my wrist, then slid his hand down to my palm so that our fingers were intertwined. He drew me into the bathroom, turning on the shower and waiting with one hand under the spray. When he was satisfied, he slid the robe from my shoulders and nudged me inside.
He stripped, and then he was in the shower with me. I couldn’t even look at his skin, still remembering how Tyson had been covered, how every inch of him had been given to Sonja’s magic.
Using one of the washcloths, Cade worked it to a lather, then began stroking it gently over my neck and chest. As he washed me, the fake tattoos he’d painted on me faded away. I closed my eyes, but I felt none of Cade’s soft strokes over my body, the gentle way he worked sweat and dirt from my skin.
I heard him inhale once, as though struggling before saying something. But then he exhaled sharply, staying silent.
“Come here,” he coaxed, pressing his thumbs to the back of my neck. I tilted my head back into the spray of water, letting it sluice over my face and dig into my hair.
With a sigh, I let the tears begin to fall. They were covered by the water cascading over my body. Cade worked his fingers through my hair, the shampoo a gentle, nearly floral scent.
As he rinsed my hair, the hiccuping sobs lessened, so when he turned me around, my eyes were clear.
