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She said nothing, but I realized this was part of the ritual. Only one of us would be queen, as only one of the men in the center of the room would be king.

Ealric locked the front doors and took his place at Alana’s other side, and stood with his hands clasped behind his back. The Daybreak guards locked the doors on either side. If Kodan wanted to get in, she’d have to break the entry down herself, which I didn’t doubt she was capable of doing. But still, the click of the lock made nerves shiver up my spine.

A tense silence fell over the room. The hair on my forearms stood up as power crackled through the two men. They bared their teeth at each other, then paced in a slow circle, sizing each other up in human form.

Rodthar shifted first. His wolf burst forth, and as it did, smoothly and effortlessly, I realized I hadn’t seen him like this since I was a little girl. He was a huge wolf, bigger even than Elias. His pelt was a deep, chocolate brown, and his eyes burned bright like copper. He shook out his hulking body, then laid his ears back and bared his sharp teeth in warning.

Elias’ wolf sprang forth at the same time. His eyes burned golden as he stared at Rodthar, hackles up and head low. He kept his gaze on Rodthar, but didn’t bare his teeth—he was assessing. Despite the rage I’d felt radiate off him, when it came to battle, he was always tactical. He wasn’t going to do anything impulsive, not until he saw how Rodthar fought in his wolf shape.

They loped in a circle, sizing each other up, and then Rodthar growled and launched forward, jaws open, ready to close around Elias’ neck.

Elias ducked low, rushing forward beneath Rodthar, dodging his attack. Rodthar’s back legs caught on Elias’ body, knocking him off balance, and he landed on the floor of the throne room with an unsteady thump. His immense paws skittered on the slick floor and it took him a moment to regain his balance. It wasn’t nearly as ferocious as the battle was in the arena, with the dirt floor easy for wolf paws to dig into—it was almost humorous for a moment, before Rodthar righted himself.

Rodthar snarled, a ferocious, wild sound, and then lunged at Elias again. This time, Elias was ready to meet him. They met in violent clash of muscle and teeth, growling and spitting in range. I steeled myself, resisting the urge to step backward away from the fighting. It was terrifying being so close—seeing every ripple of muscle, hearing every snarl and heavy breath and clack of bone as they snapped their jaws. Equally matched. Equally enormous. I clutched the hilt of my sword in an attempt to stay grounded and steady, watching expressionless, as Duchess Alana did.

They wrestled like that in the center of the room, up on their back legs with the front limbs wrapped around each other. Elias slammed his head against Rodthar’s, teeth bared; he tried to get his jaws around Rodthar’s ear, neck, snout, wherever he could reach. He couldn’t get a hold, though, not with Rodthar blocking each attempted bite with one of his own.

Then, Rodthar heaved himself forward, using his weight advantage to stagger Elias a few feet back. Rodthar managed to get his jaws around Elias’ shoulder; Elias yelped and clawed at Rodthar’s head, but Rodthar was able to hold his grip. He hurled Elias to the ground with a grunt.

Elias’ side slammed against the floor; he rolled onto his back, briefly vulnerable. I held back a small gasp of fear. Rodthar moved to pin him, but Elias was too quick, he rolled over and jumped onto his feet. Enraged, Rodthar lunged forward again, rearing up onto his back paws with a snarl.

Elias was expecting him. He closed his jaws hard around Rodthar’s front leg, sinking in deep. Rodthar howled in pain as blood poured from the wound, staining Elias’ teeth and snout. Rodthar dislodged him and staggered back, injured paw curled away from the floor, but then he rushed forward and slammed the bulk of his body against Elias’. The injury to his leg hadn’t slowed him down at all. If anything, it’d only made him angrier.

Beside me, the Duchess Alana didn’t react at all. Her gaze was narrowed, focused intently on Rodthar, as if judging his performance. It was a stark contrast to the way I felt—my wolf howled internally, hungry to leap forward and jump in, to protect my mate from Rodthar’s rage.

This time, Elias wasn’t quite quick enough to dodge. Rodthar pinned him on his back, but Elias was able to slam his front paws roughly against his face, preventing him from biting him. Then Elias drove his back paws hard into Rodthar’s belly, forceful enough to throw him off, giving Elias enough space to scramble back onto his feet.

Again they lunged forward, meeting in the center of the room on their back paws. The air was thick with the dense smell of exertion, of animal, and the ground was wet with blood, dripping from the wound on Elias’ shoulder and the punctures in Rodthar’s front leg. This made Rodthar’s attack unsteady He jerked forward, jaws open to get around Elias’ neck, but this time when he shifted his weight, the slickness of blood on the floor made him lose his balance.

Elias knocked him to the side, and then crashed on top of him like a wave. Rodthar tried to shake him off but Elias was too fast. He closed his jaws around Rodthar’s shoulders, and then, with a strength I hadn’t seen, jerked Rodthar’s entire body down hard, slamming his head into the floor. Rodthar howled and thrashed in a wild attempt to throw Elias off, but Elias had him pinned down.