Sevrin undoes the buttons on his leather shirt and removes it to reveal his big muscled arms, rippled abs, and smooth chest. He goes to set it down, but I snatch it, feeling like it’s important that I show the dragon riders that at least I’m on his side. Even if I’m not against Gareth either. Sevrin moves through the crowd of dragon riders, and I follow through the path he’s cut. Then I’m standing in the circle that surrounds them, my heart in my throat.
“What are the rules?” Sevrin asks, rolling his neck.
Gareth is already breathing hard. “There are no rules. Not for this fight.”
“Not even avoiding the face? We have a wedding tomorrow,” I argue. There is already a slight bruising to Sevrin’s face from where Lucien hit him, he didn’t need to look even more battered.
“No rules,” Gareth grits out.
Sevrin takes that without protest.
Gareth moves into a warrior’s stance, legs spread, arms poised to grab the other man, but Sevrin remains standing, as if he’s not in the middle of a fight, but rather just casually standing in the street. Gareth dances back and forth, waiting for the other man to strike, but he doesn’t.
I can feel Gareth’s frustration when he finally leaps toward his opponent. Sevrin moves out of the way with catlike reflexes, then continues to stare at the prince as if he’s no more threatening than a squirrel. Gareth seems to sense this and strikes again. This time, they grapple with each other, arms clenched on one another, shifting around in a circle as they stare eye-to-eye.
Sevrin smashes his head forward in an instant, cracking his skull against Gareth’s nose. Blood splurts out, and the prince breaks their grappling and steps back from his enemy. The dragon riders boo, and then begin shouting, their energy frantic. Dangerous. But Gareth lifts a hand, indicating for them to calm, and they do. At least a little.
Gareth seems to dart to one side, but at the last second, strikes out. He hits Sevrin in the face, knocking him back. Sevrin’s eyes go several shades darker, but he doesn’t make a sound.
Around and around they go, fighting like mad men. Punching. Kicking. Wrestling. But they’re too evenly matched. Sevrin is a few inches taller than Gareth, and perfectly cut like a statue, but Gareth has bigger muscles and a little more weight. I don’t know which muscled figure is better for fighting.
Gareth suddenly gets Sevrin on the ground. Sevrin looks like he’s in a vulnerable position. Gareth strikes, but Sevrin grabs ahold of Gareth and tosses him on the ground behind him, before leaping up and getting Gareth around the neck from behind.
The dragon riders aren’t happy. They feel that Gareth was tricked, but nothing about Sevrin’s actions broke any rules. He just made himself look more vulnerable than he really was.
Gareth tries to fight while in a headlock, but nothing he does gets him out of the situation. Sevrin is clearly waiting for him to show that he gives up, but Gareth won’t make any sign of surrender. Sevrin grips him tighter, clearly trying to get him to give up. But still, he won’t.
“Sevrin!” I say.He’s going to really hurt him.But neither man reacts. “Sevrin!” I say, louder this time.
He glances up at me.
“You’re going to hurt him.”
“He needs to surrender,” Sevrin grits out, sweaty and irritated.
“He's never going to.”
Sevrin shakes his head.
“Please,” I beg.
For one second, I think he’ll ignore me, but then he shoves Gareth away, sending him falling on the ground, and walks toward me. He kisses me gently, then takes his shirt.
“This isn't over,” Gareth rasps.
My heart aches.
“It is,” Sevrin tells him simply.
Sevrin leads me away, but Gareth is on his knees, panting on the ground. He looks up at me, and there’s such a look of pain that it makes me sick. He stands and strides away from the training grounds, probably headed for his room.
I know what I have to do, even if I don’t want to do it.
Leading Sevrin to a small garden in the academy grounds, I stop and turn to him. “I have to go check on Gareth.”
“Why?”
I don’t know how to explain it. “I just do.”
