Page 24 of Detonation
As both women approach the center of the arena, Serenity holds out her hand to shake her opponent’s. Is it customary in duels? A little politeness before you whoop someone’s ass, I guess.
Her opponent looks down at the black orbs in her hands and then back up at Serenity, clearly indicating that her hands are full. Her mates’ hackles rise at the blatant disrespect.
Serenity’s voice carries through the arena. “I don’t recognize you so I’m assuming you aren’t from this kingdom. Shaking your opponent's hand before a duel is mandatory. We aren’t barbarians.”
Her opponent smiles wickedly as the black orbs disappear into her skin, webbing under the surface, before she reaches out to comply. Right before their hands meet, a black glow sparks around her hand, triumph clear on her face.
My body tightens with tension at the move but Serenity seals her hands together, a teal, shimmering shell sparking around her body, sending her opponent flat on her ass.
Dust billows around the witch’s prone form as Serenity strolls over to her, her movements loose and relaxed. “Do you think I’ve held onto my claim to this throne for forty years without knowing when someone is trying to trick me?”
Seth chuckles. “She’ll never admit that someone actually did pull one over on her, early in her reign. She claims to this day that she tripped.”
Serenity whips her head around to him. “Hey! Asshole! I can hear you and Ididtrip!”
While Serenity’s attention is diverted, her opponent holds her hand up and sends a purple bolt of electricity towards her. Derrick barely has his mate’s name out of his mouth before the magic hits Serenity with a force hard enough to knock her to the ground.
She groans. “You aresonot rubbing my feet tonight, Seth. This one’s on you.”
Though I can see she’s okay, I don’t fail to notice the similarity between the opponent’s move to Anshar’s.
Seth purses his lips. “Can never admit it’s her fault when she’s bested.”
Derrick and Logan elbow him good-naturedly. “Don’t worry, we’ll take great care of her tonight.”
Hale pipes up, pointing to the fighting ring. “Uh, guys. Is that normal?”
My eyes widen at the witch’s violet hair whipping around her as a black sword with glowing, red flames glowing materializes in her hand. Four silhouettes, that can only be described as shadow men, stand in a triangle formation behind her.
Seth straightens, his body taut with tension. “No. That is not normal. That’s dark magic. Somehow, she hid that from our senses.”
Hale adds, “I don’t think any of that is makeup. Her eyes are just like Anshar’s. And those black veins … Do you think there’s some connection?”
Derrick shakes his head. “No dark witch or mage has had black eyes or veins in our experience.” I can hear his silent,but it’s possible,hanging between us.
The tension in the group thickens as we wait to see how Serenity will handle this.
Serenity jumps to standing, light as a cat on her feet, daggers in each hand, flaming like her opponent’s but with a white aura. She circles her opponent. “Well, well. What do we have here? A dark witch in my kingdom? I know mommy always taught me to not judge a book by its cover but I should’ve trusted what yours showed me the moment I saw you.”
The dark witch spits by Serenity’s feet. “I’m not here to converse with you. I’m here to take your throne.”
Her opponent lunges with her sword but Serenity blocks the blow, quickly parrying with her other dagger, aiming for the witch’s stomach.
A shadow man appears between the two women, reaching for Serenity’s hand. A shrill scream rings in the air as Serenity’s dagger falls to the ground, her right-hand laying limp and blackened at her side.
Did he burn her?
Logan lunges toward the arena but Derrick grabs him around the waist, restraining his brother. “She hasn’t given us a signal that she needs help. Trust her. She has never needed us before.”
Zedd mumbles beside me, “You have to trust that they’ll let you know when they need help.”
Bright flashes pull my attention back to Serenity as a wall of blue and white flames descends upon her opponent and her shadow creatures. A glowing violet shield covers them at the last moment as the flames crash down, dissipating on contact with the barrier, melting the barrier away.
Serenity growls low, rushing towards the exposed witch, ready to attack. She lifts her left hand toward her opponent and a volley of ice daggers fly but three shadow men appear, absorbing the attack.
Where’s the fourth one?
From the ground, a shadow materializes behind Serenity, reaching for her. She spins to defend herself but the shadow grips her left shoulder before dissipating into the ground.
