Page 66 of Between Wrath and Mercy

At my third swipe, he finally lifted his sword, blocking me, and I spun in the direction he’d pushed me, turning into the momentum. I swung my weapon around with me, and he parried the blow. I continued to spin and aimed low for his knees, but he thrust his sword downward and stopped me, anticipating the movement.

He wasn’t attempting to beat me, only checking me instead.

“Why does it always come to this, Highclere? Are you that scared of what I might have to say?” I ignored him.

He turned then, bringing his sword down from above as I stood back up and deflected him, twisting my shoulder a bit with the weight of the impact. I almost started to heal myself before I remembered our deal—no abilities. At the time we made our agreement, I hadn’t been aware I could heal myself. How unfortunate. We might have come to different terms if I’d known. I felt myself smirk, picturing putting Rainier to sleep as I’d done to the tírrúil. It didn’t last long as I felt a stab of pain in my shoulder. I could have gotten away with healing without him noticing, but I’d win this fairly or, I wouldn’t win at all.

Even though it hurt, I pushed my sword against him, attempting to make a hit while he followed through, but he was too fast, bringing his weapon up to block me once again. The momentum spun me back, and I had to throw my sword behind me to stop his next move, an attempt at swiping my legs out from under me. He stumbled a step back, and I took advantage, throwing my weight behind me to finish spinning, bringing my sword right back around from the direction he stumbled.

I was disappointed when he ducked, and shocked when he came back up and shoved me backward, his empty hand splayed on my chest. As I tripped, he grabbed my sword hand and pushed me up against the corner of the stable behind me. I hadn’t realized we’d moved so close to it.

“Good to see you’re not holding back this time,” I gritted out. Pinned against the building, I met his gaze, letting him see my fire and fury.

“You’re mine for the next two years, ocean eyes.” He grinned, and I saw red.

I grabbed the dagger strapped to my thigh and stabbed him in the gut, just to the side and below his navel. I’d have won right there if this were first blood, but it wasn’t, and I knew, despite the roar of pain coming from him, I would still easily be overpowered. He grabbed my wrist, and I pushed him backward with my sword hand, pulling my dagger out of him as he went. He grunted and then immediately went to strike, and I fended him off with the dagger as I spun.

It felt like a pulse from Dewalt, the pain that shivered up my elbow when he made contact with the dagger. I vaguely heard screaming from Lavenia and what sounded like laughter from Thyra. I felt my braid fall down my back, loose and a liability. I was in a weakened position, having to parry behind my back, turning halfway to face him with both my weapons.

Left. Dagger. Hit. Turn. Right. Sword. Hit.

I fixed the grip of the smaller blade and attempted to reach back and hit him in the neck with it, but he threw my wrist down with one hand as he brought his sword down from above with his other. I barely spun backward out of the way as I heard other voices join Lavenia and Thyra. I groaned internally; I specifically didn’t want an audience for this.

When he thrust forward again, I’d turned enough to block him properly. He was faster than me, though, and he swung again from the other direction. I had to check him with my dagger once again. I remembered how dangerous this was with him. He’d always been good at wearing down his opponent, and he knew I couldn’t keep taking blows to my weaker side. I turned a bit to throw him off and brought my sword down behind him. Somehow, he managed to get his own between mine and his back and blocked me that way.

I let out a shriek of fury as a roll of thunder crashed. He was too gods damn fast.

He stood there for a moment and looked over his shoulder at me where our swords crossed. The heavens split, and rain started falling, heavy drops hitting my brow.

“I made an agreement for the kingdom.” He barely looked phased while I was panting.

“Is that what you call it with all of the others? Is there a contract? Why didn’t I get one?” I regretted my words immediately. It showed my hand. It showed I was bothered. It showed I gods damn cared. I knew he’d been with other women but finding out this secret made me wonder what else he wasn’t telling me. What other secrets was he keeping? If he would have told me about Keeva before last night, before he made my body burn to an ember, then our conversation never would have turned into what it did. But he chose to keep that information from me.

Anger flashed in his eyes, and instead of replying to me, he threw my sword off with his elbow and brought his own around above him. I barely had time to throw up my blades, crossing them to stop him before he pushed down, making contact with my shoulder, forcing me to my knees. I bared my teeth as my arms weakened, and I felt the cool steel press against me. I pushed up into it, defiant, ignoring the pain as the blade sliced my flesh.

He looked down at me, and I watched his eyes soften and then widen when he saw the blood drip into the divot of my collarbone. He eased off me, pulling the sword from my skin but not dropping his guard. I felt the trickle of blood and water mix and slowly slide down my chest.

I should have surrendered then. Rainier already won, but I wasn’t finished.

I shoved his sword off with my own while I spun on my knees, slashing my dagger around to his legs, cutting both his thighs in one swoop. He stumbled back and looked down, allowing me to stand up, my pants wet and sticking to my knees. I held my elbow up like before, dagger in hand, resting the blade of my sword on my forearm. My shoulder was already starting to hurt from the fight itself, and now it felt even worse.

He stood still, staring at me, the rain pouring down on us both.

“I should have told you. I wasgoingto tell you.”

For some reason, that angered me more than anything. Rainier knew all along he should have told me, and yet he chose not to. I was sick of people not telling me things. Maybe he thought I’d be scared away if I knew there was a betrothal, let alone to one of the most powerful women in the Three Kingdoms. I was angry that I thought it might have been a chance to get things right, and he’d already messed it up. I was frustrated with myself for wanting more even though I’d tried to convince us both it meant nothing, that it was all we’d ever be. I was angry that no one had been honest with me. I was justangry.

I lunged forward, and he blocked me and dodged when I swung back the direction I came from. When my sword followed through, I switched weapons behind my back, putting my dagger in my strong hand. I spun away then and threw up my sword in my left hand as his came down. It hurt as the vibration raced down my arm, but it distracted him long enough for me to get my dagger closer to him. But before I could make contact, he grabbed my wrist and squeezed hard. I yelled as I dropped the dagger, rage simmering in my veins.

I wrenched my wrist free, staggering backward as he came flying toward me. I still had the sword in my left hand, and though I was successful in parrying him, I knew I’d never be able to strike against him. I met every blow as he sent me stumbling toward the stable again. I tried to lunge and catch him off guard, and he palmed my sword, easily able to wrench it out of my grasp, throwing it behind him.

I fell back against the wall, hair falling out of my braid and sticking to my face. He brought his sword up and pushed the point in between my breasts, a pinprick of pain underneath my shirt, the fabric already plastered to my body with rain and blood.

We stood there for a moment while we caught our breath, thunder barely drowning out the sound of blood rushing in my ears. My chest heaved, a mirror of his own. The shirt he wore clung to every tense muscle of his body. His brows were lowered over his eyes, triumph and frustration warring on his face as he stared me down.

He slowly lowered his sword as he took a few steps toward me, and I glared as he came closer. He threw his weapon down, and he put his hand against the stable to the side of my head and leaned in. I gasped as his other hand gripped my braid and pulled, tilting my head back and up. I felt eyes on us as he aligned his face with mine, eye to eye and mouths close, his breath on my lips warm. Within those mossy green depths, there was a mixture of anger and sadness, and I forced myself to look into them, to let him see my feelings on the subject mirrored and surpassed his.

“It has been, is, and will always be you. And fuck, if that hasn’t complicated my life enough already.”

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