Chapter 53 - What’s happening to me?

EMMA

The moment Hadrian leaves, the air starts to change. A cloud moves over the descending sun. Parents take their children away from the festival and the merchants close their stands. The day is ending and the Blood Moon will soon rise.

I wanted to argue with Hadrian, but he didn’t take no for an answer. I’m walking through the streets of the city back to the palace.

A couple is making out, actually more than one. They litter against the walls and on any available benches. *What an odd thing.*

“Uhm Emma,” Miles calls behind me.

I turn to look at my guards. Callum is scowling as usual. Miles has an uncomfortable look on his face. “The palace is that way.” Miles points to my left.

I notice the familiar path to the palace. I walked too far again. *Will I ever learn?*

I spot Marius talking to some of the other soldiers. Marius turns his eyes to me as if he knew I was watching. *Shoot.* I debate taking another route back to the palace. I walk in the other direction and take a detour.

Marius catches up to me and leisurely keeps up with my pace. “Are you not going to watch the tournament?”

I shake my head. “No.” Hadrian was clear about his request. Go back to our rooms and don’t come out until the sun rises.

“Don’t you want to watch your mate fight?” Marius counters.

Yes, I really want to watch the tournament. Of course, I want to see Hadrian win. I want it so bad, that it’s nagging in my chest and begs me to turn around.

“Hadrian said I should go back to the palace,” I say more to myself than to him.

“Are you not even a little curious?” He tempts me with what I want.

A cloaked figure walks up the square in my direction. The cloak is old and ragged. The hood obscures the face of the person as they walk straight my way.

I notice too late what their intention is. They lift the hilt of a dagger and start to run in my direction. The dagger is sharp with the intention to harm.

Their goal is me.

They move in a blur and my eyes cannot keep up. The dagger glints in the light and I’m too slow to go out of the way. I catch a hint of a female jawline when she reaches me. I can only take one more breath before she drives her knife down.

The broad shoulders of Callum enter my vision and I watch the knife disappear in his shoulder. It tears through the fabric of his uniform and into his flesh.

Miles tackles the woman to the ground, with her face pressed against the cobblestones.

Callum stumbles with a scowl on his face and clutches the knife in his shoulder. I walk up to him, but he holds up a hand. “I’m fine, it wasn’t silver.” He pulls the knife out and stands up like it’s nothing. Blood soaks up in the fabric of his uniform, but he acts like nothing happened.

I’m stunned. Callum was furthest away from me and still made his way to save me. He had the least reason to, but still performed his duty. I’ve always doubted if Callum would even save me if it came to it. It has always been clear that he doesn’t like me, but he committed to saving me and injuring himself in the process.

“Good work soldiers, you can take the woman into custody and I’ll escort Princess Emma back to the palace,” Marius calls beside me. He stands tall with the power of his authority.

Callum looks from me to his brother and finally to Marius. His hazel-red eyes have a contemplative edge to them and for a second I think he’ll refuse the order. I notice how he locks his jaw. “Understood, Captain Marius.”

Miles holds the arms of my attacker behind her back and she has her head hanging low. Callum and Miles leave with my attacker and I’m alone with Marius.

———————

Marius guides me in the direction of the arena and further away from the palace.

“Shouldn’t we go back to the palace?”

Marius brings me to a closed-off area high above the ground. “Have a drink first, it calms the nerves. I’ll take you back in ten minutes. How does that sound?”

I can still feel the jitters running through my body and the tremble in my fingers. The attack was so fast and my body is slowly catching up to what happened. Marius must see it too and I let him guide me.

Two large men are guarding the entrance. They lift two thick red curtains for us. I walk through the velvet curtains that are soft to the touch. There is darkness before I walk into the light.

The platform overlooks the terrain of the tournament on one side and on the other side is a view of the square in front of the palace.

The area has plush sofas around and servants serving drinks in high-stem glasses. There are middle-aged men wearing suits and women in lavish dresses.

Marius hands me a glass of a light coral-colored drink. I’m actually surprised that he’s still here. "Shouldn't you be with the other contestants?”

Marius shakes his head and takes a sip from his tumbler of whiskey. “I’m not fighting anymore. Orders from the king.” He watches me with a strange intensity I cannot decipher.

“Really?” *That’s odd.*

Marius puts on a sad face and dramatically clutches his heart. “I am heartbroken though, that I won’t be able to ask for that kiss.” He says as he raises one brow.

I shake my head and roll my eyes. “In your dreams.” I take a sip of the drink. It’s slightly sweet and tastes like pomegranate. There is a slight bubble to it and it tickles on my tongue. The drink flows down my throat without the burn of alcohol.

After a minute I start to feel better and the tremble leaves my hands. I shake my shoulders loose and I feel the tension disappear. This drink works wonders.

Marius excuses himself when one of the men tries to get his attention. I walk around the platform and walk straight into the line of sight of Princess Morana.

I freeze when I spot the ruthless princess. The tension immediately returns. *Shit.* Princess Morana is sitting on a red velvet chair that's presented like a throne. Her hair is loose and falls straight to her shoulders. She doesn’t wear her uniform for once and is dressed in a blood-red dress that hugs her curves. Her red hair seems brighter than normal, almost like flames.

She eyes me with her sharp, malicious eyes. “So, my brother let you out to play."

I swallow and grip the stem of the glass harder and wish there was alcohol in it. “I’m not his pet.”

“I beg to differ.” The set of her mouth screams boredom and she looks out on the city.

A group of howls sound in the distance. The howls come from the forest. The sky turns red and at a faster pace now and the moon rises on the horizon. It brings back memories that I want to keep buried.

I walk toward the edge of the platform. The moon looks bigger than usual and if it wasn’t paired with so many daunting memories, then I would say the sky looks beautiful.

“I have to give it to you. You're bold for coming here tonight.” The princess says and I can feel the eyes of the princess burn in my back.

“Why?”

She chuckles. “You’ll see.”

A high-pitched screech travels through the air and it sends a chill over my spine. My eyes catch a naked woman on the square. The only thing she does wear is a red choker. Two naked men have her caged and bend her in position. Their hands grip her hair and hips as they bring her close to take her with their...

*Oh god.*

“She’s a volunteer.” Princess Morana says as she comes up next to me and watches the same scene.

I tear my eyes away from the scene in front of me and find Morana walking up to me. “What?” My face is burning.

The princess gestures for the square with her drink. “As you can see, there are many mateless wolves within Sanguinem.”

My eyes are automatically drawn back to the square. More and more naked people litter the scene. All in highly obscene positions.

I’ve had sex once. I’ve heard my brother once or twice with one of the girls in town, but I’ve never seen it.

The princess lifts her shoulders like it’s nothing. “She’ll get fucked a few times and then she can try to get home.”

My eyes widen. *“Try to get home?”*

“The males will chase her, of course. They’ll take her more along the way.”

Princess Morana shrugs it off. “But she can always shift. The females are faster anyway.”

There are no innocent make-out sessions anymore. When Cecile said it would be a *fuckfest*, she didn’t mention that they would do it in the streets. She didn’t say that the festival was actually a disguise for an orgy.

I drink the rest of my drink, wishing even more that it was alcohol. I watch one couple and I cannot take my eyes off them. The woman is lying on the ground and the man has his head between her legs. It’s not rough like the other couples. Her back arches and she seems to enjoy it.

“Shouldn’t they do this behind closed doors?” I say as I swallow and tear my eyes from them.

“The strong ones can. The stronger the wolf, the stronger the restraint, but also the higher the drive. For most, it’s easier this way to find a partner.” She says with a bored wave.

My body feels hot in a way that I didn’t expect. Not flushed from shame, but burning with desire. The feeling of hot magma flows through my veins and ends up in my stomach. This has only ever happened when Hadrian was near. I don’t know where the feeling is coming from.

A hot shiver runs over my spine and I feel a haze coming over me.

*What’s happening to me?*