"I've come to stop it," I tell her with complete confidence.

Olivia smiles and I see a look of approval enter her eyes. "Then I whole heartedly support your efforts. If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know."

"If you could lend me your support when I make my demand to Lorcan," I tell her, "I would appreciate it."

"You have my full sponsorship," Olivia says, her eyes leaving my face to look at the cage Kyna is imprisoned in. "The sooner we get her out of that thing the better."

"Agreed," I say.

Suddenly, the music being played comes to an abrupt halt, and the people in the room stop dancing. Complete silence reigns as I turn back around to see what those around me are staring at on the other end of the room.

I see Lorcan Halloran standing in front of an enormous black obsidian throne chair. He's wearing a dark grey wool suit with the lower half of the sleeves and pants made of black leather. The jacket collar is double layered with the same black leather as a separate, underlying collar.

"Greetings," Lorcan says as his eyes narrow on me. His face is a lesson in complete control.

With this one word uttered by their emperor, the people of Stratus act as though it were a command for them to gather against the sides of each wall. Their parting clears an un.o.bstructed path between my small group and Lorcan.

"I must say," Lorcan continues, "I don't remember extending an invitation to our little soiree to such....esteemed guests, two empresses and an overlord no less. How generous of you all to grace us with your presence and come to personally wish Kyna and I well in our upcoming nuptials. Don't you think it was thoughtful of them, my dear?"

Lorcan looks up at Kyna in her gilded cage with a c.o.c.ky smirk. If Kyna's voice were audible, I'm sure we would have all heard some choice words from the princess in answer to her brother's question.

I begin to make my way down the room towards Lorcan, which immediately draws his attention back to me. Malcolm and Brutus walk slightly behind and on either side of me. Olivia trails behind us, giving me the lead in our little processional.

I don't say anything as I walk towards Lorcan, and my continued silence has the desired effect. The closer I get the less sure of himself he looks. If I had respected his rule as Emperor of Stratus, the code of conduct all rulers abide by would have dictated that I speak to him by now. However, my continued silence shows to those present that I do not respect his status or his rule. In some circ.u.mstances, it could ignite a war, but in this instance, I'm only looking for a battle.

Once I stand in front of him, I stare Lorcan in the eyes until he backs down and glances away. His action tells me exactly what I need to know. Deep down inside his shallow exterior is a coward of the worst sort. It's a trait I plan to exploit to the fullest.

"It's been a long time since I saw you last, Lorcan," I finally say. "I had a hard time believing you actually intended to marry your own sister. So I came to verify your ridiculous intentions for myself."

"Our union will yield a pure-blooded Halloran to carry on the family line," Lorcan says, sounding self-righteous about such a fact. "Perhaps we'll start a new trend among the royal families. They should be more careful in protecting their own bloodlines in such a way. It might prevent people of," Lorcan looks me up and down scathingly, "lesser ancestries from polluting the strength of future leaders."

"And what does your sister think about such an arrangement?" I ask, hearing Kyna rattle the bars of her cage letting me and everyone in the room know exactly what she thinks about her brother's malevolent plans for her future. "Well, I guess that answers my question."

"Kyna simply doesn't see the brilliance in my plan yet," Lorcan answers. "But after our wedding night, I'm sure she won't have any complaints."

Some of the people in attendance snicker at Lorcan's crude comment, making me wish I could turn on them and slap some reason into them. I don't understand why they desire to see Kyna suffer at the hands of her brother.

"When I was a child," I say, slowly tugging at the tips of the glove on my right hand with my left one. "Empress Catherine made sure I understood the laws within each cloud city. There is one here in Stratus, even though it is a bit on the archaic side, that I remember quite distinctly. It's a little something called 'wager of battle'."

I completely pull off my glove and throw it down in front of Lorcan's booted feet.

The look on Lorcan's face tells me he has no idea what the significance of the glove at his feet holds.

"I'm afraid I'm not very familiar with that law," Lorcan admits, looking up from the glove back into my eyes.

"The law states that anyone can challenge a peer of equal rank to a duel to settle a dispute," I say.

"I wasn't aware Stratus had a dispute with Cirrus," Lorcan says snidely.

"I have a dispute with you," I tell him, not trying to hide the disgust I feel for him from my voice. "I accuse you of forcing your sister into an unholy matrimony that most people with any self-respect," I say looking at some of the party's attendees, "would speak up against. But since the people of Stratus seem to be willing to overlook your transgression against Kyna, I feel it's my duty to speak on her behalf and act as her champion."

"I don't believe Kyna asked you for such a thing," Lorcan says, fully understanding what it is I'm asking for now.

I look up at Kyna in her gilded cage to make sure she's looking down at me.

"Princess Kyna Halloran," I call up to her, "do you agree to have me act as your champion in this matter?"

Kyna looks hesitant and worried by my request. It's obvious she doesn't understand why I would want to wager her freedom on an act of physical combat against her brother. To ease her worry, I wink at her. I see her shoulders sag a bit letting me know that some of her worry has been put aside for the moment. Slowly, she begins to nod her head in acquiescence to my request.

I look back at Lorcan.

"Since the princess accepts me as her champion, you need to pick between one of two options, Lorcan. Either you can pick up the glove I've lain at your feet and accept my challenge to resolve this issue by combat, or you can graciously accept defeat and allow me to take Kyna away from this place. The choice is yours. Personally, I hope you pick the glove up. I haven't had a good fight in a while."

Lorcan's face turns blood red. I can't determine if it's from embarra.s.sment or anger. Though, it might simply be a result of both emotions playing across his face.

Lorcan slowly crouches to the floor and gingerly picks up my glove.

"I accept your challenge, Empress Anna," he says, rising back to his full height.

"Since I'm the one who gave the challenge," I say, "you are allowed to choose which weapons we use."

"Swords," Lorcan says without hesitation.

It was what we expected. Abaddon would think his weapon gave him an advantage over me.

"Swords it is then," I say. "And as the impartial referee in our duel, I suggest we use Empress Olivia since she is the only other person of our rank in attendance."

"Whatever," Lorcan says indifferently. "Will this be a fight to the death?"

I hear a combined gasp issue from the crowd around us at such a suggestion.

"If you wish," I tell him, "though, if you find that you would rather live than die, you can use the code word from the old days to declare you have been vanquished by your opponent and still keep your head."

"And what word would that be?" Lorcan asks c.o.c.kily, like he has no doubt he will win the fight and have no need of its use.

"Craven," I tell him. "If Empress Olivia hears either of us say it, she will call an end to the fight."

"And when shall we have this fight?" He asks.

"I see no reason to delay," I tell him. "How about now?"

"As you wish," Lorcan says, a touch of madness in his voice as he stares down at me.

I sense Malcolm phase away from my side, but he returns less than five seconds later with my sword in hand.

I turn towards Malcolm and take my sword from him. Malcolm pulls me up against him and kisses me for all of Stratus to see. I hear some gasps of surprise but could care less what these people think of me. I have absolutely no respect for any of them. They were willing to allow Lorcan to enter into an incestuous union with his sister. If they think I'm morally corrupt because Malcolm is simply my lover in their eyes, so be it.

When Malcolm pulls his lips away from mine, he lowers his head next to my ear.

"Remember to use all your senses," Malcolm tells me. "He can't defeat you unless you lose focus."

I nod my head letting him know I understand what he said.

"Tear this dress off of me, husband, so I can get to work."

Malcolm raises his head and smiles down at me.

"As you command, my love."

Malcolm kisses me again. Then he lets me go and kneels down in front of me on one knee. He begins to rip the lower half of my gown away from the waist down. I hear a surprised murmur come from the crowd around us, but feel their disappointment when they learn I'm wearing my white leather pants and boots beneath the skirt. Once Malcolm is finished, he stands back up with the lower half of my dress in his hands.

I turn to face Lorcan again.

"Are you ready to begin?" I ask him.

Lorcan turns his back to the crowd and me. When he turns back around, he's holding his phantom sword. The blade is composed of three curved black blades twisted around each other like a triple helix. The hilt is gold and reminds me of the wings of a bird. Wispy white smoke flows within the center of the blades making the sword appear rather ominous.

"Ready when you are," he replies with a tight-lipped smile.

I walk down to the middle of the room, setting my own sword aflame. I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirrors in the room and wonder how this fight will look to those in attendance. I just hope they have the good sense to stay out of my way.

As I'm about to look away from my reflection, I notice a man watching me. Everyone in the room is watching me, but his stare is more piercing than the rest. He's tall with short brown hair and dark brown eyes. His demeanor speaks of someone who is used to being obeyed, possibly someone men would follow into battle without question. There's something oddly familiar about him, but I can't quite place where I know him from or if I actually know him at all. Unfortunately, I don't have much time to ruminate on who he is. I have a fight to win first.

Once I'm in the center of the room, I turn back around to face Lorcan.

Malcolm rips off a strip of fabric from the remnants of my dress's skirt in his hands and walks behind me.

"This will help," he tells me, covering my eyes with the fabric.

After he blindfolds me, I feel him rest his hands on my shoulder and lean in to whisper in my ear.

"Now, go kick his a.s.s, wife," Malcolm tells me, kissing me on the side of my neck.

I smile. "That's exactly what I intend to do."

Chapter 15.

I stand completely still and wait for Lorcan to make the first move. Although there are other people in the room, I can easily distinguish his presence from theirs. A particularly bad aura surrounds him and helps separate Lorcan out from everyone else. It's almost like I can sense his smarmy att.i.tude without having to actually see the smirk on his face. His sword does nothing to help hide his position either. There's a faint sulfuric scent wafting from its blades that lets me know exactly where it is. If I didn't have the blindfold on, I'm not sure I would have even noticed it. But without my sight, my hearing and sense of smell are greatly enhanced.

I hear the sound of Lorcan's sword sing through the air behind me and know that he phased there to try and catch me off guard. I quickly turn and meet his oddly bladed sword with my own. I wonder what the people watching this fight will see. Does Lorcan's phantom sword make it appear like he's still standing in front of me or does direct contact with it vanquish the illusion that it's supposed to help him perpetuate? I have no idea since I'm blinded and can't actually watch the fight as it progresses. All I hear is the clash of our blades as they reverberate through the silence in the room.

Lorcan tries to use brute force to push me back. Apparently, he didn't get the memo from his fallen brothers that I'm stronger than any of them. He might not be a Prince of h.e.l.l, but his physical strength is just as great. As he attempts to back me up, I show him in no uncertain terms that he's no match for me in that area.

He changes tactics and uses the power of his sword to try to find an opening by catching me unawares. His attempts do nothing to gain him an advantage over me. I know exactly where he is as soon as he phases in. At one point, I hear him growl in frustration which only brings a smile to my face. My only regret is that I can't watch the fight that's taking place. The reflection of our duel in the mirrors in the room must be a remarkable sight as my flaming swords clashes against Lorcan's phantom one.

I patiently wait for my opening to take Lorcan down. I'm aware of time and know that our fight has gone on for a good half hour. Finally, I find my opening as he lowers his guard, and I 'see' my chance to end this fight. I bend down and sweep Lorcan's feet out from under him by slicing him mid-calf. He screams out in pain and falls to the floor. I tear off my blindfold just as I stick the point of my sword near his throat. By this point, we're both breathing hard from the exertion of the fight.

"Do you yield?" I demand.

Lorcan smiles, sending a shiver down my spine.

"You really shouldn't have done that," he says to me.

"Done what?" I ask. "Beat you?"

He shakes his head, continuing to smile madly.

"No. Taken your blindfold off."

I hear Malcolm shout out my name and am able to dodge Lorcan's true-self's blade just enough to only receive a cut across my right arm, causing me to lose my grip on my sword. The Lorcan I had on the ground disappears into a wisp of white smoke, and I turn in time to see the real Lorcan raise his sword like he's about to stab me in the chest with it.

I instantly feel the sting of an all-consuming hatred enter my heart. Using my newest gift from the seals, I mentally pick Lorcan up and throw him up against one of the mirrors on the wall behind him. The force of the impact causes the mirror to shatter inward, and Lorcan loses hold of his sword. Before he can recover enough to pick it back up, I phase over to him. My hands ignite with blue flames, causing the ordinary citizens of Stratus to gasp in surprise at my ability.

I grab Lorcan by the throat and squeeze the tender flesh there.

"Yield," I whisper to him. "Or I will kill you."

"And if I yield, what do I get in return?"

"A chance to live."

"What's to stop you from just coming back and killing me later?"

"Nothing. But if you release Kyna and promise to leave her alone, I'll let you live. You have my word. You're not a prince and have nothing that I need right now. I can afford to let you live, for the time being, as long as you continue to treat the people of Stratus with generosity. If you do anything to harm them or Kyna, I won't give you this opportunity to save your own skin again. I'll simply kill you. Is that understood?"

"Yes."

"Then say the word that will end this fight, or I will end it my way."

Lorcan stares at me for a moment, and I know I've just made an enemy for life.

"Craven!" Lorcan shouts out, casting the shadow of a coward on his reputation from that moment on.

"Emperor Lorcan has asked for mercy," I hear Olivia Ravensdale say to the room. "Do you accept his surrender, Empress Anna?"

I squeeze Lorcan's throat tightly, making sure he feels the power I have and understands my words to him were not empty ones. I can back them up with action.

"Yes," I say. "I accept the emperor's surrender."

I continue to stare at Lorcan feeling the power I have over him and finding it completely intoxicating. I could easily extinguish his life and be done with a possible future threat. Wouldn't it be smarter to just kill him now before he can cause more trouble later? What's the point of keeping him alive if he's simply going to make me kill him at a later date? In a way, it might be more of a kindness to slay him. Wouldn't it be crueler to give him hope that I'll continue to let him live as long as he acts the way I want him to?