He moved at the last second, and she hit his thigh instead. He hooked his arm under her lifted knee and swung her into the wall of the building beside them. He pinned her there. One of his hands gripped her throat and squeezed.
She jerked her dagger toward his ribs, but he caught her wrist and slammed it against the wall. He dug his thumb into the laceration on her forearm. Pain whited out her vision and she dropped her dagger.
Her father’s words flared in her brain.There are only two reasons a warrior drops her blade: when she’s lost her will to fight, or when she’s dead.
The assassin’s other hand came to her throat, choking off her air. She kicked his shin, but he didn’t even flinch. Fumbling with her blood-slicked hand, she clawed her nails across his eyes.
Her attacker stumbled back, bending forward to shield his eyes and cursing. Stella swiped her dagger from the ground and slammed her knee into his stomach as she rose to her feet.
She had a clean shot at his throat, but she hesitated. It was one thing to train to kill someone. It was another to actually do it. She’d plunged a blade into an opponent’s side or arms. But to go for someone’s throat…
It was only a split second of hesitation, but it was enough for him to recover.
She watched in slow motion as he grabbed a blade tucked into his boot and shoved it up toward her chest.
Stella froze. She waited for the pain, but it never arrived.
A blade came out of nowhere and slid across her attacker’s throat. Blood spurted from the wound, spraying across the cobblestones and Stella’s boots. She gaped at the man as he slid to his knees, his hands frantically trying to stop the flow of crimson. He collapsed onto his side, looking up at the night sky, and then his chest went still.
Stella watched the blood form rivers between the stones, unable to look away.
“Stella.” A broad chest appeared in front of her, blocking her view of the body. Teddy’s hands came to her arms.
Warmth pulsed through the bond.Teddy. Teddy, who couldn’t stand her. He had saved her.
Stella was as relieved as she was mad at herself for needing to be saved. She didn’t want him to be right about her that she didn’t have the heart to kill someone.
She shook her head. He couldn’t be right. Not now. Not when she would need to be capable of this, and worse, to win the Gauntlet Games.
But what did it say about her if she couldn’t even bring herself to take a life when her own was in peril?
Teddy lifted her chin, and she met his luminous golden eyes. “You can’t freeze like that in the competition. That’s the difference between life and death.” His voice was soft but insistent.
“You think I don’t know that?” she snapped.
She was grateful for the dark hiding her humiliation. She was the daughter of one of Olney’s greatest warriors and she’d never killed a man. The assassin was right. She didn’t have it in her, and that was a terrifying revelation. She didn’t need Teddy to remind her of how short she was falling of her legacy.
Teddy lifted her arm, wiping her blood on his sleeve. His touchwas gentle, his hands callused and warm against her bare skin as he held the still-seeping wound up to the torchlight. “It’s deep.”
She was vaguely aware of Fionn and Reever watching them. “It’s fine. It will heal,” she whispered. “Don’t overreact or they will read into it. They can’t know.”
Teddy nodded. “Do you think they noticed?”
She licked her lips and shrugged. “You got injured right after I did, so it’s hard to say, but you aren’t subtle.”
Teddy looked away. “I’m sorry.”
He turned to look at Fionn and Reever. “I think that concludes the evening. Whatever favor is owed will have to wait. I’m taking Lady McKay home.”
Fionn nodded, and Stella was relieved he didn’t argue.
“You had quick reflexes after all of those drinks,” Fionn said, a hint of suspicion in his tone.
Stella shrugged. “What can I say? The fight is in my blood.”
Reever watched the exchange with a smirk on his lips. “If it’s all right with you, we will just see you two back safely before we head back to our rooms.”
Teddy nodded and tucked Stella under his arm, guiding her away from the bodies. They walked down the street and waved over a hunter patrol to deal with the mess they’d left behind.
