by Aja James
And fuck did the male come—like a freight train.
With a few huge leaps, the warrior hurled himself past the edge of the falls and charged full speed across the two-feet deep rapids. So powerful were his strides that he appeared to be walking on water.
Ramses did the same. And when they were a few feet away from each other, they leapt into the air at the same time, colliding together in a tangle of fists and feet above the falls, before crashing back down into the icy cold water.
Each opponent grappled for supremacy in the no-holds-barred fight.
They were evenly matched. Though Ramses’ muscles were heavier, thicker, the other male was taller, with longer reach. And hitting him was like striking steel. There was no give on his body. All hard edges and lean strength.
The male had his arm locked around Ramses’ throat, but just as he was tightening to choke, Ramses shoved up with the heel of his palm, directly into the vulnerable underside of the male’s chin, pushing him back, just shy of snapping his skull straight off his neck.
With his backward momentum, the male snapped his booted feet in a flash kick as he backflipped, connecting solidly with Ramses’ chest and head.
With a grunt, Ramses didn’t spend even half a second in recovery time before charging forward, gouging his shoulder into the male as he landed back on his feet, throwing him right off them again and into the rapids on his back.
The male rolled before Ramses could pin him, and both males were back on their feet, locked in mortal combat once more.
As he engaged his opponent, Ramses registered a few things:
One, the warrior was definitely his equal in every way. His strength, his experience that could only come from thousands of years of training, his aggression, and his resolve. If they weren’t fighting to the death, Ramses might recruit him to join the Chosen.
But Two, Ramses immediately doubted that the warrior would become anyone else’s soldier. He was clearly his own ruler and bowed down to no one, including Queen Anya who’d somehow enlisted him to be her Champion.
Which led to three—there was definitely something familiar about him, but Ramses had never looked upon this male before. The left side of the male’s face, all the way down his neck and what could be seen of his collarbone and chest, his left arm and hand, was covered with black symbols, like tattooed old runes. His thick, spiky black hair waved away from his face like the tip of a flame. His eyes were also black, unnaturally so, the pupils indistinguishable from the irises.
Ramses had never beheld such a face; he would remember if he had. Yet he was also certain he’d met the male before. But how? Where and when?
No time to sort it out now, because the male just leapt five feet in the air and delivered a knee thrust into Ramses’ jaw.
If he hadn’t used his Gift to harden his flesh literally into stone in that moment, his jaw would be broken in too many places to count.
Ramses snapped around and shot a spinning side kick into the male’s side with enough force to crush his ribcage and puncture his liver.
But the warrior took the hit with a slight side step and a grunt, barely winded when he engaged Ramses head on once more.
They were both drenched to the bone in icy water by now, but neither male felt it. The heat from their battle overwhelmed all else. They only focused on each other, on dealing the lethal blow that would declare one of them the victor.
But the more he fought, the more Ramses unconsciously dragged his feet.
Staring into the other warrior’s pitch-black eyes, long buried memories suddenly flooded his mind…
First Cycle of the Dark Queen Ashlu, sixth millennium BC.
The last Dark One standing to confront him was the tall, flame-haired warrior with searing amber eyes.
The Elemental in disguise faced his opponent with hands fisted at his sides, veins popping everywhere beneath his skin, his blood crackling with adrenaline and power.
Instead of feeling exhausted from three days and nights of nonstop mortal combat, he was fueled with aggression and strength, and he gladly anticipated the last fighter, for it promised to be an epic battle.
The Elemental looked to Queen Ashlu’s throne, from which she observed the proceedings with increasing excitement and interest. The winner of this last round was to be her Mate, her Consort. The male who would be her Champion for the rest of their immortal lives.
Their eyes met and held—gold colliding with obsidian.
He saw the possessiveness and lust in her gaze, magnified to extraordinary heights by the fact that he was fighting to Claim her. He bled and hurt for her. He pulverized other males into ashes to prove his strength to her.
She wanted him badly.
Him.
Not the disguise.
This the Elemental repeated to himself in his heart of hearts; he could accept no other alternative.
The Elemental also took note that when she glanced away from him to gaze upon the other warrior, the desire in her eyes cooled significantly, but still held interest. The other male was, after all, a magnificent sight to behold, and a warrior of distinction.
But the Elemental prince knew that his love wanted him most. And that knowledge charged him with a burst of power he’d never experienced before.
At last, the opponents took their positions. The most epic Challenge of the Dark Ones’ history commenced in a thunderous clash of blades. Any weapon. All weapons. They would fight to the death, and there were no rules.
Immediately into the battle, the Elemental knew that his opponent was fully his match. He also felt that the other male was slightly holding back for some reason, not unleashing the full force of his power.
Fuck that.
The Elemental turned his entire body into stone and charged at the other male with the speed of a boulder falling from the skies.
Instead of getting flattened and falling back in a heap of broken bones from the onslaught, the other male actually stopped his progress, though the Elemental’s momentum had pushed him back several paces, his heels practically smoking in the dirt from the effort of digging in to hold his ground.
Stop.
His opponent communicated to him telepathically, the first word that had transpired between them.
The Elemental didn’t stop, pushing forward in a bombardment of fists, elbows, knees and feet.
I don’t want to kill you. Listen to me.
The Elemental didn’t listen, continuing his attack unabated.
Kill him? Ha! He’d show the other male who was the better warrior when he reduced him to ashes.
Stubborn youngling, listen to me.
Youngling? Who was this red warrior to call him such?
The Elemental might be tender in years relative to his immortality, but he was a full-grown male with unparalleled power. It didn’t matter his age. He could, and had, defeated warriors hundreds of years more experienced than him.
If this is how you respond, then you leave me no choice.
What—
In a flash, the other male transformed into a giant eagle whose flame-tipped wings spanned the width of the entire fighting grounds, completely blocking out the moon and stars.
A Beast!
And not just any Beast, but the Eagle King himself, the Elemental was sure of it.
The gasps, shouts and murmurs of consternation from the gathered crowds were drowned out by the eagle’s piercing shriek as he flapped those gigantic wings and clawed one of his talons directly around the Elemental’s torso and lifted him straight into the sky.
Everyone stood, including the queen, to watch the scene more closely, as the eagle deftly changed direction mid-air and began to fly away with the Elemental in his talon’s tight grip.
“Put me down!” the prince shouted, though his words were distorted and muffled in the swift air as the eagle picked up his pace, flapping those enormous wings.
“Fight me on fair terms! Face me!”
The eagle crooked his sharp-beaked head to lo
ok down at the Elemental.
You think this isn’t fair? You are an Earth Elemental, I can tell. Even now, I cannot crush you in my talon because you’ve turned yourself to stone. I am a Dark One Gifted with the Eagle Spirit. We are fairly matched. Do you expect to use your earth powers but not have me take Beast form? You have much to learn, youngling.
“Stop calling me that!”
You are young, the eagle persisted in the same deep voice, frustratingly calm. I was created by the Dark Goddess herself. I have millennia of experience to your handful of years.
“It doesn’t matter,” the Elemental growled. “I will still defeat you. I shall not fail my queen! Put me the fuck down!”
The eagle seemed to smile.
As you wish.
And hurled the Elemental right against one of the jagged peaks of the Fire Mountain.
If he hadn’t turned his body to stone, the prince would have been shattered upon impact into a thousand broken shards of fractured bones and torn skin and muscle. Instead, his rock-hard body rammed through the stone and debris and drilled a crater into the center of the mountaintop as he landed.
While he withstood the collision, the Elemental had to bite back a grunt of pain.
Because, fuck, that hurt!
The eagle landed gracefully on a rock overhang some distance away and peered down at him with interest.
It is good that you are so strong. We can use more warriors like you.
What was he talking about? Who’s we?
But the Elemental was single-minded in his focus. He had a Challenge to win.
“Come down here and fight me!”
I don’t want to kill you, the eagle said again. It would be a regrettable waste. We need strength like yours on our side.
“I don’t give a shit what you need,” the Elemental shouted up at him. “I only know what I want. I will win Ashlu’s hand. I will become her Champion and Consort, and you’re the only thing standing in my way.”
The eagle tilted his head, his brilliant amber eyes keen on his opponent.
What will you do once you are her Consort? Will you help her expand the empire or help your own Kind win their freedom?
Frowning, the young Elemental finally stopped to listen.
“My own Kind? I am a Dark One. Of course I will support my queen in fulfilling her Destiny.”
You were not born a Dark One. I can tell. I was created as I am. We are not the same.
The Elemental bristled with fury, as well as hidden shame.
“I am a Dark One,” he repeated low, “I shall Claim my queen.”
What about your fellow Elementals? Do you know that they’ve scattered to the four corners of the earth, hiding in fear? Just like my Beasts. Hunted, ostracized and feared. Why do you support a queen who rules through oppression and tyranny? Join us. Help us. The Dark Ones must be stopped.
“You are a Dark One, you said so yourself,” the Elemental retorted. “Why are you plotting against your own Kind?”
I am a Beast, the eagle declared firmly, with pride. I am a King. A Dark One may be my base form, but it is not who I am.
“Then why are you fighting to Claim the Dark Queen? Go back to your own Kind. Go back to the mountains and forests and stay hidden. Perhaps I’ll let you have a few years of quiet before I hunt you down again.”
The eagle considered him silently for a long while.
The Elemental was getting increasingly frustrated while he waited. He didn’t give a shit what the Eagle King wanted. He knew what his own goal was, and he was impatient to achieve it.
The eagle seemed to come to a decision, for he revealed his intentions with the next words.
If I become Ashlu’s Consort, I will bind her to me. She must then alter her plans to conquer all Kinds, for she will physically depend on me for survival. It is a sacrifice I am willing to make for my people. For yours as well, Earth Elemental. Help me. I do not want to kill you.
At the mention of any other male Claiming his queen, the Elemental’s temper boiled, and the Fire Mountain reacted by grumbling and shaking on its massive foundations.
“You. Will. Not. Claim. Her.”
He gritted out each word like a vow.
“Ashlu is mine!”
The Eagle King considered him with those piercing eyes from his lofty height.
For what seemed like an eternity he considered the young Elemental. And then he said with a disappointed release of breath—
So be it.
What followed was a fight to the death the Elemental could never have prepared for. He was strong, but he learned that there were others who were physically much stronger.
Over and over, the eagle attacked. With the hurricane gales of his wings, sending the Elemental crashing against sharp rocks and the unforgiving mountainside. With the sharp talons and beak, scraping across the Elemental’s hardened skin like steel against stone, and the Elemental knew that when he turned back to his humanoid form, he’d have deep gashes everywhere in his skin.
But he was desperate to win his queen. His love.
He had no one. All his life he’d only had one person. If he didn’t have her, he had nothing. What would he live for? He couldn’t lose her!
With a roar, the Elemental sank to his knees and unleashed all of his power, fueled by his roiling emotions, need, and desperation.
The Fire Mountain answered, shaking so hard the stone cliffs fractured. Boulders broke free and crashed to the ground, and the center of the mountain cracked open, revealing the hot, fiery lava that roiled beneath.
The eagle staggered overhead, flapping his wings to avoid the raining rocks and debris, the geysers of lava that shot through the cracks.
All at once, the mountain erupted, shooting a burst of flames and clumps of hot lava into the sky.
The eagle shrieked as two molten missiles lanced through his wings, sending him crashing into the ground below.
The Elemental stood over the fallen Beast with swirling obsidian eyes, the force of his Gift barely contained within his frame.
“You will not have her. Ashlu is mine,” he rumbled with the boom of earth-shaking thunder.
The eagle looked up at him with pained, glittering eyes. His wings broken and in tatters. His body burned and gaping with open wounds.
You will regret this, youngling.
“I will not,” the Elemental stated. “And neither will you, because you’ll be dead.”
As he spoke, the ground beneath the eagle opened in a jagged fissure, and the hot bubbling lava beneath hissed as it burned through his feathers and skin.
The Elemental walked away from the defeated Challenger, through the smoke and ashes that clouded the entire surface of the volcano.
He walked all the way back to the Dark fortress where his queen awaited to be Claimed. With blind love burning bright in his heart, he did not regret his victory that day.
But the Eagle King had been right.
In the millennia that followed, he did regret. He regretted bitterly.
For he’d betrayed his own Kind that day. The Elementals who continued to hide in fear of the Dark empire’s unforgiving rule.
In more ways than one, his victory was his greatest triumph and his deepest shame.
*** *** *** ***
Coming back to the present, Ramses shook his head to clear it, even as he blocked another attack, though just barely, from his Challenger.
He remembered.
He narrowed his gaze on the warrior who unleashed a renewed round of fists and feet upon him.
Underneath the tattoos, the black hair and black eyes notwithstanding, Ramses saw the features of the Eagle King. Not exactly the same, but similar enough to make him pause.
But how could it be?!
He’d left the Beast to die on the Fire Mountain. He’d seen the other male disappear into the surging lava.
Hadn’t he?
Distracted by his thoughts, regret making him pull his punches, Ramses fell back as the other male pu
mmeled him, landing devastating blows to his ribs, stomach and face. He willed himself to fight back, willed his body to turn to stone to at least provide some defense against the ruthless onslaught, but his limbs wouldn’t listen, his powers waning.
All at once, he was knocked off his feet into the freezing water.
Immediately, the other male threw the entire weight of his body on top of Ramses, holding him down beneath the currents, his hard fists around Ramses’ neck, cutting off all air, close to breaking the bones of his neck.
His eyes open beneath the water, Ramses saw the looming shadow of his opponent, the Challenger’s face a mask of grim determination. There was no emotion. There would be no mercy. The only thing that glittered in those fathomless black eyes was vengeance.
Ramses opened his mouth and swallowed a lungful of water. With his immortal healing powers, it would take a long time to drown him this way, but given the steel vise of the other male’s hands, his neck would probably break first.
He put his own hands around the fighter’s wrists to pry him loose, but the other male had the advantage being on top, and shifted so that his shins trapped Ramses’ upper arms beneath his weight as he knelt on top of Ramses’ chest.
Ramses contorted his lower body to buck the male off, but his movements were too weak, his strength and Gift seeping out with the lack of oxygen.
The male’s hands suddenly transformed into claws, his talons digging into Ramses’ unprotected flesh. He was not only going to break Ramses’ neck, he was going to rip his head right off his body!
But then, out of nowhere, a flaming meteor struck the Challenger across his back, knocking him off of Ramses.
With an incensed howl, the other male sprang quickly to his feet, while Ramses staggered upright as well, his hands holding the sides of his neck, trying to stem the blood gushing from his puncture wounds.
More flaming objects rained down upon the Challenger, with an accuracy that had him dodging in great leaps and bounds, forcing him away from Ramses.
With a bracing breath, Ramses looked up into the sky and saw a giant eagle circling above, carrying something—or someone—in its talons.
A someone who hurled flaming…scrolls at the other fighter.
