Nikko hasn’t responded. His eyes are locked on Asher now.
Asher, who’s still in pain. I’ve been watching him move stiffly all day. So have they.
Beside me, Charlotte reaches out and grips my fingers.
“It’s all right,” she whispers. But I really don’t think it is.
The king eats another piece of meat, but says nothing. Captain Zale leans in to murmur something to him, and Ky goes still, then shrugs.
I look around the circle. “Whatever you’re all doing, you willstop it.”
For half a second, I have their attention. The threat in the air seems to hesitate. But then their eyes shift to the king. It’s clear who will give the order here.
Ky glances my way, and his voice is mild. “Asher did offer a rematch,” he says. “He can withdraw the challenge if he likes.”
My breath catches, and I wait.Withdraw, I think.Withdraw.
But Asher says nothing. His eyes haven’t left Nikko.
The king speaks into my silence. “He has not asked for your defense, Princess.”
I almost flinch. I don’t think he would. I’ve never been able to help him before.
“You said we would besafe,” I say, a little desperately—but it’s not really what he said at all.
He saidIwould be safe.
“If he wins,” says Garrett, “he’ll be perfectly safe.”
Throughout all of this, Asher and Nikko have been completely still. I’m not even sure they’ve taken a breath.
My heart feels like it’s stopped beating, as if it’s not sure it can handle this.
Nikko is the one to break—and when he moves, he’sfast. He’s off the ground, sword and dagger drawn, and Charlotte gives a little shriek—just before she grabs my arm as if she’s going to pull me out of the way.
Or maybe she’s stopping me from jumping between them.
Asher still doesn’t move, and Nikko barrels down on him. Those blades will be buried in his chest before I can do anything about it. But at the last possible moment, Asher dives under the weapons, skidding through the dirt beside the fire. He’s shirtless, and I realize he must have unbuckled the jacket before he leapt. Maybe that’s what took the extra time. Nikko is already spinning, but Asher rolls, avoiding the blades again. His shoulder collides with the ground, dirt sticking to the burn. He grunts and falters midroll, letting out a sharp burst of breath. It gives Nikko an opening to swing his sword arm down.
I gasp in alarm, but Asher twists inside the movement, getting closer, and the sword scrapes dirt behind him. Asher surges off the ground and grabs hold of the soldier’s breastplate with one hand, then throws a handful of ash from the fire in his face with the other. A few glowing embers flare in the night air, and Nikko jerks away, sputtering.It only buys him a second, but Asher clearly needs less than that. I barely see him move, but he’s used that grip on the soldier’s armor to swing onto his back. Asher gets an arm around Nikko’s neck, the edge of a blade tucked tight against his throat.
I don’t even know when he got a weapon.
Everyone is frozen in place, and I’m straining against Charlotte’s grip, ready for the other soldiers to explode off the ground and go after Asher. Two of them are already on their feet. Boots scrape in the dirt, and hands flicker toward daggers and swords.
But Asher doesn’t move farther. He grips the blade right up against Nikko’s throat, but he hasn’t broken skin. A bloom of sweat coats Asher’s upper body, mixing with the dust and grit from the ground, and I realize he’s panting, his chest heaving hard.
Nikko, on the other hand, isn’t breathing at all. His face is turning red from Asher’s grip. The soldier drops his weapons in the dirt, then taps two fingers against the palm of his other hand.
“Asher,” says the king. “He yields.” His voice is low, his expression reserved, a complete contrast to the strain in the air.
Without hesitation, Asher withdraws the blade, then uncurls his arm to spring to the ground. He’s still breathing hard, and I can tell he’s well aware of the other men watching him. I don’t want to imagine how much that hurt—or how much effort it took.
The soldiers don’t look threatening anymore. Now they’re just staring.
Nikko doesn’t take his eyes off Asher, but he swipes gray ash off his face and coughs hard, then fetches his weapons from the dirt. When he straightens, Asher holds out the blade he stole from somewhere. Nikko blinks in surprise—then does a double take.
It’s only then that I notice the sheath on his outer thigh is empty, too.
