Chapter Ninety-Four

DAMON POV

"What are you saying, Damon?" My mother asks, trying to walk toward me again, but one look and the snarl leaving my mouth has her stepping back, fear covering her features.

"Stop playing stupid, mother," I say in Slade's animalistic growl, my black eyes glaring as my father steps toward her, "we all know you're the smartest person in this room, so cut the crap."

"Damon, there is no going back once an official challenge is issued," my father says, his voice dead, his eyes black as Poseidon comes forwards to be present in this moment. "Are you sure this is what you want to do?"

"Yes, I challenge you," I growl. The tension from the others in the room nearly suffocates me; my lungs feel like they're being filled with sand. "Do you accept?"

"Yes," my father says, his voice steady, his black eyes never straying from mine, while my mom's sobs fill my ears. "I am assuming a fight to the death isn't necessary?"

"Unless you refuse to hand over the files," I counter, my voice co