The Lion And I

(28) Part 1: The Lion - First Fight

Celeste

“What did you just say?” My shrill voice startled even me.

The shock was wearing away and something in my chest just broke.

Emotions and an unfamiliar rage ripped through my chest.

What was happening?

I couldn’t say. All I knew was that I was very angry at Obsidian for ever thinking dictating what I could and couldn’t do was okay.

Hell! He had even said I could go about on my own as long as I wasn’t alone and someone knew where I was. Therefore, he could find me. According to our agreement, I hadn’t done anything wrong in the slightest. We had made sure to tell Raphael where we were.

So why was he acting out like this? Why was he so upset over Uriel and I going to the city so I could help him?

It wasn’t like I had gone into another dimension. I could understand his worry if that had been the case. Especially since the fairy world was at war with the fae. Which was one of the reasons why I had conciously decided to avoid going there and went on the little shopping spree.

Obsidian’s gaze slowly shifted to mine and in the space between us, our anger clashed almost toxically. There was a stubbornness in his gaze and an underlying fear.

But fear of what?

What did we have to fear?

Victor was gone. Balthazar was weak and had gone back into hiding as far as I was concerned, along with Camael.

What was his deal!? Why was he so upset!? Uriel was one of the Imperium Guard for heaven’s sake! If anything, I was probably the safest with him out of everyone I could have chosen.

“I’ll deal with you in a moment, Celeste. Don’t think for one minute your behavior is acceptable.”

What!?

Oh, that was it!

His tone reminded me of a parent scolding a child and that was the tipping point for me. He did not get to speak to me in such a way and treat me like I was a child. I had been treated like that for my entire life until a handful of months ago. I refused to be treated like that again, especially by the one I called mate.

I was his equal.

At least when it came to matters such as this I was.

I wasn’t living in some fairy tale fantasy where I believed I knew everything, because I didn’t. There was still a lot I had to learn. A lot I didn’t know, and I was okay with that. I wanted to learn.

However, that didn’t give anyone the right to treat me like Obsidian was treating me now.

“My-My behavior?” The audacity of this man!

I was not some kind of property to be fought over and pissed on. I was a person! I could make my own damn decisions. It wasn’t like he had been around for me to tell. He had been half a world away!

Obsidian’s dark gaze pinned Uriel once again as he ignored me.

Oh no this wasn’t going to fly.

“We are talking right now, Obsidian.” I snarled, stepping forward to grab his shoulder, to divert his attention back to me. He was fast, faster than I had anticipated and his arm maneuvered out from my hold only for my arm to be caught in his iron grip.

Instead of shying away, of turning to the docile woman I knew was safe in such a situation, I stepped into him and pushed against his chest. My response caught him off guard and he took several steps back as I stood protectively in front of Uriel. My vision started to turn red due to how upset I was, my fangs lengthened as my fight or flight response was sparked.

I bared my teeth, a soft growl emanating from my chest daring this man to charge.

What was I thinking!?

I wasn’t thinking, that was the thing.

I knew Obsidian was the demon lord of the infamous stronghold. He was revered for his strength, endurance and fighting capabilities. Even though so many hadn't ever seen him, his name and reputation had preceded himself.

Even before I had ever met him in person, or even knew who he was in my dreams, I had heard his name whispered through the walls. The immortal community was terrified of him, or at least they had been. More than likely they still were.

The thing of it was, I had never heard of Obsidian killing anyone. He had never used his stealthy abilities to murder any immortal councilors or individuals in general. None of his guard had either. Not Raphael. Not Alessandra.

However, he had engaged in a terrifying sword fight with Ulysses at one point in time and had come out the victor. The fuzzy edges of that memory were shoved behind walls that had no windows or doors. They had been put under lock and key in order to save me from the horrors of my young life.

Though, they were starting to shake free.

And it terrified me.

Yet, I wasn’t sure what terrified me more: facing those memories, or allowing Obsidian to believe he could dictate what I did.

“Tiger, it’s okay,” Uriel started gently, not wanting to be the source of conflict between us. He rested a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

“No. It’s not,” I snapped, my furious gaze clashing with his briefly. “Leave.” I bit out harsher than I had meant to. He needed to get out of here before he couldn’t. I wasn’t sure how long I could hold Obsidian off for.

“If you leave, you will never be welcomed here again,” Obsidian’s threat rang in the air.

I laughed in incredulity. “You cannot banish him from here. Constance will never allow it. He is part of her Imperium Guard,” I defended, calling him out on his bull s**t.

“Well she will just have to find some other place to conduct her business.”

What in the actual hell?

Uriel was caught in a hard spot and I was starting to feel backed into a corner. And that wasn’t where Obsidian wanted me. That’s not where I wanted to be. I knew what I was capable of when backed into a corner. I had been there so many times and I refused to be put into such a situation.

So, I pulled a trick out of my sister’s hat and thought out of the box. If he wasn’t going to let Uriel leave, then it was us who would leave.

Stomping right up to the infuriating demon lord, I shoved against his chest again, hoping to make him move towards his room. To get him in there so we could talk privately. So Uriel wouldn’t be in such danger. This time, however, he had been expecting it and was only pushed back one step. His hands caught my wrists and holding my hands firmly against him.

I hated how his steely muscles under my hands tried to distract me, hated how they felt so good, even as the ever growing fire in my chest built.

Snarling fiercely, I ripped a hand free and lashed out, catching his ear. Pinching it hard between my thumb and finger, I yanked his head down to my level. To say he was surprised was an understatement.

“Listen here you infuriating demon,” I growled in his ear, “This fight is between you and me and does not involve anyone else.” I yanked a bit harder and saw him wince. He scrambled to get out of my hold but I batted away his hands and just pinched harder.

“f**k! Let go of me woman!” He roared.

“Not until you tell Uriel he is free to leave and can come back whenever he wants,” I bargained darkly, my gaze boring into his so ferociously I was surprised I wasn’t shooting damn fireballs out of them.

“Ah! Fine! You win,” he ground out. He was furious about this, about me getting the upper hand, but I didn’t care. His gaze caught Uriel’s over my shoulder and he nodded. “Leave dragon. Before I change my mind.”

And just like that I felt the burst of power as Uriel teleported out of the stronghold, taking Obsidian’s threat to heart.

Once he was gone, I released my hold and stepped back wanting some space between us so we hopefully wouldn’t rip each other apart. So I wouldn’t feel the urge to protect myself and lash out like I had been taught to do so.

Because in situations like these, I was prone to both flight or fight responses depending on who was my adversary and what the fight was. If it had been Victor, I would have shut down and gone into flight response. If it had been anyone else, it was fight because that’s what I had been trained and told to do.

“Why did you do that?” I asked him after several moments of silence passed between us. I had taken several deep breaths and my vision wasn’t tinged red anymore. My fangs were still out, though they wouldn’t go away probably until I was certain I wasn’t in danger anymore.

Not that I believed Obsidian would ever do anything to harm me.

Though, the possibility was always there.

When you grew up with the only parental figure in your life doing nothing but betray your trust and love and abuse you to the point you thought it was normal, that that kind of attention was love… You believed anything was possible.

“He had no right taking you out of the stronghold.” His voice was still gruff, but it wasn’t as intense. He was also calming down, though his body language was still aggressive.

However, those words set me off again. “I’m not some property you own, Obsidian!”

“I never said you were!”

“But that’s how it feels!“ I exploded, the tightness in my chest increasing, the red hue to my eyes coming back in a flash. “You don’t get to dictate who I can be around. You don’t get to have that kind of control over me or my life!” I had been there before. I had lived in that kind of hell and I wasn’t about to be forced into that same situation again regardless of who it was. “I am my own person, Obsidian! I can make my own decisions. You don’t get to take that away from me!”

“I can do whatever I need when it comes to you and your safety!”