Page 90 of Courting War
That wasn’t how hydra attacks were supposed to go. Only the heads were supposed to double if cut off.
“Tsk, tsk,” the wind howled. “The objective isn’t to kill my little pets. Naughty, naughtyMorrigan.”
“Kel, you need to spell the word,” Cecile said, “or every time she kills, another will pop up.”
“Yeah, I gathered that.”
Kellyn’s feet were glued to the floor, and his head buzzed. He needed to spell . . . and correctly. Red wept from Morrigan’s wounds, the snakes landing at least four blows now. She’d die if he couldn’t do this, which was unacceptable. He couldn’t deny it. He cared. He liked her grumpy moods and blunt demeanor. He liked her strange, comforting style and confidence in him.
The cords of his neck tightened, and his heart surged in his chest, beating to the cadence of shame and fear. His weakness was going to killhis . . .the girl—
“Kel, you can do this,” Morrigan called as she dodged another head. “You’re incredibly talented. You solved the stone game in the least number of moves possible. You understand patterns and see the big picture. You can figure this out, too.”
Blood rushed to his head, and his nails bit into his palms. Sucking in a slow breath, he thought about it.The big picture. What was he missing? Something.
There was something that could help him. He knew it. Morrigan certainly understood it, so what did she figure out before he could?
Kellyn’s heart drummed in his ears, and it was the only sound he could hear. So loud. Too loud.
Sweat dripped down his back.
You’re a stupid idiot.
He glanced at his friends. The blood had rushed from Cecile’s face, and every time a snake got too close, she flinched. Emmett watched with horror and fatigue. He sat on a rock, and he clutched his stomach.
What idiot can’t even spell?
Kellyn bit down hard, his jaw aching from the pain.
Morrigan groaned as another hydra got too close. She fell to her knees and stared up at the snakes. But the monsters didn’t move in for the killing blow.
They taunted her. Taunted him.
“H . . . Y?” He started, holding his breath, and waiting for the wind to reprimand him, but it didn’t come. “D?” He scrunched his nose.
Waiting.
Nothing.
Right again.
“R…”
Kellyn swallowed. He was so close. But was it I, A or E, A or just A. Oh, this language was so stupid.
“I . . . A,” he choked out.
“Wrong again,” Nefeli’s voice laughed. “Oh, how this is fun!”
Another hydra clawed out of the sand, and now Morrigan faced four monsters. Using her sword as a crutch, she stood up. She wouldn’t give up.
Kellyn internally kicked himself, and his lungs clenched tight, his chest stinging from the pain of it.
Morrigan should have shown fear, but instead, she faced down the monsters and rolled her shoulders back.
Then she attacked, fighting to maim, not to kill, and Kellyn didn’t understand why she’d thought she was weaker. She was brilliant. Watching her fight was like watching a magician’s show. Morrigan fought like nothing he’d ever seen, using her body as an instrument. In the same way that a ballerina was all lean muscles, long lines, and formidable grace, Morrigan was all muscle and curves designed to create bloodshed. She moved faster than a human, her body twisting and pulling in unreal ways. Her reflexes were those of the long-extinct demigod. Not human, but not truly divine either.
As Kellyn watched, the answer hit him straight in the chest, like Morrigan’s blows with her sai.No help from the gladiator circle.Emmett and Cecile weren’t in the circle. They could help, and they were both brilliant spellers.
