Brantley and Ileus ran along with her. In the wilderness around her, the canopies were so thick that the sunlight struggled to penetrate through them to reach the ground. The vista flashed in the shades of blue, green and black. Dense fog often snaked around the trees and the air became heavier. She noticed how wildly the jungle had grown. She had never noticed that kind of flora in other places. Big yellow flowers, the size of a deer at the base of tree trunks sensed their movement and turned in their direction. Moss covered decaying wood that was lying on the ground harbored numerous species of animals and birds. Occasionally she passed across various circles created by the fireflies, which lighted up like a small bulb and then switched off. She knew these circles were portals to other dimensions. And the unusual flora was a result of the energy dropped by the folks that emerged from those portals.

Dawn stopped at a small creek and shape shifted back. She looked at Ileus who was scanning the area.

​​

"Okay, now will someone tell me why we are here?" asked Brantley. He didn't like the idea of coming out in the jungle to procure a gift for Daryn. With so many portals in this part of the woods, he was apprehensive that they might encounter someone lethal or dangerous.

"There!" Ileus shouted and pointed towards the other end of the creek. Enclosed inside a thicket were a few small cottages that seemed to crouch on the ground. Chimneys above them sent spirals of smoke up in the air.

Brantley looked at them and raised an eyebrow. He shook his head and smiled. "I hope this works," he said.

They returned to the arena five minutes before the hour ended and noticed that almost every other contestant was there. When she stood in the center with a burlap sack on her shoulder, she looked like she had been through… rough. Exhaling a breath, she saw that Daryn peered at her with anxiety. Sweat dripped from her forehead where her hair was sticking as if glued to the skin. Twigs and leaves in her braids seemed to tell a story—as if she had run through jungles and rolled on the ground.

Every contestant looked very happy with her gifts except Brenda. She looked… resigned. When their gaze met, the doctor gave her a feeble smile. Fear skittered down Dawn's spine. Brenda was ready for her death.

Sedora raised her hand and over the loudspeaker commanded, "Stand under the rings of fire."

The contestants didn't move, scared of the imminent death that was hovering over them. All of a sudden they felt a huge force as if a bull was pushing them. They started walking backwards under the rings of fire. Brenda whimpered.

The necklace that Sedora was wearing shone so brilliantly that the air over it became heated and yellow lights started flowing around her in circles. Her dark powers were coming forth. "Always follow my orders," she hissed at them. Yellow light left her in streams and flowed towards the four contestants.

An invisible force jerked their hands at the back and the yellow lights that had come to them shackled their wrists. And now each of them was standing restrained, directly under the rings of fire.

From the corner of her eye, Dawn noticed guards coming to them to take the gifts they were supposed to bring for Daryn.

Daryn was so nervous by now that his eyes darted around. He wished he were unconscious. He wished he were drugged. Just anything to escape this nightmare. He was so happy yesterday evening and today he looked… beaten. His decision would kill the women in the arena and one of them could be Dawn. What if he chose the gift others had brought? He knew one thing for sure—he would follow her to death even.

Volara was so angry at Sedora's behavior that she wrestled with the shackles only to injure her wrists in the process. Pia looked confident. She had a grin on her face. Brenda was digging the ground with her claws, as panic flooded her. And Dawn… She was stoic. She had to maintain her grace even though on the inside she felt she would puke.

"Open the gifts!" Sedora shouted.

The guards walked to the first contestant Volara. Her gift, a large golden colored bag was placed right beside her. When the guards untied it and opened, gold coins chinked and spilled out of it. Soon there was a heap of gold coins right beside her. Volara smiled as the crowd went mad at her gift.

The guards went to Pia. Her bag was smaller and when it was opened, a traditional wedding dress for the werewolves came out for the bride and the groom along with a crown. The dress was made from the purest of the leathers and the crown resembled the crown that the king of the Silver Clan wore. Everyone peered at her gift with curiosity.

Next came Brenda's gift. Her bag contained a semblance of a small souvenir that Daryn had given her when they were in relationship—a nose pin and an anklet.

And in the last came Dawn's gift, which was a… burlap sack that moved!

The audience was baffled. Sorcerers craned their necks to see what was contained with utter silence.

"Don't open it until it is absolutely necessary," Dawn requested. The guard stopped with a nod.

Daryn's heartbeat increased when he saw the sac. He smiled and then looked at her with a known look. Yes, he would follow her… Even death would not do them apart…

Sedora picked up the loudspeaker and said in a honeyed voice, "So Daryn, what do you think of Volara's gift? Those are so many gold coins. Can you imagine that?" She had so much lust for them in her eyes. "It is a sorcerer's dream come true. You are a half sorcerer. Don't you like them?"

Daryn lowered his head. What would gold coins do to a man who was so rich that his wealth was uncountable? That bag was like not even a fraction of his wealth. He shook his head.

Sedora's expressions darkened. No one in the kingdom refused gold.

The ground rumbled crazily and it shook beneath their feet.

Volara cried, "No! You can't do that!"

But Sedora flicked her hand and the ring of fire right above her fell with a loud bang over her. It covered her in flames from top to bottom. Soon amongst the blood-curdling shrieks, Volara was charred to death.

Daryn felt his bile rising to the throat.

Sedora shouted, "Next!" on the loudspeaker.

The guards came to Pia and showed her gift to Daryn—the wedding dress and the crown. Immediately he remembered his wedding in the Ulfric, and how beautiful Dawn looked as his wife by his side. With the crown on his head, they looked like the royal couple they were. His heart softened. But now that he was already married to Dawn, what would he do with another wedding dress? 'Nice try Pia', he thought.

Daryn looked at Pia intensely. Did she know she was…?

"Daryn, we all are waiting for your decision! I am sure you love that wedding dress and the crown, don't you?" She breathed out so confidently that she was leaning forward on the throne.

Pia had an ear-to-ear grin on her face. She knew she had won.

Daryn gulped.