Page 28 of The Curse of Golden Blood
He raised both eyebrows, glancing expectantly at me. I frowned back, then continued to eat my fruit, chewing slowly. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of responding.
“We all thought you died, you know." He leaned forward, elbows on the table, the grin never quite meeting his eyes. “Some of us even placed bets.”
I kept chewing, and stared hard at him. I was in no mood to play his game. So I didn't.
Pelbie stiffened beside me. Brond wasn't here to save us this time. "Stop it, Terys. There's no need for such childish behavior."
“Oh, come on,” Terys said sweetly. “I’m congratulating her. After all, it takes a certain kind of talent to survive the Warlord. Don't you agree, Miralyte?"
I continued to stare at him, still chewing slowly.
"Don't you?" His grin had grown impossibly wide.
Terys leaned back, arms spread wide like he was basking in sunshine. “You must’ve done something special. I mean, not every rookie gets dragged out of the arena half-dead and ends up dining with Lord Zydar a few nights later.”
How could he possibly know that?
A million retorts danced on the tip of my tongue. The urge to wipe the self satisfied grin off his face was nearly overwhelming. But I merely took a deep breath and continued to chew my food. He wasn’t worth getting into a fight over.
"Leave her be." Pelbie hissed at him.
“Don’t worry, Pelbs. I’m not judging. If I’d known all it took was a little whimpering and a well-placed bruise, I’d have played damsel, too.”
Something that was dangerously close to a growl rumbled low in my chest and I stood, pushing the bench back with enough force to tip it over.
“Tell me,” he said softly, mockingly, “does he make you call him 'my lord' when you beg him to fu—"
Before he could get the words out, my fist slammed into his face. His nose crumpled with a satisfying crunch as blood spurted from the nostrils and flowed into his teeth.
For a moment, everything seemed to freeze.
Then, with a howl of pain, he stumbled backward, hands flying to cover his face. "You whore! That's it. You're dead."
With a deep, feral growl, he launched himself toward me. Even in pain, he was shockingly fast. But despite his brutish size, he was clumsy, and I easily dodged his swing.
The boy let loose a curse and swung his other fist. This time it clipped my shoulder, hard. A flash of heat flared from the point of impact, spreading across the flesh in an instant. And though it was a small strike, it was still a powerful one.
This kid was strong. Like, supernaturally strong.
Ignoring the urge to grab the spot and squeeze away the deep ache, I backed up a step. He was almost six inches taller and much larger than me. So, in order to succeed against such an opponent, I would need to use his strength and height against him.
My eyes darted around, looking for anything I could use. And as if sensing my intention, Terys closed the gap between us with one giant step and threw his massive arm toward my face. I sidestepped the punch at the last minute and saw the fist glance off the wall to my left with a crack. The lightning veins flared and flashed angrily, as though offended at the insult.
He lunged again, and this time I ducked beneath his arm. It missed me by inches. As the blow whistled past my face, I could feel the displaced air wash across my skin in a cool rush.
The kid growled and charged me, head down. It was like trying to avoid being hit by a bull, one with murder in its eyes.
"Hold still," he roared, "or I swearI'll—"
I didn't give him a chance to finish. Instead, I took a half step to the left, turning the dodge into a spin.
As my body swiveled, I reached out and grabbed his shoulders, using them as leverage to heave myself into the air and behind him. My leg hooked under his armpit, and with a grunt, I used the momentum to slam him to the ground.
He didn't know what hit him. And though the move had looked effortless, it was anything but. I had spent years honing and perfecting that particular maneuver.
Still, I wasn't even close to being finished.
Before the boy had a chance to react, I wrapped my legs around his neck, anchoring my ankles together. Once secured, I used my arms to apply pressure, crushing his head between my thighs. The brute thrashed wildly beneath me, arms and legs flailing like a stuck fish. He couldn't escape.
