Chapter 17 #2
My sword flashed down as I went low, and in one clean stroke, her ankle split—bone, sinew, boot. Down she fell with a cry that echoed across the coliseum. She attempted to crawl away. Showing no mercy, because I couldn’t, I ended her fight with a swift beheading and the removal of her heart.
What must Taron think of me? What did I think of myself?
Another challenge issued from a soldier named Henry I wasn’t sure I’d ever spoken with.
I shifted my stance and let him close in. Blood leaked through my lashes, and I blinked it away as best I could, glancing up. Taron clenched the dais railing, apprehension etching his face. No hatred, no shock, no revulsion, just concern.
And that’s when the whip hit. A crack like lightning. The tip lashed across the wound on my face, salt to a flame. Pain tore through me, so sharp it drove me to my knees, vision blurring. Gasps surged through the crowd.
Henry came in fast, sword raised. My dragon unleashed a primal scream as I surged upright, parrying while temporarily blinded, then spinning to deflect a second blow from the side. He wasn’t playing. He wanted to kill me, ja, but first he intended to disarm me.
I purposely slowed, letting the whip wrap around my waist. Allowing the warrior to pull me close. Let him believe I was stunned. Then I flared my claws, dragon-forged, razor-sharp, and tore open his throat. A crimson arc sprayed across the arena as he crumpled. After that, mercy wasn’t an option.
A scream. A fall. Off with his head, out with his heart. Silence.
My breath released hard and fast, but my stance never wavered. Then the trumpet blared. Once. Twice. Thrice.
Victory belonged to me. “Anyone else?” I bellowed. I pushed past a heavy weight of regret and lifted my bloody hands to the morning sky. Smoke curled around me, seeping from my pores as if the dragon breathed fire in my veins.
Silence wrapped the arena as every eye remained fixed on me. A silence broken only by the thudding of my heart.
This would be the perfect time for Taron to act, if any part of him still desired revenge.
My gaze locked with his. From across the coliseum, he stared like he’d never seen anything more terrifying…
or beautiful. But then, I could say the same about him.
There, in that moment, he was everything I’d ever wanted and nothing I could have.
“Queen Olyssa has won,” Councilman Bauer announced, proud once again.
A cheer rang out from those in the stands.
I blinked, startled and jarred by the sound as the strike of sword against sword still echoed in my mind.
Their voices crashed over me, propping me up.
Because I didn’t hear cries of war, but joy.
Victory. My people were sharing this moment with me, their queen.
Then, a stir erupted in the gallery. Projecting all kinds of ferocity, Taron raced down the steps.
Raced to me. The crowd parted, either afraid to get in his way or curious to learn what the queen’s supposed firebrand would do.
His gaze remained locked on me, blazing.
When he reached the bottom of the stands, he hopped over the railing, entering the arena. I stood rooted, breath catching.
He stopped a mere whisper away from me. Close enough that I felt the heat radiating from his skin and saw the honey in his irises melt.
My world narrowed to one man and one impossible bond. I tipped up my chin, refusing to be the first to break.
The crowd quieted, every eye upon us, I was sure. I was too overwhelmed by emotion to care about an audience for this moment with Taron.
“You shouldn’t be down here,” I said, my voice husky from smoke and strain. “Unless you wish to fight me.”
“Not that.” His stare raked over me. My bloodstained clothing, my heaving chest, my wild, half-braided hair. “Never that again.”
I gulped. “You shouldn’t say that.” Dang it, I sniffled, unable to hold back a new flood of tears. “I’m a monster.”
“You are an inspiration. You did whatever proved necessary to survive and ensure the safety of your people.”
That wasn’t…I, he…what? “You need to stay far from me, Professor.” My guess? He didn’t understand the ferocity of my struggle right now. “I meant what I said before. I can barely stop myself from dousing you in my flames.”
His focus lifted, remaining on my face, lingering on the cut at my cheek, the soot on my brow. “Maybe I’m already burning,” he whispered. “Maybe a part of me wants to…try.”
Smoke congealed in my throat, constricting my airway. “What are you saying?”
“Do it,” he said, jutting his jaw. “Douse me in your flames. Let’s learn the truth of our connection once and for all.”
The words echoed inside my head. We stood there, locked in a strange stillness. Even my dragon went still. I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. My thoughts were too tangled. My desires, too. I wanted to reach for him and shove him away all at once.
What if he died, like Leopold?
What if this time, I didn’t survive it either?
My blood flashed ice-cold. Though I’d just faced down three immortal competitors, I pulled back from this one mortal man, shaking my head. “Nein, I won’t risk you,” I croaked, then turned on my heel and fled, leaving him standing in the blood of my enemies.