The crowd jeers in confusion and irritation, their hoarse heckles flinging at me like slaps against my back.
Up close, I can see that Mustard is older than I first thought—his clean shaven jaw giving him a boyish look. But in his eyes, you can see the truth of a hardened warrior.
“Leave the boy alone,” I demand, and I’m impressed at how strong I manage to keep my voice, that it doesn’t crack under the pressure.
“Erm… What?” Mustard says, mouth gaping.
A sharp whistle sounds, and then Osrik is striding up. His damn body is so big I can practically feel the ground tremble every time he takes a step. Or maybe that’s just me shaking in my boots.
“What the fuck are you doing?” he demands, stopping in front of me.
I lift my chin. “Stopping this. I won’t let you have a boy pummeled for your soldiers’ entertainment.”
Osrik’s mouth opens, the wooden piercing in his bottom lip shifting, the vein at his temple pulsing with irritation. “Excuse me? Who thefuckdo you think you are?”
Behind me, Twig’s small voice sounds. “Miss, you shouldn’t have come in the circle.”
I glance at him over my shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, Twig. I can handle this.”
Osrik barks out a cruel laugh. “No, you really can’t. And the kid is right. You shouldn’t have crossed into the fight circle.”
“Nope,” Mustard chimes in, rocking back on his heels with amusement as he crosses his arms over his strong, tanned chest. “Tell her what the rules are, Os.”
Osrik looks steadily back at me. “If someone crosses into the fight circle, they have to fight.”
“And take off their shirts. Don’t forget that important bit,” Mustard grins. “Wouldn’t do to get blood on our clothes,” he adds with a wink.
My stomach churns.
“Shut up, Judd,” Osrik snaps.
“Miss, it’sreallyokay,” Twig tries to intervene again. My heart hurts at howhe’strying to protectme.
I stand my ground, even as the crowd of onlookers becomes antsier, louder. Even though they aren’t crossing into the circle, it seems like they’ve packed more tightly together, like they’re closing in on me. The tension is thick and clinging, oily air that makes it hard to breathe, coating my skin with grime.
Osrik looks past me. “Get back into formation, kid.”
Twig moves obediently out from behind me, but I move with him, shaking my head. “No.”
I don’t care how big Osrik is, how strong, or how mean. There are some things that give you the courage to face a giant.
Osrik tips his head back and lets out a sigh, like he’s trying to find some patience that he can pluck out of the smoky air. When that doesn’t seem to work, he takes a step toward me. If he does it on purpose to intimidate me, then it works. He could snap me and Twig in half without even trying.
But still, I don’t back down. Because at one point, that wasme, forced to fight on the streets, kids pitted against each other while my owner Zakir traded bets with the other men. Nobody ever intervened on my behalf, no matter how hard I wished someone would.
I lock my knees into place. “Do what you want to me, but I’m not going to stand by and let Twig get beaten.”
Beside me, Judd whistles low under his breath.
Osrik rolls his brown eyes, his beard looking even wilder than usual. “This may come as a surprise, since you’re used to being coddled in your castle,” he begins. “But guess what? There is no coddling in the real world, and there sure as hell isn’t any going on in Fourth’s army either. Everyone has to earn their place here. Including Twig.”
My hands fist at my sides. “He’s achild.”
“Yep, and he’s gotta learn how to defend himself. So that he can be a good soldier one day, so that he can have a future. Earn coin. Have honor. Hechoseto be here.” Osrik waves a hand around the circle. “This isn’t cheap entertainment, and I’m not having himbeaten. This is fucking training.”
My lips part in surprise, all of my righteous indignation deflating. I look at Twig, who’s glancing back at me sheepishly, with visible embarrassment tinging his cheeks. “You...youwantto do this?”
Twig nods slowly, like he’s worried about hurting my feelings. “Yes, Miss. Sir Os and Sir Judd always let me train a little during fight circles.”
