New Chapter is up. Sorry for the delay. Enjoy.
Cari POV
It had been a typical morning, until a human showed up at my door.
George had been the last person I had expected when I opened my door. Dani was not with him and the look in his eye was one of desperation. Over the months since Dani and George had officially started dating, I had come to know George quite well. Dani had told me once that he was the type of person you couldn't help but like. Dammit if she hadn't been right.
I came out of my kitchen carrying two cups of coffee. I handed one to George, then took a seat across from him in my living room.
"So, what's got you all worried." I asked once I was seated. George said he needed clarification about something Dracon he didn't understand and Dani refused to tell him about. If it was something she wouldn't talk about, then I doubted I could either, but I figured i'd hear him out.
"What's a challenge in Dracon terms?" He asked.
I almost spit out the sip of coffee I had just taken. "Where did you hear about challenges?"
"I walked in on Dani and Wyatt arguing last night. When I came in, Wyatt challenged me, then Dani told him she accepted the challenge herself. The look she gave me after Wyatt left scared me, Cari. She looked like I did when I first lost Fred."
I stood. "This is bad. You said she accepted the challenge herself?"
"Yes. What's going on?" George asked, standing in front of me.
I took a deep breath to calm myself, letting it out slowly. "A challenge is an archaic Dracon tradition that has been abandoned by most of our kind. Centuries ago, when a male Dracon wanted a female Dracon who was already seeing someone, dating, not married or betrothed, he would issue a challenge to the male. They would fight to the death and the winner got the girl. Sometimes, very rarely, a female would accept the challenge herself. If she wins, she can stay with her current mate, if she dies, then the opposing male was honor bound to leave the other male in peace."
"Shit." George swore under his breath.
"Females accepted the challenge themselves when they cared too much about their mate and didn't want them harmed. The challenge almost always ended with the female's death, since we are considerably smaller than our male counterparts. It was considered the ultimate sacrifice for the man you loved. Very few Dracons follow the tradition anymore. It's considered barbaric."
"Well, obviously Wyatt doesn't seem to mind it." George took me by the shoulders. "Where would this challenge be fought?" He asked, desperate.
"You can't stop it, George. To interfere would mean Wyatt would have every right to kill you, and considering you're only human, he will as soon as he sees you."
"I can't let Dani be killed. Not for me. Please, Cari, there has to be a way."
I thought about it for a moment and looked up at the clock. It was 11:30AM "Challenges are carried out at noon the day after the initial challenge. The only way to stop the fight is for Dani's parents to betroth her to someone else. If she's officially spoken for, Wyatt's challenge is void."
"Can't I just ask her to marry me?"
"No." I replied, giving George a sad look. "It doesn't work like that. Once a challenge is made, only the parents can break it up. You need to go talk to Sabrina and Darrion. I'll go to Dani and try and convince her how stupid this whole idea is. Maybe I can convince her to back down. Challenges are honor bound, so the only reason she's acknowledging it at all has to be to ensure your safety. If she dies, you're safe, but if she ignores Wyatt, he could come after you. "
With no further words, George disappeared before my eyes and I exited my house, shifting in mid step and headed towards the challenge arena at full speed. I only prayed one of us got to her before it was too late.
Unfortunately, it would take me almost 30 minutes to fly to the arena.
To Be Continued...