Page 80 of The Splendor of Fire
Hector squinted. “Have you been practicing that?”
A mischievous glint appeared in Léo’s eye and he stepped forward, lifting her over his shoulders. She draped across him and made a slow cartwheel off. Like climbing the branches of her favorite tree, she scaled his back and stood upon his broad shoulders. She put her hands to her waist and looked down at the group, who watched slack-jawed.
Steadying his position, he leaned his head back, bringing his palms to his shoulders. Flowing in a steady motion, she entwined their fingers, folded forward, shifting her weight off her feet, finding balance in his strength to handstand. Concentrating on the flecks ofgold in his eyes, she extended into a split then brought her ankles together as straight as an arrow.
Moving together, she pivoted her hips slightly to the right and took one hand away, balancing one handed in his palm. He pushed his palm above his head and she rooted in him once more, and then brought her legs down, tumbling to earth. In a few movements, he shot her back into the air. She tucked and spun, sailing back down into the safety of his arms.
Together, they became something different, something powerful. With her arms around his neck, her heart warmed and she nearly forgot herself and kissed him. Instead, she blinked and looked away, and he put her down on the ground.
Iain broke the stunned silence. “Ye nooo tha’ could be right useful far gettin’ ooover a wall.”
Chapter 23
ALBHAINN POND - AUGUST 15, 1385
More speed. I need more speed!
Léo growled in frustration. “I cannot give you more speed without killing you! Do you want to break your neck?”
Moira raked her fingers through her hair, yanking it into a knot on the top of her head and winding a leather tie around it. He was thwarting her every move. Never again. Once their mission was over, she would never work with a partner, ever again.
Standing with her ankles to the back of a knee-high rock, she moved through her part of their lift.
“Your shoulders aren’t rolled back enough.”
Killing her. He was killing her.My shoulders are fine.
“They’re not. You’re angling too far forward which is stifling your pop off my wrists.”
It’s your tunic! I keep catching my hands in the sleeves.
Face drawn tight he ripped the tunic off, balled it up, and chucked it over her head.
Vision red, she wrested the tunic from her face and threw it with force into the pond.
He erupted in a stream of angry French. “Tu te fous de moi? Êtes-tu un enfant?”
Pleased, she watched him wade into the murky water after his tunic, muttering. She turned and continued to practice her sequence begrudgingly holding her shoulders farther back.
The success of the mission would depend on her ability to get enough height in the lift, and so far he’d managed to throw her into his face, to the side, and over his shoulders, but had not been able to throw her high enough to grab the top of an obstacle.
Stalking out of the lake, Léo tossed his sopping tunic on the ground. He crouched and held his hands in front of him circling her invisible hips. Concentrating, he ran through his portion of the sequence. The same frustration she’d had for the last two hours with his execution surfaced and she got his attention.
Drive through your legs faster and burst upward. You’re not giving me enough power.
He wiped a hand over his face. “It needs to be as controlled as possible. We’ll have a limited amount of space. If I throw you too high I am afraid I’ll lose control and throw you into something, or won’t be able to catch you.”
You need to trust that I know what I’m doing. Give me the power and I will control it. Stop being such a donkey.
He strode toward his wadded-up tunic, picked it up, and wrung the water from it. “We’re done here.”
Léo, wait. She tried to grab for his arm but he yanked it away, walking back toward the tunnel. Running after him, she tried to get in front of him, struggling to sign as she jogged.So you say we’re done and we’re done? You decide what I do and how I do it…
Jaw set, eyes fixed ahead, he trudged through the tall grass. She jogged ahead of him.Will you stop?
Diverting his eyes, he refused to read what she was saying, proving that if he chose, he could shut her out. She stopped and she watched him stomp away. Curling in on herself, she released a silent scream, cursing her useless throat. She deserved a say. Anger mounting, her chest heaving, she targeted his back and ran.
In seconds, she crossed the field between them andlaunched herself onto his back. Arms windmilling, he squawked as she took him face first into a mud puddle. Her feeling of triumph lasted only moments before he bucked her over his powerful shoulders, flipping her into the mud and pinning her to the ground. She kicked against him, but legs of iron and hands of bronze held her fast.
