Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

" P roblem?" Paige repeated, her throat going dry as her heart started to pound. She flicked her gaze to Devon, her eyes wide.

"What's the matter?" Devon asked. "Caterer's unavailable on short notice? Can't get Father Dominic to perform the ceremony? Ohhh, no black roses?"

"Black roses?" Paige questioned.

Dominic shook his head.

"Well, what is it, Dad?" Devon asked.

"There has been an Amor Fortis demanded."

"A what now?" Paige asked as Dewey and Drucinda gasped.

"No," Drucinda said. "By whom? Let me guess…Ivy."

Dominic nodded. "Yes, Ivy."

"What is this? What is happening?"

"It's a challenge of our marriage," Devon said with a shake of his head. "Dad, can't we just ignore it?"

"Tradition dictates that we cannot."

"Challenge? I mean, based on what grounds? I've never been married before or anything so I'm not already married or whatever. I'm perfectly capable of getting married. Oh, unless Devon's been married once and isn't properly divorced."

"No," Devon said. "And that has nothing to do with it. It's…a challenge for my hand, basically. It means you'd need to…prove your worthiness to marry me."

"What? How?"

"A series of challenges. The one who accumulates the most points…and remains alive, wins."

"Remains alive?!" Paige cried. "Are you kidding me?"

"No. It's quite rigorous. If you wish to marry Devon, you will have to prove yourself."

Paige clamped her hands on her head. "This is unbelievable."

"I should show you to your rooms. You'll undoubtedly want to prepare for the challenge. They will start this evening at sundown."

Paige stood with her jaw gaping open for a moment before Devon dragged her toward the door. "Come on, Paige. It'll be okay."

Paige shuffled her way into the massive foyer, her mind trying to make sense of the situation. Within ten minutes, she'd been settled in the same suite she'd occupied after she'd been kidnapped.

She paced the floor, chewing her lower lip as she imagined some sort of death duel with Ivy. A knock sounded at her door a moment later. For a split second, she wondered if she'd find it locked like she had the first time she'd stayed here.

She twisted the central knob and pulled it open, happy to find it swinging freely. Dewey buzzed in. "Wow! An Amor Fortis. What a weekend this is going to be."

Paige shoved the door shut with a frown. "I'm so glad to know this is entertaining for you. Hopefully, it'll be just as entertaining when I'm dead."

"Dead? You can't die, Paige. I mean…you need to fight for your epic love with Devon."

"I don't have an epic love with Devon. And I have no idea how I'm going to defeat a Venompire in challenges. This is…awful."

"I'll say," Drucinda said as she pushed through the door. "You're going to choke."

Paige stared at the woman for a moment. Her leather trousers hugged her toned legs perfectly. Her biceps flexed as she crossed her arms over her toned abs.

"Wait a minute!" Paige shouted. "Can I have a stand-in?"

"Stand-in?" Drucinda asked.

"Yeah, like a second. Like in a duel. You know, if I can't participate, my second fills in for me?"

Before she received an answer, Devon knocked and poked his head into the room. "Oh, you started the party without me."

"Hardly a party," Paige grumbled.

"Yeah, we're not exactly celebrating Paige's impending death," Dewey added.

"Thanks, Dewey. Really appreciate knowing you believe in me. Though if I can get a stand-in, I think I'll be good."

Devon crinkled his brow as he sank into one of the chairs near the fireplace. "Stand in?"

"She thinks it's like a duel, and she can bow out and let someone else take her place. Sorry, darling, but you have to fight for your own true love."

"But–"

"It's not an option," Drucinda said, sinking onto the loveseat and kicking her feet up on the coffee table. "And besides, who would you get anyway?"

Paige perched on the edge of the couch next to her. "You. "

"Me?" Drucinda cried, her voice incredulous. "Are you joking? Pass. Hard pass."

"Why? You're always saying how bad-ass you are. You'd be perfect. You'd probably squash Ivy like a bug."

"Of course, I would. That's not the point. The point is I have not gotten myself into an Amor Fortis, you have. You deal with it."

"Yeah, come on, Paige, it's not that bad." Devon ran a hand through his wavy hair. "Besides, I bet you'll look super-hot in those costumes you have to wear."

"Costumes? Why would there be costumes?"

Dewey buzzed over and plopped on the other armchair. "Because no one wants to watch two people fight in street clothes. Duh."

"What kind of costumes?"

"Did you ever see the Mummy movie where the two Egyptian women fight?" Drucinda asked.

Paige's cheeks flushed as she recalled the scant coverings they'd worn. "No."

"Oh, yes. We want to see every ripple of your muscles while you battle it out."

"Well, then I can just wear a tunic and leggings because there are no muscles to ripple here. There's a healthy layer of flab, so if there's a cold weather challenge, I'll probably survive that one."

"I bet Ivy's going to wear the costume. She's probably smokin'."

"Dewey!" Paige cried as she shot him a glare.

"What?"

"Can we please stop talking about costumes and start explaining what exactly I'll be doing? What are these challenges?"

Drucinda flicked her gaze to Paige. "Think American Gladiator only instead of those giant cotton swabs, it'll be flaming swords or something."

Paige's eyes went wide. "What?"

"There are a variety that can be picked. We'll get more information today at the picking ceremony."

"Picking ceremony?" Paige wrinkled her nose.

"It's like a giant lottery drawing only with magic," Dewey explained, "they'll roll the big drum of balls and see which challenges come out. Oh, I'm so excited."

"Stop being excited. I could die!"

"I know. And you probably will, but…an Amor Fortis? I never thought I'd see this in my life. Wow, you've really opened my horizons, Paige."

Paige offered him an unimpressed frown. "Really glad you're enjoying my imminent death."

"You're not going to die, Paige. The girl challenges are so easy. At least this isn't a male Amor Fortis."

"Oh, that would be quite interesting," Drucinda said. "Your rippling muscles would look quite good in one of those little outfits."

Paige rose from her seat and stalked back and forth. "Okay, we need a new plan. I literally can't do this."

Devon popped from his seat and stopped her, clamping his hands down on her shoulders. "Babe, you're going to be fine."

"Please stop calling me babe. We're not in a real relationship. This was fake. A fake engagement, that turned into a fake wedding, that turned into my real death."

"Uh, you'd better get used to it because my dad would totally expect me to have an endearing name for you. Unless you prefer Kitten."

"Don't," Paige said with a shake of her head.

"You know, you ought to have one for Beefy, too, before it becomes sus that you aren't really in a relationship, Paige." Dewey fluttered into the air as he rubbed his chin. "Let's think of a good one. You could go with the classic ‘babe.' Keep it consistent with Dimples's nickname for you."

Paige let her eyes rise to the ceiling as she sighed.

"Or maybe ‘Honey Buns.'"

"Oh, that has a nice ring, little man. Especially given Devon's rather cute rear."

Devon grinned at her. "Thanks, Dru, I appreciate that."

"This is important. Yes, whether or not I call Devon my apple dumpling or my sugar pie is really solving the problem here."

"I like apple dumpling. It's unique and believable," Devon said.

"There we have," Dewey said as he poked a finger at Paige. "Apple dumpling it is."

"I'm not calling Devon apple dumpling for the rest of the weekend. I was joking. This is insane. We need a new–"

A knock on the door interrupted her. "Now what?"

She stormed across the room and tugged open the door, her eyes going wide as she spotted Dominic. "Mr. Durand. Hi."

He offered her a fleeting smile as he wandered into the room. "Hello. I had hoped to catch you alone, but I see the gang's all here, as they say."

Devon snaked an arm around Paige's waist. "Well, I couldn't wait to get back to my sugar pie."

He squeezed her side, shooting her a wide-eyed glance. "Ah, right. And I couldn't spend a moment away from my apple dumpling."

She smiled up at him before he leaned in for a kiss. She offered a nervous chuckle as they awkwardly pecked each other's cheeks. "So, uh, what did you want?"

"Just a conversation. I'd like to get to know my son's fiancé better. "

"Might want to hold off in case I perish in the love games." She laughed at the joke, her giggling dying off as she stared at his very serious expression.

"If you truly love my son, you likely won't. If you are afraid of death, though, perhaps there oughtn't be a wedding."

Paige wrinkled her nose at the man. "What? Are you saying true love always prevails?"

"Oh, no, of course not. Perhaps in an underhanded move, Ivy bites you. You would die." He shrugged as though that meant nothing. "But still, in the games themselves, you have the best chance of winning if your love for Devon is greater than hers."

"Oh, great. So, true love prevails unless underhanded Ivy decides not to play by the rules. Why don't you just kill me now? She's not exactly the most trustworthy person."

Dominic studied her for a moment, his eyebrows raising. "I may actually like you as a daughter-in-law."

Devon tugged her closer with a grin. "She's pretty great, right, Dad?"

"We shall see how great she is during the games. The picking ceremony will be held in thirty minutes. Ivy has arrived. You should prepare."

Dominic offered her a curt nod before he spun on his heel and strode from the room. Paige tossed her hands up in the air with a groan as the door clicked shut. "Great. This is horrible. I can't win."

"You can win. Oh, unless Ivy bites you. Speaking of, I should whip up a batch of anti-venom. That way if she nails you, you can self-medicate right away and hopefully live."

"Hopefully?" Paige groaned as her stomach twisted into a knot. "Also, how do you figure I can win? This hinges on true love. We're not in love."

"Speak for yourself, Paige. I proposed. I'm in love. "

"Well, maybe you should fight Ivy for your hand."

"Sorry, kid," Dewey said as he landed on her shoulder. "Doesn't work like that."

Paige shook her head. "Fine. Fine. Since everyone is okay with me risking my life and no one wants to help me brainstorm another plan, let's go down and see what ridiculous tests of love I will be presented with."

"Sounds great. I can't wait." Dewey rubbed his hands together as a grin covered his face.

Paige shook her head as Devon led the way from the room with Drucinda trailing behind them. They wandered through the halls and down the stairs. Devon led them to the ballroom. Its thick blood-red curtains and checkerboard floor reminded her of every vampire movie she'd ever seen.

Dominic spoke with Ivy and her mother as a growing crowd of people filed into the room.

"Who are all these people?" Paige asked.

"Oh, wedding guests," Devon answered. "But now, they're here for the games. Everyone's really excited. This rarely happens, so it's a real treat."

Paige let her features settle into an unimpressed stare as Devon grabbed her hand and led her over to his father.

"Oh, good, you're here. We'll begin." Dominic waved his hands in the air to quiet the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed guests, as you know, we gathered here for my son's wedding. However, an Amor Fortis has been demanded, and in accordance with custom, it shall be fulfilled."

Applause broke out in the room as Paige's stomach turned over.

Dominic hushed them again. "As you may know, my son is engaged to Paige Turner." He flung his hand toward Paige. "However, Ivy Delacroix has challenged her. Today, the challenge will begin. But first, we must complete the picking ceremony. "

Two men rolled a giant bin of colored balls. Dominic turned a crank on the side of them, but before he could dispatch one, the doors burst open.

"Henry?" Paige asked as he strode into the room in full knight's armor.

"Who is this man?" Dominic questioned.

"I am Henry the Great of Acadia. I am here to demand an Amor Fortis."

Dominic offered a chuckle. "There is already an Amor Fortis in play."

"By whom?" Henry demanded.

"Ivy Delacroix has challenged Paige Turner," Dominic answered.

Henry lifted his chin. "No. I wish to challenge the slime Devon for Paige's hand."

Dominic's eyebrows raised as Dewey gasped. "A double Amor Fortis? Oooooh, this is amazing!"

"You wish to challenge my son for that woman?" Dominic asked.

"I do." Henry raised his sword, pointing it at them. "And I plan to destroy him."

Paige's jaw unhinged at the turn of events. Would she ever get the soul compass to find her mother or would one or both of them die trying?