Rey folded, then unfolded, his arms. “What in the eternal fucking fires do they have to talk about?”
But the women parted, and Silla drew her wool-wrapped sword with a determined smile. Rey could only groan.
“It appears they intend to spar,” said Eyvind brightly. “This shall be entertaining.”
His traitorous friend pushed off the wall and joined the other warriors crowding around the pair. A hush had fallen over the sparring grounds, warriors gathering around the women. As Rey caught his name on a whisper, a sharp breath hissed through his teeth. Reluctantly, he made his way closer.
Kaeja removed her cloak and began wrapping her weapon in raw wool, though this did little to temper Rey’s nerves. The blades might be protected for practice, but that did not mean injury could not be had. The worry in Rey’s gut only tightened when Kaeja found him in the crowd and smiled. It was a smile he’d once fallen for, a smile he now knew held a thousand hidden knives.
When weeks had passed in Ashfall without sight of his former flame, Rey had foolishly thought Kaeja had found another court to haunt. Of course he was not so lucky as that. And now he cursed himself for not warning Silla about her. Because if there was one thing Rey knew about Kaeja, it was that she would cheat.
The muffled clang of steel signaled the start of their sparring match. Too late, Rey thought, as he pushed closer. Their match started amicably enough—the women trading blows with little force behind them. But when Silla’s blunt blade struck Kaeja’s hip, she retaliated with a rough shove to the chest. Silla stumbled, regaining her balance barely in time to parry Kaeja’s incoming blow. Their blades cracked together, and Silla blinked at the power Kaeja had thrown into it.
“Keep it friendly!” warned Hekla.
But Kaeja didn’t have a friendly bone in her body. Taking advantage of Silla’s confusion, Kaeja rained blow after blow upon her. On the defensive, Silla was forced backward, bobbing and ducking the ever-quickening slashes of Kaeja’s blade. Her boot got tangled in her long cloak, and she stumbled onto her backside, Kaeja’s blunted blade pressing into the hollow of her throat. Silla glared up at her opponent.
As the whispers whipped back up in the crowd, Rey clapped his hands to rally Silla.
“Remember what we practiced!”
Silla shoved to her feet, determination blazing in her eyes. “Again,” she demanded, unhooking the golden pin securing her cloak in place.
Rey’s chest filled with pride, an illogical thought settling in his mind. If Silla could beat Kaeja, it would give the gossipmongers in Kopa something to truly talk about. Perhaps it would show them who had come out the better from their parting. It was a petty thought, one he was not proud of. But Rey focused on Silla with new eagerness.
After shrugging out of the fine garment, Silla returned to the center of the circle and squared her shoulders.
Kaeja smirked, joining her. “Perhaps we are not as suited in the ring as I believed.”
Silla pushed a wayward curl from her forehead, taking the attack stance Rey had drilled into her. “Again.”
“As you wish.” Kaeja shrugged.
They had barely begun circling each other when Silla launched a quick attack. She was far from the girl who could barely hold a blade a few months past, yet Silla was not privy to Kaeja’s secret skill. After parrying a blow, Kaeja burst with galdur-fueled Harefoot speed and twisted behind Silla. With a brutal kick to the back of her legs, Silla went sprawling, her blade skittering out of reach.
Kaeja put a foot on Silla’s spine, her blade poised at the back of her neck.
“Yield,” ordered Kaeja.
A growl built low in Rey’s throat, but he could not let it loose. If he stepped in, it would not only bring dishonor upon Silla, but would further spur the whispers. He saw the determination in her eyes, and his chest inflated with pride. Kaeja had thrown the gauntlet, and Silla would want to see this through now more than ever.
“Again,” snarled Silla. As Kaeja blinked in surprise, Rey’s lips curved up in a savage smile. Kaeja might know her way around the sparring ring, but his girl knew how to get back up.
Hekla shouted her encouragement, the crowd joining in.
“You don’t know when to quit, do you?” muttered Kaeja, offering a hand up.
Silla sent her a sweet smile. “Idon’t quit.”
Rey’s heart sang at this proclamation, and he watched with eagerness, ready for Kaeja to learn the lesson he had long ago—that Silla wasnotto be underestimated.
Angered, Kaeja yanked Silla up with excessive force, sending her stumbling. The moment she regained her balance, Silla whirled on Kaeja, who’d lunged at her with Harefoot speed. Silla’s blunted sword parried blow after blow, dodging and twisting away from Kaeja’s brutal onslaught. But her regular speed was no match forthat of a Harefoot, and she did not even see the kick that swept her feet out from beneath her. Silla landed hard on her back, eyes widening as she fought for breath. But Kaeja was on top of her, her forearm shoving into her neck as she pinned her to the ground.
Rey’s chest squeezed tight, his feet moving without thought. He stumbled into the circle just in time to hear Kaeja’s low voice. “You don’t know him like I do. You will never replace me.”
Shock rippled through him as her words settled in place. Hábrók’s hairy bollocks, had Kaeja taken a blow to the head? He was so dumbfounded that he could not form words.
But Silla, it seemed, had words for the both of them. She leveled a fierce glare at Kaeja. “Explain to me why I do not even know your name. Could it be because you mean so little to him?”
