“That’s enough,” I ordered him. “Be quiet.”
“What happened?” Rhys asked again, his pupils changing to slits as they changed to his dragon eyes.
“Go talk to Deryn,” I told him, feeling tired and unsure of what to think.
What could Justina have that King Johann would want? He said she wasn’t giving him much negotiating power, which meant she had the power in the exchange. What? What the hell could she have?
“More shifters are sick,” Fox told me. “The healers still don’t have any idea what is causing it, but they are keeping everyone comfortable. Tobias and Martin are doing okay. They’re still throwing up and sick, but they aren’t dying.”
“Thanks for updating me,” I said and walked into his arms, letting him hold me and try to ease my stress and worry.
“Jolie,” Nico whispered from behind me.
I turned around to face him, unsure what he was going to say or how he would react.
“You’re my queen, so no matter what he says, or what orders he tries to give me, if they are to harm you, I will not follow them. I will continue to protect you. You are my top priority.”
“So, we’re okay?” I asked.
He pulled me into a hug and said, “We’re great. I love you. I’m sorry my father did something so crass. I can’t believe he threatened you. I mean, I believe he threatened you because Deryn witnessed it, and I would have believed it if you had said it. I just don’t understand why he did it.”
“Me neither,” I admitted and tried to burrow into him, getting as close as I could. “Tomorrow is the tournament, right?” I asked. “What happens?”
“We all go to the tournament grounds and they explain the rules, the prize, and what is going to happen in the events. Sometimes we all have to be in there at the same time, so we are going to have you stay with Dan,” Nico said. “We know he won’t hurt you and he’ll protect you from my asshole father if he needs to.”
After an extensive cuddling episode, the guys escorted me to the tournament stands. The “stands” turned out to be a coliseum made of stones likely as old as the castle. The coliseum was oval shaped with a set of box seats on one end where the kings and other summit members sat. There was a magic spell in front of their view that magnified the arena, so that even though they were far away, they could see everything clearly.
King Katar of the Elves and King Emrys of the Dragons both hugged me. King Johann nodded once at me with thinly veiled anger. Shit. I swallowed nervously, but then Dan grabbed me in one of his infamous bear hugs and led me to the seat between his and King Emrys’s.
“How are you?” Dan asked.
“Worried about Tobias and Martin,” I whispered back.
He patted my hand. “The best healers in the world are with them. They’ll figure out what is wrong.”
The stands were filled with attendees from various races. I scanned the crowd and Gavin waved at me with a wide smile.
“Your family is here?” I asked Emrys, seeing the other siblings and Adelaide.
Andras winked at me and I gave him a small wave.
“Yes, everyone’s families are here, but they aren’t allowed to sit up here with us,” Emrys answered.
“Then why am I here?” I asked.
Amos stood, getting everyone’s attention. “Welcome to the Summit Tournament!”
Everyone cheered loudly.
“Today, our strongest and most talented warriors will be put to the test to see who is the best. As I announced at the feast, this year’s prize is the best yet!”
The anticipation was palpable, everyone sat on the edge of their seats. Everyone, but my four princes who stood next to the arena with bored expressions on their faces.
Amos motioned at me to come forward. I looked at Dan, but he just shrugged and pushed me to obey. I walked to stand beside Amos, my heart beating faster than a hummingbird’s. Why was I up here?
“This year, the winner will obtain the honor of becoming the mate of Jolie, Princess of the Four Clans!” Amos announced.
Now, the princes weren’t bored, their expressions ranging from shock to murder.
“Excuse me!” I demanded. “What?”
“Didn’t anyone tell you, dear?” he asked. “You’re our Princess and unmated, so it is the logical prize. You’re a bit old to be unmated still and it’s really us doing you a favor.”
“I’m not-”
Dan pulled me to my seat and fixed his glare on Amos. “Who made this decision?” he demanded.
“Me,” Amos said with a smirk. “Unless you have a reason we shouldn’t offer her?”
They knew! That asshole knew I had guards. Somehow, someone had spilled the beans to him.
“The Summit doesn’t take kindly to lies and deceit,” Amos whispered to me and Dan.
“Fuck y-”
Emrys put a hand over my mouth, stopping me from finishing. “Quiet,” he ordered me. “This is a test.”
I hated tests. “I didn’t agree to this,” I whisper hissed to him.
“As princess, you don’t have a choice. I’m sorry. I didn’t think something like this would happen or we wouldn’t have named you princess.”
“I know this isn’t your fault, King Emrys,” I whispered while glaring at Amos.
I looked back down at my guards and they all bowed to me.
“That’s them promising to win,” Dan whispered to me.
Ezio bowed to me before he hopped into the coliseum’s sandy arena.
“Apparently, Ezio too,” Dan mumbled.
Declan and Kylan bowed to me next and I let out a loud groan. “Dammit.”
“Why are my dragon twins bowing to you?” King Emrys asked.
“Because they are stubborn assholes,” I growled.
Then, to my amazement, Thor bowed to me and leapt in. What was wrong with these males!
“Thor?” Dan asked.
“I’m his one true love, if you ask him,” I growled. “He and I never dated or anything, but we grew up together and he always wanted me.” I growled again. “Those fucking assholes are going to regret this if they hurt my-”
Emrys & Dan both put hands over my mouth.
“Just be quiet,” Dan said with a chuckle
I folded my arms over my chest, pouting and angry at the same time.
“So, Princess, do you have a favorite?” Amos asked.
“No, I don’t have one favorite,” I answered honestly.
I have four.
Fifteen males of various races faced off with each other, but thankfully my four stayed side by side.
“No shifting,” Amos ordered them. “No killing. Maiming is fine as long as it is not life threatening. Magic is permitted, but no deadly force. Last five standing will move on to the next round.”
What would happen if one of my guys didn’t make it?
Dan set his hand on my knee, which had been bouncing quickly. “It’ll work out,” he said, but I could tell he was worried too.
Ezio faced Deryn, a feral smile on his lips. “You aren’t worthy of her.”
Deryn smiled, looking completely calm and relaxed. Like he wasn’t about to fight for my hand. “She’ll be mine,” he told Ezio. “She’ll be mine and you can take whatever that offer was and shove it.”
Oh boy.
“She didn’t tell you what it was, did she?” Ezio asked with a smirk. He looked up at me and raised his right hand, now holding a sword. “I’ll prove I’m strong enough to be your mate.”
“Dumbass,” I muttered.
“You and Ezio-” Emrys asked.
“We were together a little over a year,” I confirmed. “I broke it off so he wouldn’t get hurt again.”
“Again?” Dan asked.
“The one scar on his entire body,” I whispered, “was gained by protecting me.”
“Oh, boy,” Dan sighed. “He told me about you. He hasn’t stopped loving you.”
“I know,” I muttered.
An idea popped into my head a
nd before Amos could start the event, I shouted, “I won’t have children!”
That got everyone’s attention, even my guards.
“What?” Amos demanded.
“I refuse to bear children,” I told him.
Two males left the ring, giving up.
“You can’t-” Amos sputtered.
“She can,” Dan growled.
I had already chosen this course, when I officially decided to take my four as my mates.
“I already have the surgery scheduled to tie my tubes,” I told everyone, blushing slightly since I was airing my business with hundreds of strangers.
“Were you going to tell-” Rhys asked.
“Yes,” I said before he could finish that sentence with “us.”
“When?” Nico asked.
“After I claimed who I was going to mate with.”
All four blinked in silence, my declaration sinking in. I had planned to claim them as my mates. I saw the moment they all understood. Their faces grew serious and they all pulled weapons out.
“Let’s go!” Rhys growled, swords in his hands. “Start this tournament, now!”
“Begin!” Amos ordered.
Rhys bellowed and in two movements had sliced off an arm from two males I didn’t know.
“I’ve never seen him so aggressive in the tournament,” Emrys said. “What did your statement just now mean to them?”
“It’s personal,” I said softly, blushing.
“You turned them feral,” Dan said, eyes fixed on Deryn.
Deryn was fighting against Ezio, their blades making a shower of sparks, arc around them with each hit. Both wore feral snarls as they fought.
Fox had his hands full, fighting Yukio and Zelphar. Both were attacking him in earnest and his eyes glowed as he fought them, not backing down and it looked like he was winning.
Nico was fighting another mage, keeping that mage from attacking my other guards. In seconds, the mage was unconscious and he was moving to his next victim.
The pool went from thirteen down to nine. Thor was unconscious behind Deryn now, though I hadn’t seen how it had happened.
Deryn and Ezio were still battling, Rhys was fighting Declan and Kylan. Fox was fighting Yukio, and Nico fought Zelphar.
Dan grabbed my hand, stopping me as I moved forward unknowingly. Declan had cut Rhys’s arm and Rhys was now bleeding.
“Emrys,” Dan snapped.
Emrys blocked my view, jerking my chin up so I had to meet his eyes. “Calm down!” he ordered me, pouring his power as alpha into me.
The dragon inside of me had been rushing to the surface and I hadn’t known until he said something. I shoved the dragon back down, but it was hard. We wanted to protect Rhys. We wanted to hurt the one who had hurt our guard.
“He’s not going to die,” Emrys assured me.
“He’s bleeding,” I growled, my voice much deeper than usual.
“It’s fine. I promise that I won’t let them hurt Rhys enough to put his life in danger or cause permanent damage. Now, calm down and put her to sleep or everything will be ruined,” Emrys whispered in my ear.
He was right. I needed to get a handle on myself. Taking a deep breath of Emrys’s scent, I rested my forehead for a brief moment on his chest and let his power help me put the dragon completely to sleep.
“Good,” he praised me and we took our seats again. Thankfully, Amos had been too engulfed in the battle to pay attention to me.
Yukio and Zelphar were out, unconscious on the ground, and now Fox was helping Rhys fight the dragon twins.
“Sir,” a human male whispered to Amos and handed him an envelope.
Amos took the envelope, reading it quickly so he could look back at the fight. He finished reading it and handed it to Johann. Johann read it and chuckled darkly. “Fitting,” he whispered.
“What is it?” Dan demanded.
Johann gave him the letter and as soon as he read it, Dan growled and said, “No. Absolutely not.”
“It’s her decision,” Johann said.
“Oh, this is her decision, but who she mates with isn’t?” Emrys snarled after reading the letter.
Clearly, this was about me.
“What is it?” I asked.
“The illness that is affecting the shifters is a poison. There is an antidote, but the price they are asking-” Emrys shook his head. “We can’t.”
“What is it?” I asked, dreading where this was headed.
“You. We hand you over and they give us the antidote,” Johann said.
“There has to be something else that they want,” Dan said.
“Seems pretty clear that they only want her,” Johann said.
“Why are you being such a dick?” Emrys asked, his eyes glowing.
“Say that again,” Johann threatened him, standing up to face him.
“I’ll do it,” I whispered.
“You fucking heard me,” Emrys snarled at Johann.
“I’ll do it!” I yelled at them.
“Do what?” Rhys asked from the arena.
Shit, I hadn’t realized that I had been that loud.
The fighting had stopped, the remaining five males looking up at us.
“The five have made it through!” Amos announced. “Rhys, Deryn, Nico, Foxfire, and Ezio will continue on to the second round.”
The ones who had been knocked out were now sitting up, rubbing their heads.
“Thor. Ezio. Declan. Kylan. Yukio and Zelphar,” I called down to them.
“Yes, Princess,” they called back.
“Restrain the princes,” I ordered them.
“What are you doing?” Dan demanded.
The six males followed my orders, grabbing the princes before they knew what was going on.
“What’s this?” Deryn demanded.
“I’m saving my best friend,” I told them. “I won’t let his children grow up without a father.”
“Jolie!” Rhys roared.
“Let’s go,” I told Johann.
Johann nodded and led the way.
“Father!” Nico yelled. “Don’t let her do this! Please!”
Johann paused a moment at the anguish in Nico’s voice, but it was just a brief pause before he resumed walking.
Sounds of fighting broke out and I knew my guards were fighting my exes to get free. Johann placed a hand on my shoulder and teleported us out of the coliseum and to the center of the downtown area.
“This way,” he told me, walking towards a bakery.
While we walked, I touched each of my guards through our bond and then built solid walls of impenetrable metal so they wouldn’t be able to locate me. They would barely be able to feel me now, which was for the best.
Johann walked into the bakery, straight through the back, and up a set of stairs to a second floor that was empty, save for one person.
“You have the antidote?” Johann asked.
Justina stepped forward and held out a vile of green liquid. “One drop for each victim,” she ordered him.
“Thank you,” he said and bowed, backing away from me. He paused and asked, “What will you do with her?”
“That’s none of your concern,” she told him sweetly, twirling my hair around one of her fingers.
He nodded once, bowed to me, and then disappeared.
Justina walked around me, looking at my dress and said, “It’s a shame that something as beautiful as this will get ruined.”
Her hand wrapped around my throat and she threw me up against the wall, choking me. “You. You ruined everything.”
“Boo. Hoo,” I gasped out with a snarl.
She chuckled. “I forgot how much I liked you. Well, it sucks for you, because no matter how much I liked you, your father’s death has cured me of the weaknesses I had left in me.”
Revenge? This was for revenge because of my father’s death?
“You’re pathetic,” I snarled.
She snapped her fingers and chains slid out of the walls, wrapped
around my arms and legs, and secured me to the wall. She pulled out a silver knife and sliced it down my arm slowly, making me scream loudly.
“Your physical pain isn’t going to cut it,” she told me. “No pun intended. I need emotional pain from you. And, I know just the thing.”
I watched in shock as the bonds between me and my guards became visible. She stroked her finger down Deryn’s, making me shiver in revulsion.
“Don’t touch that!” I snarled and thrashed against the chains.
“I lost the one male who viewed me as more than a female. The first who viewed me as an equal,” she told me with a sigh. “This one, this one views you as his equal. No, as more than his equal. He views you as his queen.” She took her silver knife and ran her finger along its hilt. Symbols down the blade began to glow and she used it to slice through Deryn and my bond.
It felt like my heart had been stabbed. I screamed loudly, my body shuddering against the wall as I lost my connection to Deryn.
“No!” I screamed. “Stop!”
She grabbed Nico’s bond, squeezing it tightly in her hand. “Now, you will all experience the pain I felt. The loss of the one you love.”
The knife sliced through Nico and my bond, and I felt energy leave me, his magic disappearing with the bond.
I tried to shift into a dragon. I still had Rhys, so I just needed to shift.
My scales started to form, but she wasn’t cutting my skin. She was somehow cutting through our magical bonds.
“Stop!” I begged. “Please!”
“No!” she screamed at me and cut Rhys’s bond, the dragon left me in an instant, leaving me feeling cold and helpless.
Three of them were gone. Their absence a hole in my chest. An aching and bleeding hole I couldn’t repair. Fox was the only one left. I opened our bond and tried my hardest to send him all the love that I felt. I still couldn’t use the bond as well as they could, but I could convey feelings, so I sent him as much love and gratitude as I could. I felt his fear. I felt his anger. I felt his love and it was enough. Knowing they loved me was enough.
“Did you know that Foxfire never knelt to anyone, not even his own father, and yet he has knelt for you numerous times, in front of numerous witnesses. He loves you and everyone can see it. Why you? What makes you so special?”
Royally Exposed_A Reverse Harem Fantasy Page 13
