Aldric groaned, every muscle in his body protesting as he attempted to rise again. His vision blurred, and the taste of iron filled his mouth. Blood trickled down his chin, but he fought against the darkness that threatened to pull him under.
He barely had ti to steady himself when the fiery whip lashed around him once more, the heat of it biting into his skin. Valerie pulled him effortlessly into the air again and threw him violently to the side.
The crowd roared in delight, and the sound of frenzied support filled the arena. From his position on the ground, Aldric could hear the gambling tickets tearing as his supporters lost hope. His vision cleared for a mont, and he saw them — so shaking their heads, others with resigned expressions, tossing away the proof of their foolish faith. They thought it was over.
Valerie, standing tall and untouched, was already turning to face the crowd, his chest heaving but his grin wide. Aldric could see the fire burning in Valerie’s eyes, the hunger for victory reflected in his smirk. He stood victorious, gloating over the slumped body of the dark Fae prince.
He turned to Islinda, his eyes gleaming with cold determination. "Watch as I purge this demon from this realm," his expression seed to say.
Islinda’s heart clenched with fear. How foolish she had been to plead with Aldric to spare Valerie when Valerie had no such intention. "Please," she muttered, her gaze pleading.
But Valerie’s eyes remained hard, unmoved by her silent plea. With a dramatic flex of his shoulder, his arms caught fire, the flas an eerie blue. The crowd gasped in astonishnt.
But it was not an ordinary fla this ti, Islinda could tell not just from the ominous change of color but from the way the mbers gasped in astonishnt.
"The blue fla," Soone muttered after recovering from the shock.
"He’s wielding the blue fla. Our crown prince is wielding the blue fla!" Another sumr Fae acknowledged with sothing like reverence in his eyes.
The Sumr Fae stood in unison, rising to their feet in reverence. Valerie stood like a god amongst them, bathed in the eerie light of his blue flas. The arena, which monts ago was filled with the chaotic roar of the crowd, had now fallen into a reverent hush.
Even Queen Maeve sat up straighter, a look of pride flickering across her usually impassive face. Yes, this was it. The respect and admiration her son needed. It was ti for them to know that Valerie was the King Astaria needed.
By this ti the sumr Faeries overwhelming support had saturated the arena and fed his ego. Valerie turned his attention back to Aldric, the first pulse of blue fla shot from his hand, heading straight for him.
Aldric barely dodged it, the heat from the impact slamming him into the barrier with a force that knocked the wind from his lungs. The crowd erupted once more, celebrating Valerie’s apparent victory as if the duel was already over.
At this point, there was only one option, either Aldric surrendered and he was treated as an outcast or die like a warrior that he was.
Islinda couldn’t bear it any longer.
"Please no..." she whispered, tears streaming down her face as Andre pulled her into his arms. She buried her face in his chest, unable to watch Aldric’s final monts.
Andre cradled her, rubbing her back while frowning. Nothing made sense. Sothing felt off. Although Valerie had trained well for this duel, judging by his mastery of the blue fla, Aldric wasn’t easy to take down.
Or perhaps it was the absence of his dark powers?
Valerie, the sneaky bastard, knew Aldric would be vulnerable without his dark powers, forbidding him from using them.
That way, Aldric was easily defeated.
But it seed.... Too easy? Aldric was a competitive and cunning bastard, there was no way his pride would allow losing Islinda to Valerie. Especially not now he had fallen for the human. Poor bastard.
Aldric barely managed to stand before Valerie attacked again with the blue fla. Aldric ran and dodged, knowing that a single hit would be fatal. The barrier shook but remained firm as Valerie’s stray flas struck it. Aldric’s supporters began to hope, realizing he might have a fighting chance.
Valerie missed again, his flas carving deep scorches into the arena floor, leaving little room for Aldric to maneuver. As strong as Aldric was, he knew he was a goner as soon as that touched him. He already had iron running in his system. He would be a goner if that hit him.
The crowd had reached a fever pitch, caught up in the intensity of the duel. Aldric was not going down easy and might have a fighting chance. Even Islinda, though terrified, dared to raise her head and watch as Aldric managed to keep himself alive, if only barely.
Valerie, frustrated by Aldric’s resilience, adjusted his strategy. Although his flas still burned bright, he knew he couldn’t sustain them for much longer. His energy was dwindling and he couldn’t afford a drain out in this situation. He was as good as dead.
He needed to end this.
Hence, he put in more effort. No longer content to stand at a distance, he began to close in, moving with the precision of a seasoned hunter. But Aldric was a cunning bastard and when he failed to strike for the umpteenth ti, he put out the blue fla, swiftly picked the weapon and went after Aldric.
Just as Valerie charged at Aldric, sothing shifted. Aldric, quick as ever, dropped low and froze the ground beneath them. His movent was smooth, calculated, and for the first ti in the fight, a grin tugged at the corners of his bloodied lips.
With a deft slide, Aldric passed under Valerie’s legs and delivered a savage punch directly to his groin.
Valerie’s eyes bulged as pain exploded through his body. His face contorted in agony, and he crumpled to the ground, clutching his private parts. For the second ti that day, Valerie was left writhing in pain, and this ti, the crowd was unsure whether to cheer or gasp.
"He’s really trying to ruin Valerie’s chances of fathering children," Andre muttered dryly, shaking his head
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