Page 48 of A Promise so Bold and Broken

“Lessia.”

She pried her eyes open, finding him crouched before her.

“H—” she tried, but she needed to suck in one more breath against another wave of pain.

“It’s not real,” Merrick said.

Right.

She’d drunk something.

She drew another breath.

A red vial.

Another breath.

She’d chosen to do this.

Another breath.

Lessia managed to straighten her hunched back.

While the pain was still there, those pangs still shocking her body, when she blinked, she could take in the beach again.

Merrick was still on his knees before her.

Raine was a few yards away, a worried expression marring his drunk face.

Venko and Ardow had also inched closer, identical looks of fear deforming their features.

“G-give me.” Lessia’s eyes dropped to the dagger in the sand, then to the one in Merrick’s hand. “P-please.”

He seemed as if he was about to argue, but then a low rumble vibrated in his chest, and he did what she asked, although he shoved the daggers harder into her open hands than he needed to.

Squeezing the hilts, Lessia drew more air through her nose.

It helped, gripping something—had her focus on something other than the pain.

Placing her feet a few inches wider, she scowled at Merrick. “Go on.”

Merrick’s pearly hair flew around his face as he shook it, another growl rolling through him, but he unsheathed his sword.

She didn’t wait for a signal to start.

Flying forward, Lessia focused every part of her mind on Merrick’s unguarded gut.

But as he’d done with Raine, he sidestepped her.

“Good,” he rasped into her ear, tapping her back with his sword. “But not good enough.”

She hissed through her teeth as she spun around, forcing her mind to ignore yet another jolt of pain, but found Merrick’s sword pointed at her heart.

“Stay behind your daggers at all times,” he growled at her, his face an inch from hers. “You’re making it too easy.”

Sweat stung her eyes, but she charged again, ensuring her daggers moved first.

Merrick danced around her, his sword lining up with her gut, the edges of it scraping against her arms as she spun again.

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