Touch of Flame

Malachi sat on his throne and took Ravina to sit beside him. At this point, everyone already knew that she wasn’t going anywhere and would stay by his side and he only intended to make it more clear as days went by. It would be better if everyone got used to it.

They sat higher, around the arena where Nazneen would fight for her throne. He got a clearer picture of what people thought about her while waiting for the fight.

Some called her crazy, unstable, and dangerous and others whispered of her past calling her rude, vain, and an attention seeker. This was already not going well for her.

“Will she be alright?” Ravina asked.

“She seemed ready. We shall see.”

The oldest son of the snakeherd family, Vilem stepped into the arena, clad to fight with high leather boots and trousers. The crowd cheered for him and then they waited for his opponent.

Malachi looked around for Nazneen and then looked over at his brothers when she didn’t arrive. The crowd became silent now wondering where she was and then whispers began.

Saul shrugged with a frown. Malachi sighed. What was happening now? Did she change her mind?

The crowd cheering again made his head turn. Nazneen walked calmly into the arena, still clad as if she would spend her day as usual. She had her small top on with only a few straps holding it together at the back. Her skirts… she had ripped it up to her thigh to she could move, her legs peeking through with every step. She wore her hair down and even had her jewelry on.

​ Those who hadn’t seen her before watched her in awe. Malachi couldn’t deny that she was stunning and she moved as if her body was her weapon. Well, it surely was.

She walked closer to Vilem and now it was up to them to start the fight. Nazneen extended her arm, pointing her palm up she motioned for him to come.

This excited the crowd for different reasons.

Vilem sprinted forward to attack Nazneen but she avoided the contact of his fist by moving out of the way swiftly. He was quick to swing at her again but she was faster and before he could try again she swung at him instead and added a kick.

A few gasps followed.

Vilem figured he was at a disadvantage so he began talking to her. Malachi missed what he said from all the whispers around but from the slight change in Nazneen’s expression, she wasn’t pleased. Malachi hoped she wouldn’t fall for his tricks.

After that the fight became vicious. Nazneen didn’t care much to avoid being hit this time but she hit back much hard. It turned bloody in just a moment but it bother Nazneen. She was healing faster than he had ever witnessed and soon he knew why. She was transforming.

Becoming part beast was something difficult to do and dragons only triggered that part when mating. Otherwise, shifting completely was much easier. But Nazneen seemed to harness the powers of her dragon in her human form without difficulty.

Parts of her body got covered in scales, her fangs, and claws protruded and her pupils changes, now showing the beast within. Vilem was alarmed but he could only fight. His pride wouldn’t allow him to just give up.

“I will make it quick for you,” she said, her voice sounding venomous, and then she did as she promised. Her body became the weapon it was and her hands sliced like swords into her opponent like sharp blades, making him fall into his own pool of blood.

An eerie silence followed and Malachi wasn’t sure what it meant.

Nazneen ignored her injured opponent on the ground and walked around, her eyes searching for the next victim. The only son of the Waiwen family had been sitting among the crowd and watching. He stood up from his seat, trying to hide his nervousness. The poor man couldn’t withdraw even when he knew his fate would be the same as Vilem’s.

While he prepared himself, Nazneen’s eyes searched through the crowd briefly. She was still waiting for Ares. What was wrong with that man?

Nazneen returned her attention to her opponent. Her body was still covered in scales and this time she didn’t wait to be attacked. She went head-on and finished off quickly, not caring about the man’s pride.

It was for the better. Now people knew just how strong she was if they wanted a ruler based on strength. When she was done, she didn’t wait for any applause on cheers. She just walked away. That worked to her advantage and now people were curious about her.

The attention-seeking princess did not care about anyone’s opinions anymore.

Malachi motioned for the head of the messengers to announce who would be the ruler of the X-clan.

“She can half-shift and stay like that.” Saul came to them, as the messenger went to make his announcement. “These men had no chance, to begin with.” He shook his head with pity.

Being partly in dragon form doubled her powers when she was already a Katharos and a skilled fighter but she let herself get beat up quite a bit as well.

“She lost her temper for a while.”

“She needs to get a little angry to shift like that. But where is her breedmate still?”

***

Ares woke up after having slept on the cold floor. His throat was dry and his thirst for blood reached a whole different level. He couldn’t hear or smell anything in the room he was locked in. He had tried everything from firing at the door, and window, to trying to break through but there was an invisible barrier holding him in.

Why did the witch keep him specifically?

He lay down and stared at the ceiling. His parents. His eyes burned again. He truly disappointed himself by getting his hopes up. Why would he suddenly wish for something that he never had before?

His mother had him out of wedlock. She was sent away to stay hidden until she gave birth to him so as to not ruin the family’s reputation. Then he was forcefully taken away from her and she was lied to by his grandfather that her son died.

His mother passed away a few days later from blood loss and his grandfather gave him away to a childless family. A family that later abandoned him when he showed signs of being different.

His father also met his end in a conflict between the Marozaks. It wasn’t unusual for Marozaks to get into deadly fights for dominance. His father was a strong man with power and influence which naturally made the people in his territory pick him as the alpha. But his father had a different vision of life in mind. He came to land to follow that vision but trouble followed him instead. The enemies were plenty and they wanted him dead.

To put it simply, his parents were dead. Not one of them was alive. Not one of them spent a day with him. What was he expecting?

He shut his eyes, and the images of his mother’s cries as he was taken away haunted him. Her green eyes… he inherited her green eyes and brown hair but he had his father’s features.

He didn’t know them but they looked kind to him. His mother had cried and fought for him. His father never got a chance to get back to his mother. He didn’t even know he would have a son one day.

Not wanting to be tortured by this knowledge anymore, he sat up. “How long do you intend to keep me in here?” He called out loud.

“I understand you are old but aren’t you taking too much time to decide what to…”

Before he could finish his sentence the door flung open. The old man stood with his hands in front of his stomach, resting on top of each other. “I apologize for being late.”