“My name is Brielle Marie Laurent. I am the oldest child and rightful heir to the noble house of Laurent. I challenge you”-I leveled my finger at my brother-“Bastien Pierre Laurent for the right to lead our house.”
Bastien’s jaw dropped. He truly couldn’t believe that I actually planned to go through with this.
“You stupid girl,” my mother’s voice cried out. “What right do you have?”
Turning, I saw my parents rushing out of the forest. Apparently, my audacity to try and take control of the house was enough to drag them from their hiding place.
“I have every right,” I said, glaring at my mother.
In a twist of fate, Delphine reemerged from the opposite side of the forest. The only woman who’d ever truly treated me like a mother should. She was my friend, and more than that, she was the one who’d loved me over the years. Catching sight of her gave me even more confidence to stand up to my parents.
“Shut up,” my father said. “Your brother is the leader of our house now. That is final. Get your little dragons and leave now, before this ends badly for you.”
Aurelius stepped forward, a deep growl rumbling from his chest, and pointed at my father. “You’ll watch your mouth, Laurent. You don’t speak to her like that. You lost all rights to tell her what to do when you tossed her out on her own.”
My father looked like he wanted to tear Aurelius apart, but we all knew how that would go. All around us, the fighting had ceased. Everyone wanted to see what was about to happen. Dragons, wolves, fae, and the indigenous shifters all surrounded us, looking on with curiosity. Most were covered in wounds or blood, but for the moment, the hostilities had been forgotten.
“You think you can best me, sister?” Bastien said, a cocky smile spreading across his lips. “This will not go well.”
“It doesn’t matter,” my mother screamed. “Even if you trick Bastien and beat him, we will never give you control of the house.” She seemed to be taking this worse than anyone.
“That’s not true, Mother,” Freddy said as he stepped into the circle. “When Father retired, he bestowed all rights and leadership upon Bastien. It is legally binding. If Elle defeats Bastien, that constitutes a legal change. These rules have been in place for centuries. It won’t be up to you.” He shrugged casually. “Maybe you should read the rules before handing the reins of our house over to a jackass who doesn’t deserve it.
“Disowned,” our mother hissed, glaring at Freddy. “You’ll be disowned when Bastien defeats her. Disowned at best. At worst, we’ll have you killed as a traitor.”
Freddy gave her a sad smile. “I wish you were a different person. It would have been nice to have a mother who cared about us as much as she cared about power.”
She flinched back as if he’d slapped her, but she didn’t say another word.
Turning back to Bastien, I said, “Well, little brother? Are you scared to fight me?”
He sneered, which only made him look even more like a spoiled brat than he was. “I’m not scared of anyone, much less a pathetic, broken thing like you. Take a moment to say goodbye to your prince. It’ll be the last time you get to see him.”
I didn’t bother responding. Instead, I marched over to Aurelius.
“What does this mean? What’s happening?” Aurelius asked as he put an arm around me.
Delphine patted his arm and gave me a worried look. “It means she’s legally requested the chance to fight Bastien for leadership of House Laurent. It’s an ancient and legally binding ceremony. One will come out the winner, with all rights and privileges to the great house, as well as access and total command of their fortunes, staff, and holdings. The other…”
“A fight to the death, then?” Aurelius asked me. The panic and fear in his face was even greater than what I saw in Delphine’s. He shook his head. “No. Not a chance. We’ll fight him together. Let him add a second. That will make it more fair. I can help you.”
“You can’t,” Delphine said. “No weapons, no assistance from anyone, just two shifters going head-to-head. If you were to interfere in any way, Elle would forfeit. The only thing we have in our favor is all these witnesses. The Laurents can’t possibly do anything to help Bastien. This is a deep and ancient tradition. Hell, many of the House Laurent servants would turn on them if they thought they would try to renege or alter the fight. It has to be Elle against Bastien. Nothing more.”
Aurelius didn’t look like he could accept that answer. His arm tightened around me. I could practically feel his heart thundering as I pressed into him.
“It’ll be fine,” I said, reaching up to touch his cheek.
Sahalie pushed through the crowd, reaching us a moment before I turned to face my brother.
“Take this,” she said, slipping something into my hands.
“No weapons,” I said, shaking my head, trying to hand it back without looking.
“It’s not a weapon,” she said. “It’s more than that.”
Glancing down, I opened my hand, and found a small vial filled with an ephemeral glowing substance.
“Wellspring magic?” I said, looking up at her with a frown.
She grinned at me. She was so petite and wispy, that she looked more like a child than an adult, but her eyes held a deep well of wisdom and knowledge that belied her youthful looks.
“The same thing Jolon used to induce your dream walk.” Sahalie closed my fingers around the vial again. “I think you’ll know when to use it.”
“Do you think this will work?” I asked, glancing back at my brother, who was whispering with my parents. “I’m not sure he’s the type for self-reflection.”
“Demons are demons,” she said. “It doesn’t matter whether you want to face them or not. Good luck.”
She slipped back into the crowd, and I slid the vial into my pocket. I wasn’t sure I’d actually get the chance to use it. Despite all the training and my righteous fury, Bastien was powerful, and he had the ability to shift. I didn’t. He’d also spent years learning to fight. My few days of training with Delphine, Aurelius, and Freddy weren’t much compared to that. Still, I’d do everything I could to come out on top. But I did have something Bastien didn’t have. An honorable reason to fight. That had to count for something. There was no way I could believe that fate had led me to this exact moment, only to lose to this piece of shit.
“Come on then, Brielle,” Bastien said, strolling out to the center of the circle. “Let’s get this over with. No reason to delay the inevitable.”
“Be careful,” Aurelius said, pulling me in for a kiss.
With my lips tingling, I looked him dead in the eyes. “Do not interfere, Aurelius. Do you hear me? I know what I’m doing.”
His face twisted with some internal agony. “You can’t ask that of me. If you’re in trouble, Iwill help you. Trial by combat be damned.”
I touched his cheek. “Trust me, Aurelius. Trust fate.”
He only hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Okay. I love you.”
“I love you too.” I turned from him before I could lose my will to do so.
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