“Oh, I know it. We all know it.” He raised his hands, and the surrounding soldiers cheered, mostly newcomers.
“I think we all know Pyetar could take you.” She shrugged. “That would be boring. But what about me? You think you could take me?”
Gintar stepped up to her, all lean muscles and that cruel twisting smile. Vaneshta was a foot shorter than him, not as obviously muscled, but she tilted her head back to meet his grin with one of her own.
“You are young, soft.” He sneered. “I don’t think you’re even worth the effort. It’d be over too fast.”
“Then how about this,Captain,” she said, pronouncing captain like it was an insult. “You and me. Right now. No forgings, fists only.”
Gods, Iryana groaned internally. Was her best ally in this place about to get herself killed?
Chapter Twenty
“Are you stupid, girl?” someone called out from the crowd as they all stared in shock at Vaneshta. Iryana wondered that herself.
Gintar cocked his head to the side, as if trying to figure out what hole Vaneshta’s courage had crawled out of.
“The challenge came from her. You all saw it,” he said to the crowd, then turned back to Vaneshta. “Even your guard dog of a captain can’t protest that.”
“Pepha, out of our way,” Vaneshta snapped. Iryana saw it for what it was.
Pepha took a small step back, looking around at the crowd nervously.
If Iryana wanted allies, she needed to be one too.
She stepped forward and grabbed Pepha’s arm, pulling her to stand beside her. Pepha pressed tightly to her, looking uncomfortable and trying to avoid the eyes staring at them. Iryana glared at the soldiers until they looked away.
“He’s going to kill her,” Pepha whispered.
Iryana awkwardly put an arm around Pepha’s shoulder and squeezed her tentatively. “I’ve never seen Vaneshta lose a fight.”
Her apprehension rose as Iryana watched the soldiers finish marking the boundary of the match.
“She’s usually smart. Only picks fights she can win.” Pepha’s voice was so soft and quick that Iryana almost couldn’t follow it. “Did you know I was married? He got himself killed. Wasn’t careful enough. It’s not a good day for this, too sunny. It’s probably hard to see, and did she even have lunch? I don’t know if—”
Iryana shushed Pepha as Vaneshta and Gintar squared off. She searched the crowd, picking out an angry-looking Vabihn a couple rows back, but it didn’t seem anyone else from the team was there. Lidishta was there, though, hovering on the edge of the crowd, and she looked pale. There had been something off about her for weeks.
A burst of movement snatched Iryana’s attention.
Vaneshta didn’t wait for Gintar to hit first. She sprang into action, catching him on the jaw.
Rage came over Gintar’s face, and he lunged at her. It was a dance of flying fists and elbows, and they moved too fast for Iryana to catch every movement.
Gintar caught her on the shoulder and Vaneshta spun, barely catching herself before falling over.
Iryana’s stomach clenched. She didn’t want to see Vaneshta beaten.
But Vaneshta was already attacking Gintar again. She kept his blows from landing anywhere she couldn’t recover from, sneaking hers in at spots ideal for causing pain. A jab to the stomach, an elbow to his side, a kick to the side of his knee. She seemed to be winning.
Iryana had seen Vaneshta fight before; there was typically a controlled efficiency to her movements. She ended things quickly, not showing off. This was different.
Gintar finally got a good hit in, bashing his elbow into the side of Vaneshta’s mouth.
“You think you’re so tough.” Vaneshta spat to the side, a glob of blood seeping into the dirt.
“Because I am,” he growled.
She smiled, her teeth smeared red with blood.
