The Usurper's Throne

9

Damien was going to kill me.

I had a plan. I could hardly just walk up to Elijah and ask him what he knew about elemental magic. My search for books on the old magic after my encounter with the Wereking was cut off by Ironside. After the Wereking left, Ironside chewed me out for putting myself in danger and threatened to lock me in my room.

Needless to say, my plan would require the gammas be kept in the dark.

I could ask Eric to teleport me away, but I didn't want to drag him and Berry into this, especially if it meant facing the Wereking's wrath. I may have been protected, but they were not.

My opportunity came faster than I anticipated.

I kept my eyes peeled for an opportunity to talk with Elijah. The problem I continually ran up against was that he was nowhere to be found. Beside running into him and his uncle with Damien, they were ghosts.

I spent much of Sunday in the library again. Damien disappeared to organize pack affairs, making me swear that I would not fly today. Even if I wanted to, the gammas wouldn't let me. They stayed close.

Annoyingly close. After lunch, the gammas swapped out. Ironside was replaced with Reid. He reluctantly allowed me into the library and I searched the third floor of the library.

It was when I grabbed a book on African American Spiritual that my hands started to sparkle with energy. I was afraid that I was going to set the books on fire, but they didn't burn anything. Then, they fizzled out. Reid met my eyes, but didn't say anything to Damien when we connected for dinner. 

Everyone in the castle gathered for a communal meal. For some reason, the king placed Damien's crew at his table. Damien sat next to me, keeping my hand in his vice-like grip throughout the meal. It made cutting my chicken nearly impossible. Eric and Berry dipped their heads in a private conversation. The gammas who were awake were blank. I had seen them goofing around all day; now I saw them as everyone else perceived them; rigid, unmoving, and horribly scary.

Servants dressed in purple suits delivered the pots and pans of food: chicken, potatoes, and several vegetables.

As I reached for the pot of potatoes, Damien slapped my hand. "Dove, please."

"Should I not have potatoes?" I asked quizzically.

Damien smiled my way. It sent butterflies through my stomach. "Potatoes are a great idea. Please allow me to serve you."

"Oh," I realized. I sat there awkwardly as he let my hand go and shoveled potatoes onto my plate. Way too many potatoes. "Not that many, Damien," I said too late. He ignored me and proceeded to serve himself.

The Wereking and his wife were at the head of the table, Roger by their sides. A woman, who I presumed was Roger's wife sat next to him. Elijah was nowhere to be found. Then, there were several guards between them and finally our group. The conversation stuck in our respective groups, although we shared the table. The other tables were full of others, some from the castle and others visiting from other packs.

This week was full of activities, I learned. I knew that in one week, Damien would be battling the Wereking. I did not know that Monday, every alpha from every pack would begin arriving. Tuesday would be the same. Wednesday was a feast and celebration of the Wereking's history in case he was killed. Thursday, there would be a celebration of Damien and Cedar pack. Then, on Friday, there was a ball. Saturday, they would duel.

It was frightening.

A part of me wondered if I should wait to find the books on elementals until after Damien fought. But I needed to know what he was up against. He knew the Wereking was an elemental. Did he honestly think he would win? Could he?

Suddenly, Damien excused himself. He gestured for his gammas and Eric to follow him, leaving Berry and I. Damien leaned down to me, "Issue at Cedar. Go to the room immediately after dinner."

"What happened?" I asked.

He glared at me. "Straight after dinner."

"Of course," I said quickly. He ignored Berry and they all spun off, jogging out of the room.

The Wereking sighed loudly once they left. "Decorum would insist that they ask to be excused. Barbarians."

I opened my mouth to defend them, the snapped it shut. This was my chance.

"Sir?" I asked softly. Suddenly, everyone grew silent and stared. My face blushed a bright red, and I looked down at my hands on my lap. Suddenly, I had the overwhelming desire for Damien to be here.

"Yes?" the king replied. Despite his graying hair and extra weight, his voice was strong. I glanced up and saw his eyes had not moved from the plate of food in front of him.

I took a deep breath. "Um. I believe that I am...in possession of old magic, which I think technically makes me an outlaw." This was the risky part. I had rehearsed what to say, but I couldn't control his response. "The problem is that I don't think I can get rid of it. I mean, something tried, but a few days later, it was back. It's not like a sweatshirt that I can just take off—"

"Get on with it, child," he said. He sounded bored.

I swallowed. "Do you know of anyone who can wield the old magic? Someone who might be able to help me control it? I am afraid that I might break something. Before, it was neutral inside of me, but now, it has started to..." I hesitated, looking for the right word for the golden energy at my fingertips when I flew.

"Fizzle?"

I glanced over to where Elijah's uncle, Roger sat.

I nodded and looked back at the king. "Fizzle," I repeated.

Finally, the king's eyes met mine. I blinked a few times and avoided eye contact. This was the king, after all. After what felt like a year, I heard him speak. "Tomorrow at dawn. Meet my brother in the library."

"Thank you," I said quickly.

"Child, I hope you do not take this as a kindness. I simply cannot have a usurper burning down my castle because she cannot keep her illegal...fizzling...under control."

I nodded. I wanted to defend myself, say that I wasn't a usurper. I had nothing to do with anything. But I kept my mouth shut. This is what I wanted. I had hoped that Elijah would be the one I met with, but Roger seemed as good as any.

Yet, I couldn't help but recognize the tug of fear in my chest; the only reason Damien had marked me was to keep me safe from the Wereking.

I didn't dare defend myself. I felt a bit of relief and met Roger's eyes. There was a ghost smile behind his stoic face.