The crowd continued to cheer, eager for the next and final match. Before Angel began the next fight. He gave both Selene and Brandon time to recover from their previous fights. The two of them would fight each other at their best. After a few minutes of waiting, Fate walked up to him and brought his lips to Angel’s ear.

“Selene’s wounds are all healed up and she’s ready to go.” Fate informed him. “As for Brandon, well,” He shrugged. “He’s already been healed up from his last match by yours truly.” He added his face masked with a cocky smirk. “They’re ready when you are,” Angel nodded and Fate returned to the stands.

“Brother against Sister,” Lord Alexander rested his arms on his chair. “I must say it does make for a great match. Selene and Brandon have sparred each other in the past. However,” A servant brought a wine glass filled with blood. “This is the first time they have ever had to take it to a serious level.” He took a sip from his glass.

“That’s true,” Angel could remember Selene telling him about her sparring matches with her brother. She’s never once taken them seriously. She’d try but. She always held back a little cautious not to hurt her precious brother. This match was bound to be an interesting one. Not even he knew the victor. “It looks like we’re not the only ones eager to see this match.” He pointed out.

The audience was lying in wait. The excitement started to build. At any minute, the crowd was going to rise from their seats and start an uproar. They couldn’t wait for the match to begin to see the two finalists go at it. It was best, Angel didn’t keep them waiting any longer. He went to jump down to begin the match but was stopped by Lord Alexander.

“Is there a problem my Lord?” Angel asked. The Vampire Lord’s hand gripped his shoulder. His pale hazel eyes followed the direction of the king’s eyes. He was staring at the arena, the large craters in the ground. The huge dents in the walls, debris from the broken ceiling. It was in no condition to withstand anymore punishment. “Right, should we postpone and begin reconstruction? Perhaps it’s time we invested in a more sturdy arena.”

“No need,” Lord Alexander spoke casually. “I could use the exercise.” He rose from his throne and jumped down to the center of the arena. “It has come to my attention that our arena is no longer strong enough to withstand our potential.” His lips formed a slight smirk. “I think it is time we changed that,” He held his hands out and shut his eyes.

“No way,” Angel couldn’t believe his eyes. Tiny sparkles of diamond began to gather around Lord Alexander growing in size. The shroud of diamond grew bigger as the arena began to shake. The Vampire Lord snapped his fingers, the shroud of sparkles fired off in every direction splattering like paint to a wall. He closed his hands. The diamond sparkles expanded covering every inch of the arena. In seconds, the entire arena was covered in a thick layer of diamonds. The walls were fixed, craters mended and the ceiling restored. How could Lord Alexander expect someone like him to take his place? There’s no way he could even think to match his power.

“Angel, the stage is yours.” Lord Alexander walked back up to the stands. Angel jumped down taking his place in the middle of the brand new arena. Before Angel could even get a word out. Brandon threw his coat off and jumped down to the arena. The weight of his body hit the ground so hard, it cracked the diamond arena a little.

“Let’s do this,” Brandon popped his knuckles.

“Alright then,” Angel acknowledged. “Let’s get these finals underway.” He watched as Selene came out of the medical ward now fully healed from her fight against Scythe. She took her place across from Brandon. She just was as eager to fight Brandon as he was. Hard to blame her, Selene’s dream is at stake. This fight was the only thing keeping her from it. If she beat her brother the commander position would be hers.

“This is it,” Brandon balled his hand into a fist. “Today is the day, I finally beat you Selene.” He glared into Selene’s pale blue eyes. “You always think you have to protect me. You think I’m some child that needs to be coddled.” He grinned. “Not anymore, after this match you’ll see just how strong I really am.”

“Is that so,” Selene ran her fingers through her sunflower blonde hair. “I hope you aren’t expecting kid gloves brother.” She glared back into his pale brown eyes. “I’ll show you no mercy,” She tightened her hands into fists.

“Don’t worry,” Brandon countered. “I can take it,” He punched his chest. “Start the match,” Angel nodded. He placed his bare foot on the ground between them creating a curse that would explode after a set time. Their eyes watched as the curse lit up, the light moving faster and faster until. An explosion occurred. Brandon ran through the explosion at Selene while she was jumping back to avoid it.

“So eager to lose,” Selene pulled out two flasks of blood. Angel gulped. He hoped she wasn’t about to blast him again. “Fine, I’ll indulge you.” Wait these vials there’s more blood in them than there was when she fought Scythe. This is bad. Angel jumped back as both vials were thrown at Brandon.

Even after dodging, Angel was still caught in the blast radius. He blocked being blasted all the way back into the stands. Angel flew into a wall behind Lord Alexander just before breaking through it. Lord Alexander caught him with hands made of diamond and set him down gently on his feet.

“Thanks,” Angel dusted himself off. Selene needed to learn to hold back otherwise her explosions might be the death of him. He took his place by Lord Alexander and resumed watching Brandon and Selene’s fight.

“I’m not going to lose,” Brandon charged through the explosion with small cracks on his diamond armor. He struck Selene with a powerful punch. His fist met resistance when Selene caught it with one arm. He went to kick her, she ducked his kick. She countered by slamming a vial of her blood on his armor, shattering it. At the same time the glass shattered she jumped back and detonated it. More cracks appeared on Brandon’s armor after taking another hit by Selene’s explosions.

“First,” Selene took out more vials of her blood. “Let’s get rid of that armor of yours,” She hurled one of the vials at him. He blocked being hit by another explosive. She hurled a second hitting him again. She spun and threw two at him at the same time. The explosion of two vials combined was great enough to force Brandon back. The diamond armor on Brandon’s body had cracks all over it from Selene’s attacks. So, that’s her tact.

Selene was planning to keep her distance until she broke his armor. Once his defense was down. She could switch to close quarters and take him out. There’s no question when it came down to hand to hand combat. Selene had more experience and speed. Now that it’s been discovered that Brandon could remove his armor. That could change things, he actually might be fast enough to keep up with her.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“Ranged fighting,” Brandon grinned. “Not to say that I’m surprised that you can do both. Though,” He ripped off a piece of his diamond armor. “You’re not the only one,” He kept throwing diamond shards at her flasks to stop the explosions before they reached him. He was mirroring every one of Selene’s attack patterns. It was like Selene was battling against herself. Neither one of them could land an attack. “Sooner or later you’re going to run out of flasks.” He kept countering her vials. “My armor however, doesn’t run out, it regenerates so keep this up all you want. You’re only beating yourself.”

“Is that what you think,” Selene caught one of Brandon’s diamond shards. She slit her palm and threw it at him. “You seem to forget I’m just as resourceful as you.” The shard exploded, Brandon blocked being pushed back. “Now to end this,” She charged at Brandon using her full speed. Brandon’s armor shattered to the floor and he blocked her arm stopping her punch. He went to counter with a punch of his own but she caught it with her hand. “Give it up Brandon, you can’t beat me.”

“Yes I can,” Brandon drew his head back to headbutt her. Selene bit her lip and spit her blood at him. The explosion blasted them both back. Selene charged through to smoke attacking Brandon at rapid speeds. She was landing very few hits but for the most part. Brandon was defending against her attacks. Without his armor, he could somewhat keep up with her. “You’re mine,” He went to punch her, Selene did a backflip and dodged his fist. He tried to hit her again. She blocked his arm and countered with a fast kick. “I just need one hit,” Brandon blocked her kick and kept trying to hit her.

“Like I’d be that easy,” Selene dodged Brandon’s attacks. She struck him in the gut with her knee. The force of the attack caused Brandon to arch over her knee. She quickly spun and kicked Brandon. She hit him so hard he flew into the wall. She threw a vial of blood at him. “It’s over,” The vial exploded, Brandon charged through the blast. “What the,” Selene gasped as Brandon’s shoulder roughly collided with her stomach. He ran over to the wall pinning her against it. He kept trying to hit her but she avoided the strikes and pushed him back with her legs.

“Ragh,” Brandon screamed. He charged at her with a powerful shoulder tackle. Selene pulled out a vial of her blood and broke it against the wall. She moved out of the wall causing his shoulder to crash into the diamond layered wall.

“Just stay down,” Selene detonated the blood on the wall. Brandon blocked the blast positioning his body to where he would hit her. His back flew into her, striking her like a brick wall. He laid there with his back on top of her trying to get back up. “Stubborn piece of shit,” Selene climbed out from underneath him. She got back on her feet at the same time as him. “Why can’t you just admit that you can’t beat me?”

“Because I can,” Brandon yelled. He threw diamond shards at her. She dodged only to dodge into his fist. Selene struck the wall, her mouth dripping with blood. She wiped her lips off and glared at him. “Take that you stupid bitch,”

“Now you’ve asked for it.” Selene took out three vials of blood. She hurled all three vials at Brandon. She detonated them. Once she did, the entire arena lit up with a violent explosion. By the end of it. The entire arena was covered in cracks. “What?” She raised her brow.

The smoke cleared and Brandon’s diamond armor was restored and covered in cracks. He had the palms of his hands placed on the diamond flooring. There was a patch of it missing. It was like it had been absorbed into Brandon’s armor. He shut his eyes and the diamond in the arena was restoring his armor. The cracks were gone, his armor fully restored.

“I had no idea Brandon could do that,” Angel was in complete shock. Since when could Brandon absorb diamonds? “Lord Alexander, did you know about this?” He asked. Lord Alexander sat there on his throne with a smirk on his face.

“I had a theory, just thought I’d test it out.” The Vampire Lord admitted. “This presented the perfect opportunity.” So, that’s why he created a diamond arena. He wanted to see if Brandon could use it to his advantage. “Brandon has always been a peculiar one.” He took a drink from his wine glass.

“We end this now,” Brandon broke into a sprint at Selene. The shards of his armor flew off behind him as he ran. Selene blocked his punch, he grabbed her arm and threw her. She rolled across the ground getting back up. He jumped at her with a punch, she dodged. The might of his fist left a crack in the ground, his knuckles were now bleeding.

Selene went to hit him, he caught her fist crushing it. She tried to punch him with her other fist, he caught that as well. He ran over the wall slamming her back against it. While she was trying to recover Brandon fists were- those moves- Angel glanced over at Ziek who like him could not believe his eyes. Brandon was copying one of Ziek’s moves. He had Selene pinned to a wall and his fists were pounding away at her ribcage at rapid speeds.

“Angel, I may be mistaken but isn’t that.” Lord Alexander rose from his throne in excitement. It caught even him by surprise. Angel never would have thought that Brandon would learn of one of Ziek’s moves. Let alone execute it perfectly.

“I’ll be damned,” Angel crossed his arms. “Brandon’s learning.”

“Take this,” Brandon drew his fist back. He punched Selene using all of his built up momentum. The diamond wall shattered, the thick shards firing off around Brandon after his attack. Selene was left in a huge dent in the wall. “I did it,” He fell to his knees. “I beat-,” Selene climbed out of the dent. She was only covered in a couple of bruises. “No,” He balled his hand into a fist.

“Is that it,” Selene wiped the blood from her lips. “You seem to forget,” She dusted herself off. “I have an ability that allows me to regenerate. You on the other hand,” She pointed at Brandon’s leg. A diamond shard was stuck into it and it was laced in Selene’s blood. “Don’t,” She detonated the shard. The explosion shot him back, while he was flying back. She sprinted at him striking him at fast speeds. “It’s over,” She pulled her fist back.

“You’re right it is over,” Brandon struck her with a punch at the same time. Selene’s fist hit him. The two of them fell back and hit the floor. They both laid there unable to move. Angel couldn’t believe it, It’s a tie.

“We have a tie,” Angel pointed out. “What do we do?” Blaire barged in without a second to waste. “Let me guess,” He crossed his arms. “You have a suggestion?” He asked. “Well after what’s happened I’m welcomed to hear it.”

“Good,” Blaire smirked. “We should pick Brandon.” She added. “He’s proven himself and it was Angel’s idea to do the tournament. I,” She placed her hand on her chest. “Should have the final say in the case of a tie. I’m your daughter.” She turned her attention to her father, Lord Alexander. “Normally, it’s my decision anyway.” She shot Angel with an evil glare. He rolled his eyes. Of course, she’d pick Brandon.

“What about Selene?” Angel argued, “We’re just to ignore her efforts. She fought Scythe, that’s not an easy win. Not to say, Fate was easy either but we know. Fate isn’t as strong as Scythe. We should judge it based on the fight before.”

“Yes but who’s to say Brandon couldn’t beat him.” Blaire offered. “Selene did and they tied so your point is mute. It should be my say, Angel had his shot and we got a tie. I stand by my choice, Brandon. Father, you will make Brandon commander, right?” She crossed her arms. Lord Alexander sat there trapped in thought.

“Under normal circumstances,” Lord Alexander began. “I would have you two fight each other to decide the outcome.” Angel didn’t mind that. He’d fight Blaire if it meant Selene would be commander. After what he’s seen. She deserved it. He could already tell, Blaire didn’t seem to like this idea. Possibly because she was scared that she’d lose. “However, I can not allow Angel to lay hands on my daughter. That would be in poor taste. Instead,” He tapped his index finger on the arm of the chair. “Blaire will choose a champion and Angel.” He nodded in response. “You will fight them to decide the outcome.”

“Now that I like,” Blaire grinned. “It might be important to add that this person can not know that. This fight is to determine the commander. If they knew that, it could tamper with the results.” Lord Alexander replied with a nod of agreement. “After all,” She walked up to Angel. “My choice is Ziek,” She walked up to Angel. “I hope that’s not a problem for you dearest.” She kissed him on the cheek.

“It’s not,” Angel wiped her red lipstick off his cheek. “You want me to fight Ziek. You got it,” He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a bit worried. Ziek is a seasoned fighter. He knows what he’s doing and for someone like him. A person who’s still getting used to fighting relying solely on his killer instincts and a few training sessions with the King. This fight was going to prove to be a challenge. Though, a part of him was excited to test his skills against Ziek. He’s always viewed Ziek like an older brother. An older brother, he wanted to surpass.

“Try not to die,” Blaire teased. “I’d hate to lose my dear husband so soon.” She pinched his cheek and walked back to the stands.

“My daughter has made her choice.” Lord Alexander rose from his throne. “Go forth and fetch your opponent. I will attend to the audience.”

“Yes my lord,” Angel went to leave. “Wait what about Selene and Brandon?” He checked on them looking down at the arena below. Fate was carrying Selene back to the infirmary.. While Scythe carried Brandon on his shoulder walking close behind him. “I guess it’s taken care of,” He let out a sigh of relief. “Alright, I’ll go and get Ziek.”