Page 92 of Filthy Rich Vampires: For Eternity

There was only one choice. She had to fight.

“You should withdraw,” I said, mustering and masking the fear I felt into icy coldness. “You can’t beat me. You spent your life hiding, not fighting.”

Camila’s mouth dropped open, and behind me, I heard a gasp that I knew came from Thea.

But it wasn’t enough. I needed to make sure that Camila believed it. I needed her to want to kill me.

“She’s too scared to fight me.” I turned my head to Selah. “You might as well be signing her death warrant. She’s weak. Even her mother knows it. Sabine has always known it, which is why she controlled her. She knew that she would just get herself killed and now—”

“Only the challenger may withdraw the challenge,” Selah interrupted me. “Do you wish to do so, Camila?”

Camila’s face contorted in a mixture of pain and rage, her eyes desperately seeking mine, yet I refused to meet her gaze, turning away with a disdainful roll of my eyes. It stung that she believed me, but I pushed down the rising mixture of emotions that threatened to overtake me.

“I do not,” she said, her voice ringing in the silent room like a hollow bell.

Relief mixed with my horror that I had forced her hand—that she believed I would fight her to the death. And now I had to do just that. There was no other choice.

Selah’s lips curled into a smirk that made me want to grab the nearest sword and slice her cruel head from her neck. But that wouldn’t help the situation.

“Primus sanguis will be awarded to the champion of the duel. Once the challenge is accepted by both parties only surrender or death ends it. In the event of death, the victor will claim the head of the fallen party.”

I wondered how many of those heads had been mounted like trophies over the years. My stomach flipped at the thought, and I nearly threw up my breakfast.

“And how do they surrender?” Thea asked loudly, pure panic racing in her voice.

“No party has ever surrendered,” Selah said with a shrug. “But we allow the option.”

It wasn’t the vampire way. Not with so much at stake, and the shame of losing was too much for any female to bear. Our pride was both our greatest strength and our undoing. Was that why Sabine had chosen me?

Or was it because she believed I was no match for her daughter? Aurelia was a trained warrior. Most of the other vampires bearing witness were eons older than us, with centuries of battlefield experience. I was the least likely to win, but the choice that would hurt Camila most.

But everyone here knew the real reason that I’d been selected: because Sabine assumed her daughter would withdraw the challenge. Or I would refuse to be Sabine’s champion. It was the only way out of this. It was my only choice in the matter. If I said yes, Sabine would choose my weapon, dictate my stance, and watch as I fought her daughter to the death.

But I didn’t want to get out of this. I wanted to get it over with.

“I will be her champion,” I said in a low voice.

The room descended into silence; even Sabine stared at me, her composure collapsing under the weight of her own outrage that I’d called her bluff. For a moment, her lips parted as if to speak, and then she pressed them together into a thin line. Her nostrils flared as she looked away.

“There will be no mercy. No person may intervene,” Selah continued. “The winner will hold the title of primus sanguis when she claims the other party’s head, or her pride.”

I knew which was more important to most vampires. But this was different. Sabine and Jacqueline were different. At least, they used to be. Now? I wasn’t so sure that I wouldn’t leave here without bloody hands.

Selah stepped to the side, flourishing an arm toward the weapons cache. “Sabine, as head of house, you may choose your weapon.”

Sabine tipped her head graciously, gesturing for me to join her. The vampires surrounding the cache moved away, allowing us a moment of privacy. We met at a stone table strewn with weapons of every type. Swords and maces, daggers with jeweled hilts, single-shot pistols, even a crossbow.

“What are you doing?” Sabine’s fingers closed over the ruby hilt of one of the swords.

“You chose me to be your champion,” I reminded her in a low hiss. “What did you expect me to do?”

“Refuse,” she told me. “Force me to demand more time to choose someone else so that Camila will see reason.”

“Do you honestly think she will?” I asked. “You have a choice, too. Surrender, tell her where her children are.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because you’re her mother.” I snorted, half amazed at my own stupidity. I knew better than to expect so much from her. My own mother would never do the same for me. I really had to stop being so fucking optimistic.

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