Kurtz exhaled, scanning the small space. Zanna sat alone at her table, back to the corner, a bowl of soup before her, untouched. She leaned forward, arms braced against the table’s surface, assessing the other patrons beneath that ever-present scowl.
Objectively, she was a striking woman. Tall and toned, every muscle exquisitely perfected. Thick, jet-black hair, braided into a single plait, framed skin darkened by the sun. A few faint scars that only added to her appeal. And something in her face, in those eyes, softened the vicious strength she projected.
Kurtz liked all kinds of women, but he preferred the ones with a backbone. He wondered, briefly, what she’d look like in a dress, hair undone, scowl replaced by…well, anything else.
The thought made him snort. ZolZan the Barbarian in a dress? Ridiculous. She’d throttle anyone who suggested it—him especially.
She caught him watching her, and that scowl zeroed in on him like an arrow finding its mark.
Definitely ridiculous.
Still, she wanted to talk, so he made his way over. He flipped the chair across from hers and straddled it.
She wasted no time. “You’ve been good for this mission,” she said.
Well, that was new. “Thank you?”
She frowned, leaning in until he could feel the heat of her breath. “You cheated that day.”
Kurtz released a low chuckle. This again? “And you still hate me, I see.”
“Tell me why, when you went to such trouble to avoid fighting me.”
Kurtz let his gaze trace her face like he was mapping enemy territory. “You knew I was trying to avoid a fight?”
“You couldn’t stand the thought of a woman defeating you publicly.”
“Oh ho! Certain you’d have won, are you?”
“Certain I wouldn’t have?”
He laughed louder this time. “What would have happened, then? Me losing to you before a crowd, or them watching me beat you bloody? Neither would have done us any favors.”
She exhaled sharply, shaking her head. “You’re insufferable.”
“Hear me out, woman. Whether you won or I did, both outcomes meant ruin. A challenge of wits was our only chance to walk away unscathed.”
“So you wouldn’t be humiliated when I bested you.”
“Aye,” he said, feeling a smile tug at the corner of his mouth, “but also so I wouldn’t look like a brute if you didn’t.”
Zanna’s nostrils flared. She slammed her fist on the table, the bowl between them jumping with a dull clang. “So that’s it, then? As long as you kept your coin and your cushy post, it didn’t matter who else got trampled? You just had to keep the game going by making your jokes, chasing your pleasures, charming your way into every room. And when someone else paid the price for your antics, you shrugged and moved on?”
“What else was I supposed to do?” Kurtz said. “You’d made far too big a spectacle out of the matter, same as now.”
She shook her head, eyes flashing like parchment catching fire. “Then you admit you cheated.”
He met her glare, the space between them dangerous ground. “I made a calculated move. I did what I had to do to keep my position.”
“At my expense.” Her voice cracked, just slightly. “Lady Tanana’s mother was so embarrassed by the ordeal, I lost my position. Said I was a disgrace. That I’d sullied her daughter’s name by even being challenged.”
Fire and ash. Kurtz’s heart stilled as silence bloomed between them. “I didn’t know.”
“Of course you didn’t. And why would you have cared? You’ve always only ever thought about yourself.”
The accusation hit harder than he expected. He glanced down, exhaled slowly, and rubbed the back of his neck. “Aye,” he said. “You’re not wrong about that.”
She said nothing, but held her stare, unblinking.
