“How dare you speak to her like that? I could fucking kill you where you stand.” I watched as Matthew increased the pressure he was exerting on Damien’s throat, causing him to turn slightly blue. “The only reason I’m not, is that I know it would hurt her, and that’s the last thing that I want.”
Damien threw a punch that landed in the middle of Matthew’s gut. He bent forward as the air left his lungs, and Damien took his opportunity to pounce on him. He threw a right hook that landed on Matthew’s jaw. I panicked as the men stalked each other, trading occasional punches back and forth. It was like watching two feral predators fight for dominance. My heart raced as Damien’s foot flew out and knocked Matthew to the ground.
The air surrounding us in the clearing picked up, my emotions twirling it into something hateful and angry. My hair whipped wildly around my face. Everyone seemed to stop and stare at me. Thunder and lightning rolled in, my palms still burning bright with fire. Luka moved to stand in front of me, to stop me from getting involved, but I sent a gust of wind that shot him across the clearing where he landed firmly on his ass. A flick of my wrist sent another gust toward Damien, but he was bracing for the impact, and it didn’t move him as far as I had intended.
“You wanna fight me, Eva? Go on then, I know you better than you know yourself,” he said, tossing his disheveled hair out of his face.
“I’ve knocked you on your ass before Damien. I’ll gladly do it again. Especially for threatening myself and my mate,” I spat back at him. My lip curled at the thought of taking him on. I wanted this, needed this. The power surged through my body, pleading to be released.
Damien stumbled back a few steps, throwing seething glances between Matthew and me. He didn’t believe me or would refuse to. He had held onto the hope that it would be him and me and never considered that I would match with someone else, let alone someone like Matthew.
“Your…what?” His eyes flicked down to my wrist that held the brand. It seemed to glow in the sunlight, radiating for everyone to sense it.
I raised my head and stared him down. The power I gleaned from the elements pushed me forward. “You heard me. I’m not repeating myself. You want to challenge me? Let’s go then.” I held my fists up and let the fire dissipate. There was no need to have him crying about unfair advantages when I beat him fair and square. My body cried as the elements died down around me, but I knew this was the way it had to be.
He ran toward me suddenly, wrapping his arms around my waist as he barreled into my stomach, pushing us both backward. A gush of wind left my lungs as we collided, but I quickly regained my position and dug my heels into the ground. I pushed him back, and he stumbled slightly, salvaging his footing quicker than I had hoped.
He lunged forward with his right fist, but I ducked under it. I stepped behind him, sweeping my feet under and knocking him down. It would have been easy to end it right there, especially if I called upon my powers. But I wanted to fight him, to remind him of who I was. I wanted to show him I wasn’t the weak woman he took me for.
“What’s wrong, Damien? Laying down on the job?” I laughed, leaning down in his face. “What happened to kicking my ass?”
Orion yelped, and I tossed a quick glance in his direction. Kalen had his sword drawn and pressed firmly into Orion’s neck, keeping him in one place. The blade was being held tightly, a trickle of blood seeping from a cut in his neck. The site sent a thrill through my body, but it was a mistake to look their way. Damien tossed a kick into my gut as I was turning my head back in his direction.
I stumbled back a few steps, and he met my face with another punch, this time connecting with his intended target. Matthew moved to intervene, but I threw up a shield of air that trapped him where he was. I could feel as the skin seemed to immediately swell and bruise.
Damien dived for me, his eyes darkening with every step he took. I feigned right, and my fist collided with his stomach, another to his ribs. He hissed as he threw another punch and missed, but he managed to grab ahold of my hair. He moved to tighten his grip, letting go for just a moment, but it gave me the leeway I needed. I threw my head back, and it collided with his nose. Blood trickled down from it and I smiled savagely.It was probably broken, I thought with glee. I’d never been so happy to cause harm to another person, but the fact that Damien was savagely attacking me compartmentalized my feelings into distinct boxes in my head.
I pushed him back and grabbed his throat, squeezing tightly with my fingers. He gasped for breath, and I felt his hand grasp my wrist to pull it away. I tightened my hold on his throat, my nails digging into his flesh, and knocked his hand away with my air.
“What the hell happened to you?” He spat out between his clenched teeth.
I pushed into his face, rage flowing through my veins. “Maybe you should ask him,” I spat, nodding at his father. “Ask him what happened to me after I left Helia. He was gone for a few days, wasn’t he? What lies did he tell you? A training exercise? A scouting mission?” I could feel blood pooling in my mouth from his earlier punch and spat it out beside him. I pushed harder than before, wanting to squeeze the darkness from his soul.
“You’re crazy. You’ve officially lost your mind, and forgotten who are!” He reared back like he might hit me, but I threw up a wall of air, and his fist collided with it instead.
“You forget who you’re speaking to, Damien,” I growled. “I’m still your princess, and I am your heir. You will bow to me, whether you like it or not.”
He spat at my feet. “You’re nothing to me. The Eva that I know, that Ilove, wouldn’t throw herself in with the likes of him.” He nodded in Matthew’s direction.
My anger gave way to the elements, thunder clapping around us. Fire rushed into my eyes, burning with a rage that consumed me to the point where it overflowed. I felt the brush of a blade graze my side before I registered what had happened.
His hand was coiled around a small dagger that was embedded in my abdomen. A sharp pain coursed through me as I pulled it out quickly and stepped away from him. Matthew was screaming, still trapped inside the shield I had put up. I let the blood pour from the wound, not giving it a second glance. The adrenaline that was coursing through me was enough to keep the pain away, but I felt more from the fact that it was Damien that held the blade.
“Matthew’s twice the man that you are, especially given the way you’re acting right now. I’m sorry that I’ve hurt you, Damien, really I am, but I’ve told you our entire lives we weren’t mates. I can’t change that. I think I would have at some point if I could, just to spare the hurt look in your eyes, but I’vealwaysbeen completely transparent with you. And you left me, you bastard. You. Left. Me.” The tears cascaded down my face before I realized I was crying and couldn’t stop them from coming. The clearing was as silent as death, everyone’s eyes on us. Damien was breathing hard. I didn’t know if what I was saying was having any effect on him, or if he was just angry from before.
“You called me names; told me I was damaged goods. You broke me in a way that I’d never been broken before,” I sobbed, looking up at him through my tears, begging him to see the honesty in my words. “I would have gladly spent the rest of my life with you by your side, but you drove me into his arms and…” I paused. “Gods, I’ve never been so thankful before. I found my true mate. You can’t blame me for that, you can only blame yourself.” I collapsed in front of him. Exhaustion from the fight and from my wound seeping through. I felt his hand light on my shoulder and I looked up at him, but before I could react, he grabbed my arm so hard I cried out. The shield I used to keep Matthew away was still in place, strong as the moment that I put it up.
“You won’t blame me for your whorish ways. You don’t deserve the crown. Helia will fall with you at its helm,” he sneered. “I should do the world a favor and kill you here and now with you kneeling at my feet like the pathetic whore you are. Maybe if I had aimed that knife a little higher…”
Matthew snarled, beating his hands against the shield. But I was too tired to move. Only moments ago, I would have torn his head from his body, but I felt both broken and whole from the confessions I let out. It felt good getting that off my chest. The fact that I was so torn up by all the lies and bullshit… It all happened for a reason.
Matthew.
Matthew and I were that reason.
Orion cleared his throat, bringing attention to himself. “Damien,” he warned. Shadows were circling in his son’s eyes, and I noticed a dark movement behind him. I quickly released the shield that surrounded Matthew and he ran toward me, picking me up in his arms as Damien swung a sword down where I had just been kneeling. I hadn’t even noticed him drawing it, and if Matthew hadn’t moved me, then I would have died.
I swallowed the lump forming in my throat as Matthew cradled me in his arms and kissed the top of my head. Damien looked regretful for the first time since I’d seen him. My heart was pounding wildly. I tried not to think about what just happened.
