Chapter 12 Games and Rituals
The Dragon spread his fingers, and drops of blood spattered down onto the tree roots while he spoke words that were not English.
It took me several seconds to recognize them as French words. Archaic French.
Oyez et témoignez
Puissances de mer, de forêt, d'air, de feu et de mort.
The Mayor began to whisper a translation: “Powers of Sea, Forest, Air, Fire and Death. Firstborn forces who shaped the world before crowns and prayers. Converge!”
Just like a stove, the tree roots began to heat up. And as our blood dropped from his hand, they shot fiery sparks. Vapor drifted up, and soon a cloud of smoke blanketed us.
I sat in the middle of this smoke, the Mayor standing protectively beside me as I realized I had already offered myself in that dream.
This was a mere physical ritual to seal the deal.
“We stand before you as equals in covenant. By scale and by fang, by fire and by night, we claim the woman Lys from the line of Grunders of the Alpine region.”
Rhea howled inside me, stretching down the length of my spine, and my teeth started to chatter. But the Mayor placed his hand on my shoulder, and Rhea quieted.
“She stands under our protection, and no monster or ancient force may touch her unbidden.”
The wind was a living, breathing, thing now. The higher the Dragon’s voice rose, the more violent it became.
It could have been a tornado, with how far it bent the trees, how furiously it shook their branches, and shrieked between the cracks in the headstones.
I feared the graves behind us may just eject the souls out of them.
“Our fates bind to hers. Our lives anchor hers. Our power shields her path. Break this pact and the elements themselves would refuse their gates.”
Whatever was happening here was ancient.
Just like in my dream, the older gods themselves had come down to witness this.
My heart was practically beat-boxing. It makes sense now that the Dragon said earlier had been my last chance to back out.
“So witnessed. So bound.”
The Dragon turned. In four strides, he was standing before me. He grabbed my chin and tilted my head back to stare in my eyes.
Then slowly, he ran his thumb across my bottom lip, and I shivered. He pushed his thumb into my mouth, and nodded.
I licked his thumb and sucked the blood clean. His eyes darkened as he watched my mouth around his finger, his jaw moving as he chewed his inner lip.
Finally, he pulled away, ran his tongue across the flat of his palm and grabbed the Mayor by the neck. Their kiss was as fiery as usual, mesmerizing.
But unlike earlier, I resolved not to be swayed by it anymore. This union with them was going to take more than my life at the end of these twelve months.
Now that I had missed my only chance to turn back, I had just one option.
Play, Obey, but never Surrender.
They broke off in half a minute and turned to me.
The Mayor grabbed my chair and spun me around. All three of us headed back the way we had come.
The wedding ritual was done!
“Yes Lys,” the Mayor responded to my thoughts. “You’ll regain your ability to walk before the week is over. If it's any consolation, your passing will be just as quick and easy. And there will be no knives this time.”
The Dragon was quiet, and as soon as we got home, he disappeared completely.
“Do you need anything, fairy?” The Mayor halted my chair in the middle of the living room to take me out.
“Air.” I swallowed. “Can I use your garden? Won’t be long.”
“Of course.” He winced. As if blaming himself for not thinking I would want some time to myself after such a long, crazy day.
We stared at each other for a second.
“How did an Alpha…” I stopped myself before I could complete my words. How did an Alpha find himself with a creature as ancient and powerful as a Dragon and all his gods?
Like he told me earlier today, they were one. And it was none of my business really.
He stared at me, waiting. But I smiled in apology.
With a soft command, I turned the chair back around and wheeled out the front door.
The sadness I felt in the pit of my stomach made my chest hurt, and my eyes burn. I was alone again. I could not count on them anymore.
There was no one I could discuss this with either.
Mom and Dad do not care. My friends would call me crazy. For a cripple like me, there was nothing more fortunate than to have been chosen by the Heartthrown Alphas.
As for Grandma…
No. I had to handle this my own way. Rely on my mental strength to play my cards right.
My dream had been eerie, strange, but one thing was clear.
At the end of the twelve months, the Ascendant ritual would not work unless I was in love with these men.
To be their sacrificial lamb, I needed to give more than my body. I had to be crazy in love.
And they would try their best to win my heart. I thought back to all their kindness from the moment we met, and realized they had already started.
But as long as I did not lose my head in love with either of them, my mind, my agency would remain whole, and the ritual would not work.
I could win. I could get my body back, win the tournament, and walk out of here in twelve months, alive.
Play, Obey, but never Surrender.
The porch stairs were a hassle, but I managed it without breaking my bones. I was lucky I wouldn’t be needing this for too long. I was awful with it.
The garden was a surreal heaven of the rarest flowers, scents ranging from extra sweet to faintly spicy. And right in the middle, just past a General Sherman tree, was an artificial lake.
I wheeled closer, unable to tear my eyes away from the calm lake surrounded by gold lamps, and reflecting the night sky.
A man was sitting quietly by the edge.
Even sitting, I immediately saw he was taller than the Dragon and Mayor. But he was young. His shoulders were wide, muscles toned, but they lacked the hardness that most men only got in their thirties.
He turned around and I forgot how to breathe.
Even in the darkness, his eyes stood out. Aqua. The exact color the waters in the Bahamas were famous for.
Our gazes locked. He did not speak, neither did I. But I think I fell in love then.