Chapter 26

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Avalon whispered from where he stood behind my back.

He was so close I could feel the heat coming off his skin, and the smell of ashes lingered in my nose. He had his hand wrapped around my wrists behind my back, but this time it was so different. His touch had been rough before. Now he took great care not to pinch or hurt me.

I chuckled. "I could've used this kind of treatment days ago."

He groaned as his fingers caressed my skin. "Regrets are something I will live with forever. I will remain forever sorry."

"Apology accepted." I tilted my head back to meet his eye. "You'll just have to make up for it later."

Things had changed between us now. I was never the traitor he thought me to be, and he wasn't quite the asshole I thought him to be. Was it perfect? No, far from it. But was it worth saving? Absolutely. I never dreamed I'd have a love affair that'd last for ages but at this point stranger things had happened to us both. A slight smirk tugged at his lips. "How can I do that?"

Multiple orgasms. "I'm sure we'll figure it out as we go along."

"I'm sure we will." He gave my wrists a little playful squeeze. "Morgana, I can't put you in this position if you're not sure."

I needed to help the demons. They deserved full, good lives. "On Earth, before you took me, I was a social worker—a person who helps others to improve their lives and living situations. Now that I think about it, I was probably always destined to be here and do this. I was just training for right now. So, yeah, I'm sure. I can't tell you how many times I wished murder was an option every time I saw a kid get hurt by an adult."

"So, it's convenient that I took you."

I turned around to face him and rested my hands on his chest. "Yes, making all my murderous dreams come true."

He chuckled and I felt it under my fingertips. This close, he reminded me so much of how things used to be. I saw the young Avalon and all that he had to offer. It was hard for me to come back from hating him, but I could see why he'd acted the way he had. To be in love with someone and then to have them betray you so completely would be devastating. Even if it wasn't actually what happened. So, it wasn"t starting over, but we would move forward from this. Together.

"Let me know what other dreams you have in mind." He winked and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close to his chest. "We should just arrive like this."

I squirmed from his grip and spun back around. "Yeah, that's not obvious we're on the same side now."

He pressed a light kiss to the back of my head and then burst into flames. "Show time."

The wind whipped around us both, and my feet left the ground. Monty had shrunk back down to smaller than I'd ever seen before and tucked himself behind my ear. His little paws tickled my skin, and his fur was soft and cottony. He cuddled in and vibrated with glee. We flew through the air so quickly that everything passed by in a blur. I used to think he was teleporting only to realize now he was just flying that fast. It was less disturbing than the other brief times he'd flown me anywhere.

"Get ready," his breath ticked the tip of my ear as he whispered to me. We dropped from the sky. My stomach went up in my throat and before I could swallow it back down, my feet hit the ground. His hand was pressed to me and I leaned back into him for balance.

The flames dissipated and we were back in the courtyard of Dacio's castle. All eyes were on us, and Avalon gave me a little shove forward, though it wasn't nearly hard enough, and I had to force myself to stagger forward and drop to my hands and knees for dramatic effect. My hair flew into my face as I landed. Yeah, ham it up, Morgana. I glanced over my shoulder and glared at him. His face was stony, but I could see in his eyes that he didn't like seeing me on the ground at his feet.

"Ah, my most trusted advisor." Dacio sat at a table covered in enough food to feed half the Swamp Clan. He grabbed up an apple and took a bite. "I had no doubt you'd find her."

Avalon gave a light bow of his head. "Anything for my King."

Bet that burned coming out of his mouth. I sat back on my heels and threw my hair over my shoulder. The courtyard had been turned into some kind of wrestling arena. At the center of it was a wide-open square. Where I found myself kneeling now. On one side of the square was Dacio's table. The other three sides were surrounded by soldiers, who stood nearly shoulder to shoulder. Tendreece sat on his right and Lizvita on his left. Tendreece plucked a grape from the table and held it to Dacio's lips.

"What would you want with her?" Her lips sneered on the last word. Bitch, would be the word to describe her perfectly. In another world they would be perfect for each other. But in this world the only thing perfect for him was death.

Dacio's tongue darted from his mouth, and he let her pop the grape between his lips. Ew. Lizvita leaned onto his arm, letting her breast brush against him. "Yes, why should she stay?"

It was sickening to see the two working like his two wives hovering over him. Both were ambitious in their own ways, but Dacio knew the dynamic. It was obvious if he wanted them both they would both comply. But there was one more women at his table who wouldn't put up with any of this shit… Kelda. She sat at the end of the table with her own plate of foot. She had it pulled closer to her chest, and she hunched over it.

She glared at the two of them and laughed. "You two are afraid of her . . . as you should be."

"Surely she'd be a better addition to the army than to be your wife." Tendreece sidled in closer to him. If she could have gotten into his lap she would have. Padonya would've been ashamed to see something like this from her clan. It occurred to me she may have sent these two here on purpose to get them out of the way, which seemed more likely.

"Why would your opinion even matter?" I snapped at her.

They all grew silent. Dacio sat forward with an amused look on his face. "You think you're entitled to an opinion? You ran away in cowardice, and you feel that gives you the right to anything in this kingdom? In my kingdom?"

"It wasn't cowardice, Your Highness." I slowly rose to my feet and let my hips roll with my every move. My vest crept up, exposing my stomach, and I made a show of slightly bending over and showing the tops of my breasts.

Dacio's eyes locked onto my skin, and I felt Avalon stiffen beside me, yet he said nothing. Dacio licked his lips and didn't take his eyes off my body. "Then what was it?"

I pretended to be as sheepish as possible. I lowered my eyes and kicked at the ground in front of me. I let my voice drop to a whisper. "The wedding night, Your Highness."

Tendreece burst out laughing. "What a load of shit," she scoffed. "Wedding night."

"Not all of us are as used up as you, Tendreece." Kelda snickered and sat back in her chair. She ran her hand over her short blonde hair and kicked her foot up on the corner of the table. The bottom of her white boots were covered in black slate dust. "Some of us prefer not to bed hop."

"I find the thought intriguing." Dacio ran his fingers over his bottom lip and smirked in my direction. "Do you speak sincerely?"

"Of course," I lied. He would be the kind of guy who'd find the virginal act intriguing. Typical.

"What are your thoughts, Avalon?"

"She was easily convinced to return once she learned of your greatness." He shrugged. "She was willing enough."

I couldn't look at him for fear of smiling at the way he danced around his words. Dacio glanced around and his eyes ran over my body once more. The way he looked at me reminded me of all the men in my past life. It made my skin crawl, but those memories made it easier to know how to handle situations just like this. He looked at me like I was some kind of possession to own and be treated however he liked. It made me feel dirty and used. I had to remind myself I wasn't her anymore. I was me, and there was no way he'd get to touch me that way. But if I could just get close enough to him, all it would take was one petal, one touch, and he'd be the one on the ground at my feet.

Dacio nodded. "We are still in the middle of the selections."

"But last night—" Tendreece began, but Dacio cut her off with a sharp look.

I stifled a chuckled as I took a small bow. "I would be ever so grateful to Your Highness if he permitted me to return to his table."

This seemed to please Dacio. "Thoughts, Avalon?"

Avalon waved his hand dismissively in my direction. "She came willingly enough. Whether she belongs with you or in a dungeon has yet to be seen."

"Very well. You will stay." He glanced from Avalon to me. "And we will see if you are fit enough to be my queen."

I gave a small bow and took a step toward the table. I just had to get close enough to touch him one time and he would be dead and gone. The demons of Isramorta would be free. Avalon and I could figure out how to free them from the boundaries of their land. Dacio held his hand up, stopping me. "Combat."

I froze. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You will fight in hand-to-hand combat with the other potential matches. No powers— we've seen enough of that from you. But there is more to this world than demonic power, and I intend to see if you have it."

Really? Was he going to throw Jello on us next? He gestured toward Tendreece. "Take your place."

Her face turned five shades of red like she was pissed to even be asked to leave her fluffy cushioned seat to face me. She pressed her hand to her chest. "Me? Against her?"

Kelda chuckled and tossed another piece of a roll into her mouth. "A proper slap-down. Anyone want to take bets on Lily taking her down?"

I'd forgotten that these demons didn't know me by my real name. I had to remind myself that I was playing apart in a bigger game. I was playing the role of Lily, and Lily would be wide eyed and nervous.

"I find we might not be suited." Dacio glared at Kelda. "Your manners leave something to be desired."

Kelda raised her glass to him. "Probably not, but I'm enjoying the food." Just to punctuate her point, she held up the rest of her roll, then took a big bite of it.

From his hip, Dacio pulled a long dagger that looked more like a short sword and handed it to Tendreece. "I am counting on your success."

Then he turned to Avalon and waved toward me. "Give her what she needs."

I didn't know what was happening, but it felt like something was off right now. This whole thing didn't feel like Dacio. He liked to play games and toy with people. A straight-up fight wasn't his style. He was a sneaky son of a bitch. We both knew this just based on his past actions. But I didn't have time to question it. Avalon pulled his own long dagger, which also looked to me like a short sword, from his hip. He handed it to me hilt-first. He leaned in close and whispered, "She's tall and fast. Dodge and strike as much as you can."

I pressed my lips into a thin line and took the long dagger. I'd only had some limited self-defense classes on earth, and now I was expected to do this. Sword fighting? I was def going to get cut. But the first thing they taught us in that class was: in a knife fight just come to the realization that getting cut was going to happen and fight like hell anyway.

"I'll try not to die."

"Good. I can't deal with it a second time around." Avalon acted how he would have in the past, he didn't look me in the eye. Instead, his eyes roamed over every inch of the castle.

The truth was I wasn't going to get myself killed. I'd hit her with petals before I'd let that happen. I turned away from him and faced Tendreece. She bounced on the balls of her feet and swung the long dagger back and forth in front of her. She wasn't in her typical seaweed-looking dress. This time she wore a calf-length skirt with a slit up the front, a black metal crop top, and lace-up boots.

"I like the upgrade to your wardrobe. Who'd you have to blow for that?" I glanced in Dacio's direction. "Oh wait, don't tell me. We all already know."

She let loose a wild scream and lunged toward me, swinging her dagger downward. I turned to the side, dodging it. She swung again and I turned the other way. Again, she missed. She jabbed forward and I swung my sword in a circle. It hit hers, knocking the tip of her blade away. She stumbled back for a moment, and I held my sword up, pointed at her chest. We slowly circled each other as everyone watched. She sprinted toward me, swinging from side to side. I charged at her and ducked under her swing and wrapped my arms around her legs. I tugged her knees and threw my shoulder into her stomach. The sword clattered to the ground as she flopped down onto her back and the air whooshed from her lungs.

I took a step back. "Come on, Tendreece. Enough of this."

She screamed again as she leapt for her sword and grabbed it up then ran across the area at me. She tried to stab her sword right into my stomach. I spun to the side, dodging her easily and catching her with my backhand across the side of her face. Her head snapped back, and she staggered away. The soldiers flinched back with a collective Ohhhh. I shook my hand, trying to get rid of the sting.

"That had to hurt." I raised my sword and went on the attack. I swung for her, and she put her sword up. They clanged together with each hit. Tendreece was breathless and wild, while I tried to remain in control. If I lost my temper this would be over. I stepped back and let her hack away. Instead of swinging her sword side to side, she swung it like it was an axe, over and over again, trying to bash me down into the ground. I held my own sword up, deflecting her blows.

"Why won't you just die already!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. Sweat beaded on her face and rolled down her neck. She leapt to the side, and I went to block the blow, but she was too fast, and she sliced a line across the back of my forearm. Pain shot through my body, and a warm trickle of blood ran down my arm and dripped off my fingers.

"Fuck!" I jumped away and she stood there smirking at me with a wild cackle.

That was it. I wasn't playing anymore. I dove toward her with my sword in hand. I spun and swung for her midsection. She tried to leap back, but the tip of my blade ran across her side, slicing her skin. She let out a cry as blood ran down her hip. She pressed her hand over it and limped to the side, but then seemed to shake it off and charged at me. I swung my sword, knocking hers to the side. Time to die! I jabbed forward right for her neck.

A piece of rock flew between Tendreece's neck and my sword, stopping what would have been a killing blow. Dacio was there in a second, taking her sword and shoving her out of the way. She toppled to the side and fell to the ground a few feet away. She curled in a ball holding her injury.

He held up the sword, aiming at my chest. I froze, staring him in the eye. "No powers? Following your own rules, I see."

"You think I would dare take you for my queen?" His lip curled in disgust. "You have no obedience in you."

Tendreece crawled to her feet and stagged toward him. She clung to his arm with her blood covered fingers. Her face was contorted in pain and her breaths were labored as she spoke. "Yes, kill her."

He shoved her away and she fell back to the ground. "Too weak to do it on your own."

Dacio stepped in front of her to face me. "Still, she will do for my needs."

"Ew." I didn't move, didn't dare breathe. Avalon stood there, watching the two of us as green smoke seeped from his hands, and I gave him a slight shake of my head. I just had to get close enough. The most difficult part was that Dacio was covered from head to toe in armor. The only bare skin in sight was his face.

"You are difficult, wild, and dangerous. There is nothing about you that would make you worthy of being my queen. Your power intrigued me for a time, but even that can't save you from your fate."

"Which is?" I tightened my grip on my sword, and purple smoke seeped from my hands. The need to throw petals his way burned within my chest. But he was a better swordsman than Tendreece and I didn't have enough experience to take him on. Even if I wanted to, he would beat me in a sword fight. I knew it and so did he.

"Death."

"I am death, bitch." I gripped the sword tighter.

"Now we'll see if you survive it." His muscles tensed, about to strike.

"No!" There was a blur of green smoke, and the sword was ripped from my hand just as Dacio lifted his own to strike at my neck.

Avalon was there in front of me blocking the blow with the sword he'd given me. The two swords smashed together, and sparks flew across the hard-packed ground. Avalon planted one foot and kicked out with the other. His foot connected with Dacio's chest, sending him stumbling back. Avalon leapt forward and sliced his sword right across Dacio's midsection. The braided armor seemed to move around the sword. White, icy smoke flew from his midsection, and the armor re-braided itself together. What the hell? Magical protective armor? Of course Dacio has magic armor. Why wouldn't he? I'd never seen anything like it.

Again, Avalon struck another blow to Dacio and again the armor protected him. It morphed and wove back over him each time. It didn't matter what angle Avalon tried nothing was getting through. Icy mist flew from each of the attempts pulled the piece of armor back together. I didn't know what kind of magic it was, all I knew was that it was a fucking problem. How did we kill someone who had armor like this?

Dacio hauled his arm back. "TRAITOR!"

He looked between Avalon and me as if trying to decide who he wanted to kill first. Dacio let his sword fly in my direction and time seemed to slow. Avalon turned toward me, and fire exploded around him. The sword headed straight for my chest, but I couldn't move. Avalon dove toward me and wrapped his arms around my waist, knocking me off my feet. The sword flew an inch from my face. Flames surrounded us and in less than a second, we were gone . . .