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Chapter 0690
Enzo
I scrambled to my feet, my palms scraping on the icy stone floor. The swirling portal had vanished, abandoning me alone in this strange ce. Smooth obsidian walls surrounded me, broken only by a high, domed ceiling. There were no visible doors or windows in the expansive circr room.
Except, I wasn''t alone. As I looked up, I saw them: the audience.
With growing unease, I slowly turned, taking in the faces that started at me from perches high above. Shadowy figures lurked around the room''s perimeter, partially obscured by tall ck pirs.
I inhaled sharply. The scents of multiple animals-but something more, something... wrong. These weren''t just animals. They were shifters.
M smiled, baring a row of teeth that locked all too white in this dark ce.
"Wee, my subjects!" she called out theatrically, her voice booming and echoing through the high ceilings. "We have a very special guest tonight... my new mate!"
The word echoed mockingly in my head. Mate? Revulsion and fury chumed in my stomach as the implications sank in. I already had a mate, and even if I didn''t, I would certainly never choose M.
"Like hell!" I snarled. But she merely chuckled again.
Suddenly, the creatures around us shifted. Birds, cats, reptiles, animals I couldn''t even recognize, turned into a sea of very ''human'' faces. Their eyes glowed as they looked down at me hungrily, their mouths agape and their teeth bared.
And then they spoke.
"All hail the queen and her mate!" the people cheered.
A cold sweat began to take over me, and the hairs on the back of my neck began to raise. This didn''t make sense. I knew that there were different species of shifters out there, but there were a lot of them here. Way more than I knew existed, and all in one ce, no less.
"Yes, worship your queen!" M cried out gleefully, holding her arms outstretched over her head, while I looked on in disgusted shock. The people prostrated themselves, bowing to her as if she was their sick, twisted goddess.
How was this possible? M, the tear doctor of a hockey team, was some sort of barbarian queen? Where even was I? Was I even above ground? Was I in the human realm, or the supernatural realm? Was I in any realm at all, or was I hurtling through space?
Just then, furious drums and pipes suddenly echoed from nowhere and everywhere at once. The misshapen congregation of people swayed and chanted to the hypnotic rhythms.
"Mate... mate... mate..."
I felt as if I was going to vomit. "No!" I growled, straining against the silver ropes still holding me in agony. We had to get away from here!
Abruptly, M rose, and the music stopped. In the ringing silence she called out, "The iming ceremony will ur at dawn!"
More ear-shattering shrieks and squeals and cries as the crowd cheered. "For now, let us feast!"
Before I could react, two hulking guards grabbed my arms, their hands crushing my flesh. I thrashed desperately against them, but the silver rope that they suddenly thrust around my neck made me yell out in searing pain, my limbs going weak.
They hauled me away while M''s terrible gaze bore into me. "Enjoy your amodations, my love," she cooed. "We have an eternity to spend together after tomorrow."
Her maniacalugh followed me into the dark tunnel. The guards carried me down, down countless stairs, their relentless grips bruising my skin. Finally, we emerged into a dungeon- like room lined with cells.
Rough hands suddenly flung me into them, and I hit the floor hard. The sound of the doors mming shut was deafening.
Dazed, I peered around my prison. A simple bed. A wash tub in one corner. No windows, one metal door.
And not a fleck of anything but silver surrounding me. Escape was impossible.
For hours | battered against the silver bars, all to no avail. Every time I touched them, my skin seared from the silver that was wrought within the iron. Iron and silver, strength and magic. I was trapped.
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