The crowd erupted in cheers and applause. I’d never heard such unanimous support of something so bloodthirsty. My heart raced and my face felt hot. I looked around at the blurred mass of screaming shifters. The doors opened again, this time, a male walked in carrying a huge axe.
He was going to kill my family. Right now.
“Stop!” I shouted. My cries went unheard amid the chaos. I pushed my way forward, gripping the crown with one hand, holding it by my side. “Stop!”
Shifters shoved me and glared at me as I made my way toward the dais. They didn’t like that someone else was moving closer to the gruesome main event.
Finally, I reached the front and I cried out again. “Stop this right now!”
Nobody on the stage even looked my way. It was impossibly loud and the man with the axe was climbing the dais, the weapon over his head like a trophy. The crowd roared its approval.
I had no choice. Moving as fast as I could, I reached the side of the dais where the stairs were. Quickly, I climbed up. The king and his guards noticed me now, all of them turning their attention to me.
“I thought you were going to wait in my room,” Chris called, barely audible over the din. “Role play as my royal crown bearer is it?”
My upper lip curled in disgust. “Let them go.”
His brow furrowed in confusion. “I’m sorry, it sounds like you were trying to give me an order. I don’t know what you were told, but I’m not into that. I’m always the one in charge. In and out of the bedroom.”
“First of all, gross. Second of all, I don’t think I want you to be in charge anymore,” I said.
The cheers had died down as the crowd noticed that something was going on. The king’s guards took a few steps toward me, but he held out his hand, stopping their progress.
“Are you challenging me?” He looked amused.
Was that what I was doing? I was done with these sick, twisted men in power. I was done being the damsel in distress. And I supposed there were worse ways to go than trying to save my parents and my brother. “Yeah, I am.”
I held up the crown. “I challenge you for the crown.”
Gasps and mummers rolled through the audience. They were loving every second of the drama.
“You’re cute, but you can’t. Only a royal can challenge a royal.” The king waved his hand lazily. “Take her away. I’ll deal with her later.”
“Don’t you lay one hand on me,” I said.
To my surprise, the guards paused, confused by my words and my tone. I sounded more commanding than I ever had in my life and I was not about to apologize for it or back down. This was it. I had to do this.
“I’m your niece. Spencer Lupton is my father. And I am going to strip you of your crown.”