Possession ＆ Shadows – The Accalia Series Book 1 & 2

Ava Pov

“What do you want?” I questioned Adam, who had portaled me away from the security room, into what I can only assume was his bedroom. He sat on his bed and smirked.

“You have a feisty nature. Much like my Sorena. That’s good. It will make you much more fun when you are my queen,” Adam says, infuriating me.

“I already have a mate. I’m damn sure not looking for another,” I told him.

“A mate who does not want you based on what my sources tell me,” he says, crossing his arms. His hazel eyes tried burning into mine, but all I felt was annoyance.

“That’s none of your fucking business. Mated or not, Atlas is still my mate, and I will never betray him, unlike Sorena, who betrayed you.” I told him cockily. I knew I was playing with fire when I said it, and his eyes turned pure gold before turning back to hazel.

“I know what you’re trying to do. Provoke me. It won’t work. Unlike my brother, I am not the monster you think I am. I loved Sorena. I would have died for her.” He told me. The look in his eyes was one of honesty.

“She was not who you think she was,” I told him.

“You mean the fact that she was part demon? Of course, I knew. She told me the first day we met. She was the only daughter of the witch queen, Ana. Her father was a demon, and she inherited both natures. I just chose to keep that fact from Atlas. It was not his business,” he said, causing me to be shocked but even more upset.

“So instead, you condemn Atlas to be sent to my realm, only to be tortured by another demon. Do you know what the fuck demons do? They destroy. The demon you sent Atlas too stole his face and wreaked havoc on my entire family. He almost ruined our lives. You have no idea the extent a demon will go to.” I spat at him in anger.

“To be frank, Atlas was supposed to be punished for raping my mate. Anything that happens to you or anyone else is of no concern to me, as it was not done by my hands.” He said, his eyes switching to gold again. He was angry, and his dragon was trying to take over, but I didn’t care. All I heard from him was weak excuses.

“Atlas is not a rapist. Your mate tried to seduce him, then lied when she couldn’t get what she wanted. She was pathetic, making false claims. If you weren’t so fucking hotheaded, you would have seen that. Instead, you let yourself get infested with demon spawn. Your father knew it. Good riddance, I say.” I told him, but before I knew it, he was in front of me, pinning me to the wall. His eyes were only gold now. His dragon was in control.

“Choose your next words carefully. Beauty will not save you from my wrath, should you continue to utter anything against our mate,” he growled. I used my power to blast him off of me and onto the other side of the room, causing a crack in the wall. I could feel myself heating up with a wave of heat I had never felt before. I raised my hand and tossed him onto another wall. Blood was gushing from his head. He tried to get up but couldn’t move due to me pinning him down.

“Touch me again, and I will kill you. King or not?” I told him. His eyes widened.

“How are you doing magic here? This room is witch proof,” he said. Interesting. His question threw me off a bit, but I ignored it. I used my magic to lift the bounds I had on him and walked out of his room. He didn’t follow me. Good. I walked around, almost getting lost, until I bumped into a man. He was a bit taller than me, with tan skin, dark brown curly hair, and green eyes. I backed away immediately.

“I’m sorry,” I told him. He smiled, his dimples showing.

“No worries,” he said, speaking in a deep voice. He was dressed in all white. A servant is here. “Are you new here?” he asked, and I nodded.

“I thought so. I usually know everyone here. Are you okay? You look a bit annoyed by something, he asked.

“Yes, I am fine,” I told him. There was no way I was going to tell my sh*t to a stranger.

“Well, hopefully you make a better liar to your mate,” he said bluntly, and it caused me to smile a bit.

“I am. I promise.” I told him, and he shrugged.

“Well, ma’am, I am just the help, but if you ever need someone to talk to, don’t hesitate to find me. I am a better listener than anyone here,” he said, with his eyes gazing at mine. I could tell he was serious.

“Thank you, but I’m actually just looking to get back to the dungeons. Can you point the way to me, please?” I asked him, and he nodded, smiling.

“I can’t take you there myself since I have duties, but if you keep this hall straight and take a left, you will see a flight of stairs. The staircase is the quickest way to get outside, and that will lead you on the path to the dungeons,” he said. He turned my shoulders in that direction, and I felt something like a charge surge through me. It was exhilarating, yet it scared me a bit. I backed off his touch, thanking him before leaving. When I turned back around, he was gone. Strange. Does everyone here have powers? Following his instructions, I followed them until I came outside the dungeon again, just as Atlas was coming out. He had a worried look on his face.

“There you are. Kai felt something was wrong, and when I went to check on you, you were gone,” he said. I told him about Adam and the guy who led me back here. He growled at the part with Adam, but I would have sworn I saw curiosity in his eyes when I told him about me using my magic in Adam’s room.

“What is it?” I asked him.

“There is the only person who should ever be able to use magic in the king’s room, and that was the dragon queen centuries ago. She too had witch abilities and magic-proofed the room, so she would be the only one able to do so. However, you are not part dragon, and her magic only allowed dragon queens to do so.” Atlas explained, and I nodded. It would make sense why Adam was shocked. I shrugged it off.

“I don’t know. I just know I was able to. Once I got out of there, one of your servants directed me here.” I told him, with my thoughts floating towards the mystery servant. Why were they going there? I shook it from my head. Atlas suddenly paused, talking to his dragon.

“It’s almost time,” he said, and he moved to Kai.

Climb on. I heard his voice say it in my head, and I did. We flew until we reached an area that looked like a gladiator arena. There were torches surrounding the arena on each row of seats, with a circle of fire on the inside separating the crowd from the field. This looked familiar. Where did I see this from? Once we landed, he shifted back to his human form, leading me to a golden seat separated from the crowd that would give me a view of everything. I turned to the crowd to see most of them looking at me or trying to get a look at me. I also saw Jasmine, Samael, Dad, and Jessica in the stands.

I looked at Atlas, who seemed to be struggling with something. Suddenly, he hugged me, which threw me off guard for a second, but it felt so good. I hugged him back. He pulled back and looked me in the eyes, and without saying a word, he turned around and went into the stadium. Midnight was approaching fast. I could see Adam on the other side of the arena. A rush of darkness filled me, and I turned to the left, only to see the strange man from earlier standing in the crowd with his eyes on me. His aura was so dark. I was both alarmed and curious, but my attention was needed elsewhere.

A man who I recognized as Atlas’s uncle spoke.

“You both have accepted the Serpent Selis. A rite that is sacred to our kind. There is only one rule. None of you will leave this arena until the other one dies,” he said, and I gasped. Die? Atlas didn’t tell me this. Atlas turned back around and glanced at me, but turned back around when he noticed my horrid expression at this news. I thought this was a fight for submission. It was not a fight to the death.

“The ring of fire will burn out only when the sacred rite is over,” Ellis said.

“BEGIN,” his voice boomed before exiting.

Suddenly, the beat of drums was heard, and the crowd cheered. As midnight stuck, I admit, nothing could have ever prepared me for what I was about to see or the horrible events that followed.