Chapter 21
Njall
Blood poured from my nose as the guard pulled back his fist again and sent a right hook toward my face.
I moved to dodge, but again, I was too slow and took another blow to the face.
I stumbled back but caught myself before I went down.
After two weeks, the king had grown bored of simply taunting and starving me, and began to pit me against his favorite men, or younger guards, as a punishment.
The outcome was never in doubt; the amount of armor each man wore into the cell made it clear who was meant to win.
Standing safely outside the bars, the group of nobles jeered and placed bets, their voices echoing off the damp walls.
I wiped the blood from my lip with the back of my hand, and I tried to drown out the ruckus while focusing on the guard.
He was larger than the last two, and though he stood shorter than Baldr, he knew how to throw a punch.
I was already feeling dizzy after so many knocks to the head in the last few days.
My vision blurred as I raised my hands to shield my face.
I realized he was leaning a little to the right. When he came at me again, I swung my left hook with every ounce of strength I had, feeling the satisfying crack of his jaw beneath my knuckles.
The nobles booed as the guard staggered, clutching his face.
When I drove another punch into his gut, it sent him crashing into the far wall.
He slid down, gasping for breath. I stepped carefully around the puddle of blood that was spreading, thankful that they'd moved me to a different cell for the fights.
My head spun as I shifted my weight, trying to stay light on my heels despite the exhaustion pulling at my body.
The guard finally recovered, pushed himself off the wall, and accepted a mug from one of the nobles.
He chugged the contents, then slammed to the ground and roared, pounding his chest like some feral beast.
I swallowed hard and readied myself for the next attack. When he charged again, his fists were relentless. Despite blocking several of his throws, one punch caught me square in the gut, driving the air from my lungs, and another snapped my head sideways. I hit the ground hard.
The nobles cheered, but I stayed down, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the dirt floor. There was no point in getting up again. I already knew how this would end.