Chapter 36

Roman was already in the arena and he was surprised to see Ashta storm toward him, as she angrily glared at him. He was shocked by the look on her face. 

That wasn’t a normal face she made when she was about to fight, he thought. 

Noticeably, she was really angry. 

Oh, well, maybe this fight wasn’t going to be over as quickly as he thought, but nonetheless, he was ready for a fight. 

“Remember, the first one that stays on the ground for the full count of five, loses,” said the announcer, and then the bell rang.

Angrily, Ashta snarled at Roman and she ran at him. Aggressively, he grabbed her by the arms, but then he immediately let her go as he felt a shock wave rush through his body. The rush dazed him for a moment, and he shook his head. 

After he let Ashta go, she slid to a stop and then she turned and looked at Roman. Surprisingly, he was on his knees and he was looking at his hands. Quickly, he glanced up at her and he said,

“Thank you.” 

At that moment, Ashta realized that the reminisce must have transferred from her to him when he grabbed her. She could see the love in his eyes for her, but then it faded away quickly. Suddenly, Roman sneered at her, as he rose to his feet, and then he roared at the sky. 

“Nice trick,” he growled, as he looked back down at her. 

Surprisingly, the officials didn’t start the count, and they did not count that as a pinfall. Ashta looked at Roman for a moment, and then she smiled at him.

“Oh, you want tricks. Well, for an arrogant jerk like you, I have got plenty!” she snarled, as she threw her hands up in the air. 

At that moment, a breeze picked up around Roman and as Ashta spun in a circle, his feet were swept out from underneath him. Amused, Ashta laughed as he scrambled back to his feet and glared at her. Clumsily, Roman made a series of quick movements, and the wind picked Ashta up off of the ground. Seemingly, she laughed as she spun around in a slow circle, and then she looked down at Roman.

“Really? Did you forget that I am the true elemental princess and I can bend them to my will? Something you failed to learn because you chose to leave,” she said, as she stared down at him with a solid look on her face. 

At that moment, she made a series of movements as she descended to the ground, and then she shot a huge wave of water at Roman. Teasingly, she laughed at him, and he looked at her angrily as the water dripped from his skin and long hair. 

“Cute,” she laughed, and Roman looked up at her, as he felt a small twinge in his heart, but then it quickly faded. 

At that moment, Roman snarled angrily at her, and then he shot a wave of water at her. As the wave of water hit her, she felt the ground beneath her begin to quake. Unexpectedly, Ashta fell on her backside, and then she scrambled back to her feet. 

Surprisingly, the crowd suddenly rose from their seats, and they scrambled as quickly as they could toward the exits of the arena. Puzzled, Ashta and Roman looked up at them and then they looked at each other. At that moment, Ashta’s eyebrows shot down in anger as she angrily glared at the prince.

“Oh, my!” someone screamed from the crowd. 

“Nemiph is under attack!” someone else screamed, and then the crowd went into chaos trying to find their way to the exits. 

Angrily, Ashta glared at Roman and clenched her fists.   

“You son of a b***h!” she snarled, as she ran at him, jumped into the air, and she punched him in the jaw as hard as she could. 

Evidently, Roman’s head snapped to the side as he took a couple of stumbling steps and then he turned his head as he glared at her. Immediately, he stalked up to her, grabbed her by the throat and pushed her against the rock wall of the arena. 

“How could you? There are women and children there, your mother is there!” Ashta snapped at him, as she struggled to free herself from his grip. 

“How could I do what?” he snarled, as he glared at her, and he tightened his grip around her throat. 

“Nothing gets past you. You have the final say, and now Nemiph is under attack by your army as we speak!” she choked out, and then she raised her feet and used them to push against his abdomen as hard as she could. 

Seemingly, he let go of her and he flew back on the ground. Ashta slid to the ground as she gasped and coughed, rubbing her throat. 

“What are you talking about?” he asked, as he sat up. 

Ashta glared at him angrily, and then she lunged at him, landing on top of him. 

“You gave the order for the attack and this fight was just a distraction!” she snarled, as she continuously punched him in the head. 

Quickly, Roman brought his forearms in front of him to block her blows. Evidently, the poison was beginning to fade as he was sweating profusely, and he looked at her through the space between his arms. 

“I don’t know of any attack!” he exclaimed, and she stopped punching him, as she glared at him. 

“You’re lying!” she snarled. 

“Three...four...five. Folks, you have your winner, princess Ashta!” announced the announcer, but no one in the crowd cared. 

Surprisingly, the Selvempts and the Slayers began attacking each other, and it was udder chaos in the stands. Roman looked up at Ashta for a moment, and he swallowed hard. 

“Seriously, I did not order an attack on Nemiph!” he stated, as he put his arms down and looked at her. 

Frantically, Ashta searched his eyes and for a moment she saw the old him peek through. 

“I have to go,” she said, as she quickly stood up, and suddenly, Roman grabbed her hand. 

Curiously, she looked back at him. 

“Please, don’t go,” he said softly, and she stared at him for a moment. Then she pulled her hand away, quickly. 

“I have to. I have to go save my people,” she said, as she looked at the sky, and then she looked back down at him. 

“Goodbye, Roman,” she said, and then she was picked up in the air and her hands began to glow with fire. Suddenly, she was gone, through the opening in the ceiling. 

Amazed, Roman stared after her. That was the fire element, and he didn’t know how to call on that element. The moon god was right, she was more powerful than him. 

Angrily, he got to his feet and ran through the large door. He found his bourbon and downed a glass. Anger began to boil his blood and he superspeed to the castle. 

“Maya!” he angrily snapped, as he appeared in the throne room. 

“What have you done?” he snarled, as he saw her at the window, and Maya turned and sneered at him. 

“Exactly what I had planned to do. Nemiph will be ours, and since you couldn’t destroy that little brat, I took matters into my own hands,” she said with sparkling eyes. 

Evidently, Roman felt the trance try to take a hold of him, but he snarled and shook his head. 

“That doesn’t work on me!” he snarled, and her eyes stopped sparkling, as she scowled. 

“Where is my father?” he demanded, and Maya laughed. 

“I convinced him to join the war.” 

Angrily, Roman growled at her. 

“You did what!” he snarled, as he walked over to the bar. 

He would have one drink and then he was going to go find his father. He poured himself a glass of the clear liquor and downed the glass. Seemingly, Maya’s mixture was a little stronger than his, and he immediately felt the poison rush through his veins like fire. 

“Why don’t you go join him?” she purred. 

Without a word, Roman sneered at her and he left to go find his father. 

******************

Not too long after she left the arena, Ashta landed in Nemiph by the castle, and she could see that her people were being slaughtered as they tried to fight back. Frantically, she made a quick series of movements, and she threw fireballs at a group of Selvempt guards. The Slayers looked up at her, nodded, and then went to go fight more Selvempts. 

At that moment, Ashta turned her head and she saw a Selvempt guard push Lashanna to the ground, and then the man drew his sword back. Horrified, she watched as the guard stabbed her friend in the chest, and she quickly swiped her hand in the air.

“No!” Ashta cried, as she flung the guard away from her friend and flew over to her. 

“Lashanna!” she cried, as she took her into her arms. 

“Ashta!” Lashanna said, as she gasped for air. 

“Lashanna, I am so sorry,” Ashta cried, as she touched the side of Lashanna’s face. 

Seemingly, Lashanna’s blood soaked them both, but Ashta didn’t care, her friend was dying. Softly, Lashanna looked into Ashta’s eyes and she reached up and touched her face.  

“Just find a way to stop all of this,” Lashanna breathed, and then at that moment, the human girl took her last breath, and her hand slid from Ashta’s cheek. Longingly, Ashta looked at Lashanna and began to sob. 

“No, Lash. Please,” cried Ashta, as she looked down at her lifeless friend. 

“Lashanna!” Xavier cried, as he ran over to them. 

Horrified, Ashta looked up to see a Selvempt guard was right on his tail, and the guard stabbed Xavier in the back. Ashta watched as the blade of the sword poked through his chest, as he reached them.

“No!” Ashta cried, as his body fell next to her. 

Angrily, she threw her hand in the air and set the guard that stabbed Xavier on fire, and the man ran away screaming in pain. She continued to throw fireballs at the Selvempts she could see as she got to her feet. Suddenly, Damian was by Ashta’s side and he grabbed her arm.

“Come on. We have to get you inside,” he said, but Ashta was too angry to care. She was going to kill them all. 

Carelessly, she threw a guard into the air, and that is when she saw Roman holding his father’s dead body. 

“He’s mine!” snarled Ashta, as she pulled her arm from Damian’s grasp and she stalked toward the prince. 

“Roman!” she growled, as she got close to him. 

Sadly, he looked up at her with a tear-stricken face. Immediately, Roman let go of his father’s body and got to his feet as he glared at her. 

“This is all your fault!” he snarled at her, and Ashta growled at him.

“No, Roman. This is all your fault!” she snarled back at him.

 At that moment, he noticed that she was soaked in blood, and he wondered what had happened. 

“If you would have just bowed down and acknowledged me, none of this would have ever happened,” he finally said, and she snarled at him. 

“Now, it is time that you did,” he growled, as he stalked toward her. 

Surprisingly, Damian came out of nowhere and he slammed his shoulder into Roman’s ribs, and they toppled to the ground. As they landed, Damian punched Roman hard in the face. 

“You will not touch her!” Damian snarled, protectively, as he got to his feet. Roman laid on the ground for a moment as Damian pulled Ashta away. 

“Come on,” he said, as he grabbed her by the wrist. 

Quickly, Ashta pulled her wrist from his grip as she stared at him angrily, and then she started heading towards Roman, but he grabbed her by the waist, and carried her to the castle. Angrily, Ashta fought against him, as she watched as Roman disappeared in the distance. 

Angrily, Ashta pushed Damian away from her, as they entered the castle and she growled at him. Quickly, Gale and Liam ran into the room and stared at their blood-covered niece. Ashta yelled at Damian, and then she slid from his arms. Gale and Liam looked at Damian, and he sadly shook his head as tears fell down his face. 

For the first time in Damian’s life, the king and his brother took him into their arms and hugged him while he sobbed for his losses.

********************

Disoriented, Roman shook his head and then he sat up. Noticeably, Ashta and Damian were nowhere in sight, and he grumbled as he got to his feet. Heavily, he sighed as he looked around, and then he put his fingers to his lips and blew out a chirp whistle. At that moment, all of the Selvempt guards stopped what they were doing and they looked at him in question. 

“Come on. We are done here,” he snarled, as he wiped his lip. 

Easily, the guards stopped their battling and they all followed Roman back to Taitum.