The double doors to the entrance closest to me blasted open, knocking my guards off their feet. Sabina stepped in with Selene at her side, and ten guards funneled in behind them. Selene let out a shriek as she moved forward with a surge of mecca energy, and even though I hadn’t been able to see the waves since releasing it back into the Otherworld, I felt more attuned to the magic of it. I could feel how much she was channeling.
She was dressed all in black – it actually looked like she was wearing a leather cat-suit, covered in armor and with pockets across her thighs. Probably where all her weapons were.
“You’re dead, Arianna,” she screamed, her face bright red, a series of red marks down her cheeks, like she had been clawing at her face. “For Larak I’m going to torture you slowly.”
I remained calm as she stalked toward me with a hissing, blinded Larak across her shoulders, blood dripping from his eyes, his massive head swinging left and right frantically.
A sliver of sympathy for the animal pierced through me. He might be evil and slimy, but maybe that was Selene’s influence. I mean, Finn was definitely his own being, good with no help from me, so probably Larak was as evil as his bonded heir. It was this thought that helped me shelve my weakness and harden my resolve.
To my right there was a heavy thud as Violet and Sabina crashed into each other, sparks of mecca flying around the arena. Their battle was hard and fast as they used a combination of physical and magical warfare. The ten guards followed Selene, who was still moving toward me.
I smirked, acting relaxed. “What’s the matter, Selene? Afraid to fight me one on one?” She wanted to see my fear, and I would give her no such satisfaction. She didn’t scare me. I was more than ready to take her down.
Selene’s eyes practically glowed, and a purple sheen licked along her skin. She wore mecca like a coat. “That’s Your Highness, not Selene. And I have every intention of killing you myself … fae.” She sneered the last part; the subtle changes to me had not escaped her attention. Turning to her guards, she shouted, “Kill the bear king!”
I tried to tamp down my fear. Even with ten highly trained guards, my mate could take care of himself, and I needed to focus.
“Kill her quickly, my love,” Kade whispered, and then charged forward, sword raised to take on the line of guards. I was surprised to see that some of Selene’s inner circle were not present. In fact, it looked like she was down more than a couple of guards. Had they defected from her? Another weakness for me to exploit, possibly. A queen was always going to be powerful, we had the power of our people within us, but as more defected from Selene, the less power she could wield.
The cat-suit clad shifter glided toward me, her eyes spitting with unbridled rage. Larak slid down to the ground, hissing as he slithered across the floor. His eyes were gone, but he still had strong senses and could scent where we were. I expected him to come straight for me, but he went for Finn.
My worry for my familiar was put on hold as Selene let out a shrieking battle cry, swinging her sword for my neck. Her attack was wild and uncontrolled, careless; she was full of emotion and weakness. I easily stepped aside, swiping her blade away with my own. Her emotions were going to be her downfall. I would make sure of it.
“What’s really made you so mad, Selene?” I deflected another blow and kicked out, snapping her knee. She groaned and limped backward. “Is it that even though you did everything in your power to steal the crown from me, our people still prefer me? That deep down you know I will always be a better leader than you? That our people love me the most…?”
Selene’s exotic features crumbled, her brows drawing together as red tinged her cheeks. She cried out in anger again, but this time she lunged and tried to take a swipe at Finn, who was close by, circling Larak. Oh hell no. Finn must have seen Selene coming. He rolled at the last second as a growl ripped from my throat. My familiar went back to Larak, keeping the snake in his focus. The serpent hadn’t made any attempt to attack yet; losing his eyes had made him hesitant, but even without vision he was still deadly. Finn would not underestimate the creature.
Selene focused on me again. “The love of our people has made you weak. The Red Queen would be disgusted!” She lashed out with mecca, pushing me back a foot.
Her taunts brushed off me without even a twinge of hurt. I knew something she didn’t – the Red Queen was anything but disgusted with me. She had protected me, to the point it had cost her her life.
I was getting tired of looking at Selene. I gathered up all of my magic, both mecca and fae, and pushed it right at her chest, adding a little extra width to include Larak.
Both she and her snake flew backward and slammed into the wall, and I kept my magic pressed into her, pinning them there.
“Help me, you idiots!” she shouted at her guards, but one quick glance over my shoulder told me that Kade, Carrie, and the other wolves who had joined our team, were having no problem keeping Selene’s guards from reaching me. In fact, most of them were unconscious on the ground and of no use at all to Selene.
I felt her draw on the power of the mecca then, on the power of the people. It sparked something inside of me because I still held a bond to the shifters. My queen connection had never been properly severed. Selene started to fight back against my hold then, she was off the wall, stepping toward me. My legs shook as I continued pushing power at her, unsure if I would have enough juice to go against her now.
Selene grinned, and took another step closer. “I’m the true queen,” she said, pride brimming in her tone. “The shifters give their power to me.”
Everything inside of me rebelled at that statement. She was not a true queen, she was a thief. But there was something in what she said … it reminded me of Bianca’s statement. The Boston alpha had said that the defectors chose me, that they stood behind me. Which might mean I could use the same connection as Selene, I could still win this.
With unwavering faith in my people I sent out a call along the tattered queen bond still flickering within me. I called for the energy which would help me take Selene down. As the first burn of power hit my center, the redhead shifter let out a cry and fell to her knees. In a single burst of energy, the fae and mecca inside of me burned hot and bright, on the edge of being too much for me to handle. I felt all the shifters then, as I had when I was queen. Their love and energy. Their support.