The short sword caught his blade and spun it around. I hooked the cross-guard by the quillon and flipped it right out of his hand, into the air, and grabbed the hilt.
In the next instance, I had his own sword at his throat crossed with my own short sword. “I don’t think I need your protection.”
His hand shot out and nailed me with a blast of magic right in the middle of my chest, throwing me right across the room.
Master Dorian’s sword disappeared from my hand and back to his own.
He stalked toward me as I wrapped my hand around my own sword. Before he could get a blow in, I pulled the sword up and slapped him on the ear with the flat of the metal.
It did nothing but serve to piss him off, and he chased me again with the sword.
This time, when he tossed the magic at me, I was able to break it up and let it flow around me. “I don’t need protection! Why did you raise me to the robes! Why didn’t you object?”
Master Dorian held his sword still for just an instant, and then inelegantly tried to stab me.
It threw me off his intention.
I stepped to the left, and he swept his leg behind my knee and slammed me on to my back. He raised the sword, and stabbed down—
—pinning me to the ground through the waistband of my pants.
He knelt down. “The Breaker must be of the robes. That’s the legend. How the hell could I object to the Breaker?”
I was panting. I could feel the cold steel against my side. “You don’t always have to do everything by legends.” I stared at him as he stared back at me. “You wanted to object.”
“Of course, I did!” He stood and yanked the sword from the wood and my clothes. “Of course, I wanted to.”
“Then why didn’t you?” I sat up, feeling the hole in my pants. It was thin, and I could stitch it.
“Because you’re the Breaker.” He didn’t offer a hand to help me up, but he also wasn’t attacking me anymore.
I took the opening to stand, holding my sword in my hand loosely, ready for an attack. “All right, if you’re going to keep giving me the same crappy answer, why did you want to vote against me?”
This time, his eyes grew hard. He turned away from me and sheathed his own sword.
This was ridiculous.
“Master Dorian, I demand an answer from you.”
He whirled. “I’m not playing this game with you, girl.”
I stepped up to him. “I am not playing a game.”
“You never answered my question earlier,” he snapped.
“Who’s playing a game now?” I growled. “You want an answer? I didn’t want to sleep in your bed because Rilen and Roran aren’t there. Why the hell would I sleep in your bed when they are gone? I didn’t feel like going through my morning humiliation of parading myself naked out of bed to get my clothes from your chair, and because there was no reason to sleep in a bed that doesn’t belong to me. I don’t even know why Rilen and Roran stay there when you’ve shown them no affection in two weeks. I can’t stay away from them for a day—and you’re mated! So there’s your answer!” I threw the short sword in the boards between his feet. “What’s yours?”
His eyes glowed gold, bright and dangerous. I could almost see the lightning snapping around him. He was suddenly terrifying and overwhelming.
I refused to be overwhelmed and stood my ground.
He stared.
“Well? I don’t have all night. I need to find a mated couple who will lend me power so I can save S’Kir, again. Why do you hate me so much?”
His arm shot out and curled around my waist, hauling me into his massive chest. He was strong, and muscled and—
Erect.
