Chapter 8 #2
Pain lanced through me as I rolled away from his follow-up attack. The crowd's roar seemed distant now, drowned out by the pounding of blood in my ears. I regained my feet just as Gristholm charged again, his movements now visibly affected by the paralytic.
This was my only opportunity. As he barreled toward me, I sidestepped at the last moment, using his own momentum to guide him into the arena wall. The impact was thunderous. Gristholm bounced off the stone, disoriented and weakened by the herbs coursing through his system.
Before he could recover, I struck, not with claws or strength, but with a precise knowledge of our anatomy. My fingers found the nerve cluster at the base of his skull, applying pressure in the exact pattern my father had taught me decades ago.
Gristholm's eyes widened in shock as his limbs failed him. He collapsed to the stone floor, conscious but unable to move.
The arena fell silent.
I stood over my fallen opponent, chest heaving with exertion, blood dripping from multiple wounds. "Do you yield?" I asked, my voice carrying in the stillness.
Gristholm's eyes burned with hatred. "Never," he spat.
The ritual master approached, examining Gristholm's condition. "The challenger has achieved incapacitation. By ancient law, the challenge is decided." He raised his staff. "Redmon of the Sylvan Tribe is victorious and claims the right of protection over Selene of the Western Terramares."
The crowd erupted in cheers, and in protests. I barely heard them. My gaze sought Kalyndi, finding her already rushing toward the arena, her sister close behind.
Magnus Terra officials intercepted her at the edge of the circle. "This is highly irregular," one insisted. "The matching protocols… "
"The Ancient Accords supersede your protocols," I interrupted, my voice carrying despite my exhaustion. "As the ritual master has confirmed. Selene is now under my protection as a ward of my household."
"You can't simply… "
"I can and I have." I drew myself up to full height, ignoring the pain of my wounds. "Unless Magnus Terra wishes to formally reject the Ancient Accords that form the foundation of our peace?"
The official blanched. Rejecting the Accords would have far-reaching consequences that no mid-level bureaucrat would dare trigger.
"This will be reported to the highest levels," he threatened weakly.
"I'm counting on it." I stepped past him, approaching Kalyndi and her sister.
Selene, younger than Kalyndi but with the same determined set to her jaw, regarded me with cautious hope. "Is it true? I don't have to go with him?"
"You're under my protection now," I confirmed. "No one will force you into a matching against your will."
The tribal elders converged as soon as the Magnus Terra officials retreated. Elder Sarrok's expression was thunderous.
"You've overstepped, War Chief," he hissed. "The council will not approve of this interference in established protocols."
"The council approved the Ancient Accords centuries ago," I replied. "I've simply invoked what has always been our right."
Another elder, Thorne's ally Karsa, stepped forward. "Your loyalty is to your tribe, not to humans. This display raises serious questions about your fitness to lead."
I met his gaze steadily. "My loyalty is to justice. To choice. If that conflicts with forcing unwilling humans into matchings, perhaps it's the policy that needs examination, not my loyalty."
Murmurs spread through the gathered elders. Some nodded thoughtfully, while others glared with open hostility.
"This discussion isn't over," Sarrok warned. "The full council will convene to address your actions."
"I look forward to it," I replied, though in truth, I dreaded the political battle to come. My position as war chief hung by a thread, and I'd just taken a blade to it.
As the elders dispersed, Kalyndi approached, her medical bag already open. "You're bleeding badly," she said, her voice steady despite the emotion in her eyes. "We need to treat these wounds immediately."
I allowed her to lead me from the arena, Selene following close behind. The younger woman kept glancing back at the still-immobilized Gristholm, as if afraid he might suddenly recover and pursue her.
"He won't be able to move for hours," I assured her. "And when he does, he'll have no claim on you."
"Why did you do this?" Selene asked bluntly. "You don't know me. You risked your life, your position..."
I had no simple answer. Looking at Kalyndi as she prepared bandages, I found myself equally confused by my motivations.
Had I done this to win her approval? To prove I wasn't the monster she initially believed me to be?
Or was there something more fundamental at work, some shift in my understanding of right and wrong?
"Your sister asked for my help," I said finally. "The rest I'm still figuring out."
The journey back to our dwelling passed in a blur of pain and exhaustion. Upon arrival, someone hastily bandaged my wounds, but I needed more extensive treatment. Kalyndi directed me to lie on the bed while she gathered her supplies.
Selene hovered uncertainly in the doorway. "What happens to me now?"
"You stay with us," Kalyndi said firmly. "As Redmon's ward, you're under his protection. No one can force a matching on you."
"For how long?"
I shifted, wincing as the movement pulled at my wounds. "Until you choose your own path. That's what the protection rite means freedom to choose."
Selene's eyes widened. "I can return to the terramares?"
"If that's what you want," I confirmed. "Though given the current climate, staying here might be safer until the politics settle."
Kalyndi returned with her medical supplies, gently removing the temporary bandages to expose my wounds. Her touch was clinical but gentle as she cleaned the deep gashes Gristholm's claws had left.
"These will need stitching," she murmured, preparing a needle.
Selene moved closer, watching her sister work. "I can help. You taught me the basic patterns."
The sisters worked together, their movements synchronized as they treated my injuries.
I watched them through a haze of pain and something that felt surprisingly like contentment.
Despite everything with the political danger, my physical injuries, the uncertainty of what came next, there was something right about this moment.
"Thank you," Kalyndi said as she finished binding a deep wound. "For what you did today. For Selene."
I met her gaze, finding tears shimmering in her eyes. Not tears of fear or anger as I'd seen before, but something else entirely.
"I still don't understand why," she continued. "You risked everything."
The question echoed my confusion. Why had I done it? The political explanation I'd given the elders felt hollow now, in the quiet intimacy of our dwelling. The truth was both simpler and more complicated.
"Because it was right," I said finally. "Because no one should be forced into a matching they don't want."
The irony of my words hung between us. After all, wasn't that exactly what had happened to Kalyndi herself? Matched with me against her will?
"Even me?" she asked quietly, as if reading my thoughts.
I swallowed hard. "Especially you."
Selene looked between us. "I'll... check what supplies we have for dinner," she said tactfully, slipping out of the room.
Alone with Kalyndi, I found myself at a loss for words. The realization that had been building for weeks crystallized in that moment. I wanted her to stay with me, but not because of some forced matching or political arrangement. I wanted her to choose me, as impossible as that seemed.
"What happens now?" she asked, echoing her sister's earlier question.
"I don't know," I admitted. "The council will challenge my actions. Magnus Terra will demand explanations. But Selene is safe, and that's what matters."
Kalyndi's hand rested lightly on my bandaged chest. "And you? Are you safe?"
"Probably not," I said, with a weak attempt at humor. "But I've survived worse."
Her expression remained serious. "You didn't have to do this. It wasn't your fight."
"It became my fight when you asked for my help." I covered her hand with mine. "I meant what I said in the arena. About choice. About what's right."
Tears spilled over, tracking down her cheeks. "I never thought I'd be grateful to the monster they forced me to marry."
The word monster no longer stung coming from her lips. Context had transformed it from slur to something almost affectionate.
"And I never thought I'd risk everything for a human," I replied softly. "Yet here we are."
Kalyndi leaned forward, resting her forehead against mine in a gesture of intimacy that took my breath away. "Here we are," she whispered.