Chapter 23 Rykr
Rykr
My head still reeled at the fact that I’d only seen that dagger flying at me because of Seren. The blade had been seconds away from impaling itself on my face, but I’d seen it through her mind.
I shouldn’t have been able to catch it. But somehow, I had.
And I knew who had thrown it.
Seren tensed in my arms, her back rigid as Seth stalked toward us, his black trousers without blemish, unlike my thoroughly stained and torn ones.
“Swords,” Seth said, pulling my blade from his side.
I doubted Seth had used it before now and I didn’t know if it would work for him—but I wasn’t fool enough to find out the hard way. The sword had an ancient curse on it and using it always resulted in a lethal blow. Always.
If Seth used it against me, I was dead.
“No.” I released Seren, shifting to put myself between them. “I’m not fighting you.”
Seth appeared unimpressed at my words, then gestured to Jabari. “You don’t get to decide.”
The fuck I don’t.
I set my lips to a line. He’d been waiting for this opportunity and I wasn’t about to play into his hands. “No.”
An ugly shadow came over Seth’s expression. “You’re in our territory, Lirien. You don’t get to rewrite the rules of our games.” He peeled off his shirt, revealing a body hardened by years of training—and Zhi tattoos that proved his deadliness.
A shiver of hatred rolled through me. The thought of his hands ever being on Seren ignited rage in my blood.
If I gave into that, I’d kill him where he stood.
Jabari came to my side and raised my hand, declaring my fight with Seren over. I barely registered the crowd’s reaction.
She was already gone.
I’d been at it for hours, yet I wasn’t tired. My body had moved with speed and power I’d never known before, and I’d barely tested its limits. I’d been holding back—especially with Seren.
The stark truth was that I barely felt as though I’d unleashed my power. Everything that Lucia had told me about the vuk’s blood made sense now … and it had given me a freedom and level of skill that even the Seal hadn’t done.
But a match with that sword meant someone would die.
“I’m not fighting you,” I told Seth once again.
Jabari approached me, worry lining his dark brown face. “A champion can’t decline a fight,” he announced to the crowd.
Boisterous cheers erupted but Jabari stepped to my side. “Before a fight, anyway,” he added in a low voice only I could hear.
His meaning was clear. I can forfeit after the fight had begun. Unusual—at least in Pendara. Forfeiting at the beginning of a match was unheard of in the Regulation. Dishonorable.
I didn’t give a shit about honor here, though. Not if my death was all but assured.
I made my way toward the center of the ring, circling Seth.
Zhi maneuvers and fighting techniques were nothing like Pendaran.
They were physical fighters, their ancient war making blazingly fast. My father had always said that if Pendara’s army ever failed him, he’d turn to Zhi.
Had Seth trained in those arts, alongside his Vangar skills?
Seth’s mouth formed a straight, hard line. “It’s not enough that you don’t deserve her—is it? You feel the need to humiliate her in front of everyone she knows.”
What?
He was trying to defend Seren?
As though he had the right.
It would be so easy to give in to the swell of malice clawing through me.
Which is what he wants.
The bell rang and I knelt immediately. “I forfeit,” I declared.
Silence descended upon the crowd.
Jabari rushed to Seth’s hand and lifted it. “The champion!”
The Vangar audience booed, hissing at me as I turned away.
Seth stalked toward me, cutting me off. “Fight me.”
Godsdamn, you have no fucking idea how much I want to. I didn’t want to lose to this fucking swiver. I certainly didn’t want to be called a coward for forfeiting.
But had I learned anything in the last two years? Patience was a formidable skill as any weapon.
I shoved him back. “No.”
“Coward.” The tips of his teeth bared.
“Perhaps. But I don’t trust you for a clean fight. That dagger stunt proves I’m right.” I made sure the crowd heard me, then moved past him, hopping out of the sparring ring and shoving past the ropes.
Amahle grabbed me by the elbow. “Come with me. You won’t have any friends around the ring right now.”
She dragged me through the crowd as jeers and vulgar gestures followed in our wake. As though I hadn’t been here for hours, growing their purses with bets. Fucking Viori.
We didn’t slow until we were far from the sparring rings. Amahle plucked an apple core from her collar, where someone must have thrown it. “That was quite a stunt.” She scanned my face. “Why didn’t you fight him?”
I couldn’t tell her about the sword. “I don’t trust him. He had hours to study my fighting techniques and I’m unmistakably his enemy.” He’s an unworthy opponent.
“You should know that forfeiting a fight is considered a great insult among the Viori.”
I smirked. “It’s considered a great insult among the Pendarans, too.”
“You’re playing with fire, Rykr. Seth wants you dead. He’ll punish you any chance he gets.”
“Well, in this case he wanted to punish me for fighting Seren. Or at least that’s what he implied.”
Amahle gave me a curious look, tilting her head for me to walk with her.
“I’m not in the habit of talking about my friends to anyone, but you should know …
Seren and Seth had an intense love affair.
Secret. I was shocked when he ended it. One day, he was just …
different. And then Darya was his wife. But I’ve always suspected, deep down, he still has feelings for Seren. ”
Seth? “Are we talking about the same man who ordered her flogged with twenty lashes?”
“I know it sounds crazy. But I also think the flogging was more about you than her. I’m worried about her. We all are.” She studied my profile. “Given how closely your life is tied to hers now, I think it would be in your interest to help her, rather than push her away.”
“What do you think I was doing in that sparring ring? If I can’t see where she’s weak, I can’t help her.”
Amahle hesitated, her intelligent gaze alert as we headed into the darkness of the woods from the clearing.
“The Skorn trial isn’t a game. I know there’s tension between the two of you, and that was painfully obvious in the ring.
You want to help her, but you can’t tear her down in the process.
All I’m asking is that you be worthy of the sacrifice she made for you.
She saw good in you worth saving. Help her—without an agenda.
She’s one of the best and bravest women I know, and since the moment she decided to honor her debt to you, she’s done nothing but fight for you. ”
Shame trickled through me. I had been trying to help. But maybe that required a little less arrogance.
“Thank you for your honesty.” The way the spark had gone out of Seren’s eyes while we’d been fighting had worried me.
She’d seemed so defeated—so flat. Ever since I’d interrupted her conversation with Ciaran, she carried the weight of more guilt on her chest. Guilt I’d made worse by straining her friendships.
What was worse, I didn’t know how to handle what I felt each time I thought of Seren Ragnall. Raw, fiery lust was easy—that’s why the taunting on the sparring ring floor hadn’t bothered me, despite my better judgment.
But when I let myself feel? I saw the strength and bravery Amahle spoke of.
I was starting to care about this woman.
Someone I had every reason to hate. To distrust.
That was new, unchartered territory.
And it scared the curpiss out of me.
The blaring of horns cut through my thoughts. Amahle and I both lifted our heads, sharply. I might not know much about the Viori, but even from where I came from, horns weren’t a good sign. “What is it?”
“An attack in the encampment.” Amahle’s eyes glittered. “Come with me. Hurry.”
We tore through the forest. I’d managed to slip out of the sparring ring free of irons. What I needed, though, was a fucking sword.
Chaos had overtaken the field where the sparring had been, as Vangar warriors rushed to extinguish fires, grab horses, and run.
“Rykr, where are you?” Seren’s voice in my head cut through the noise.
“Near the sparring ring. You?” I scanned the field, but she was nowhere in sight.
“With Ciaran. Getting the horse. Stay there and I’ll find you.”
Tara spotted us and strode forward, her face set in grim determination. “You two, come with me,” she ordered.
“What the fuck is going on?” Amahle asked her we fell into step with her.
“I’m going with your sister. I’ll meet you at the encampment.” Better to stay with people I knew wouldn’t take the opportunity to stab me from behind for now.
Tara didn’t answer but led us to a group of Vangar with horses, including Seth.
“Get on a horse,” she said, then paused beside me.
Her eyes darted to mine and she lowered her voice.
“That horn is only used for the severest level of attack, Rykr. Regulation soldiers. Stay with me. If it is Liriens, this won’t go well for you. ”
A tangle of hope and worry gripped me as I swung into the saddle. What if this was Thorne’s escape plan? He could have gone back to Cairn Hold, gathered reinforcements, and brought them here.
But if Seren encountered them before I could? Even Thorne didn’t know the risk she posed to my life.
The group launched into a gallop, tearing toward the encampment. Tara kept to my side, Amahle behind me. Seth, too, stayed close—either escorting me or ensuring I wouldn’t take advantage of the attack to flee.
The wind bit my skin as we rode, and the tension on my companions’ faces was unmistakable. The sky darkened the closer we got, thick clouds billowing overhead, heralding an oncoming storm.
A sharp, rancid scent curled in my nostrils. I inhaled again and turned to Tara. “What’s that smell?”
“What smell?” Tara frowned.