Thirty One

“What?” Brielle and River exclaimed in unison.

Brielle warily observed River after his outburst before turning her attention back to the King.

“How is that fair?” She queried, however it was more of a rhetorical question. “None of this is my fault!”

“We don’t want to win this way.” River insisted. “Brielle doesn’t deserve to be stripped of her title because some weirdo has a crush on her.” The spite River felt towards Zion was abundantly clear in his tone.

The King sighed. “Believe me, we know. I’ve had Jacques reviewing the bylaws since we got back.” He briefly shook his head. “But there is no other way.”

“What if we all forfeited?” Reid stepped forward.

“Then you would return to your original positions prior to the Battle of the Alpha’s starting.” The Queen confirmed. “But there would be no restarting once the threat was eliminated.”

“Well Brielle forfeiting is out of the question.” Ryker added matter-of-factly.

“If Brielle forfeits, we all do.” River confirmed in agreement with h