The cheering cuts off, and yelling begins.
Evander and several other warriors are upon me in an instant, their bodies creating a defensive wall. Other warriors surge around Julius. He tries to fight off their hold.
Spit flies from his mouth, and his face turns a blotchy shade of violet as he screams, “You fucking bitch!”
They drag him from the training ground. Odessa follows silently behind them, not once even glancing in my direction.
Evander cups my face between his hands and checks me over. “Someone, go get me the healing tonic!”
Footsteps pound against dirt as someone races to follow his orders.
The sound of fabric being torn slices through the pain, and Joan hands Evander a piece of fabric torn from her own tunic. He uses it to staunch the flow of blood streaming from my nose. I try to look anywhere but at the puddle of blood at my feet.
The warriors surrounding us are all showing signs of rage or shock at the shameless attack. Artemisia spews something in Greek, and Boudicca’s green eyes are ablaze with fury as she assesses my nose from Evander’s other side.
“Are you okay?” Worry creases Evander’s brow as he holds the fabric scrap to my still-gushing nose.
“Am I gonna be ugly now?” I whine.
Everyone freezes before laughter rings out. Even Joan’s face breaks into a small smile. “You took down the queen’s mate, took a punch to the face, and you’re worried if you’re going to be ugly?” he mutters, shaking his head as he tries to hold back his laughter.
I smile at him, and warm blood trickles over my lips.
Satiah returns with the tonic and throws it at Evander. She turns towards me and bows gracefully. “It was an honor to watch you, Lena.” With her liquid black hair and fiery expression, she looks every bit like a bronze statue of a long-ago queen. Her eyes pierce me. “You will be a formidable queen.”
The ability to speak leaves me at her declaration, and I can only manage a dip of my chin as she turns to leave. The bleeding is a trickle now, and I gulp down the vial of healing tonic Evander hands me. The coppery tang of blood mixes with the honey flavor. I continue to breathe through my mouth.
As my bone starts to stitch together, the bleeding ceases. Evander removes the soaked fabric scrap, and the warriors depart. Rough hands pat me in congratulations on my shoulders or back as they leave.
The sentiment is not lost on me, and my eyes water for a completely different reason.
Evander and I are the only ones left on the training ground before long.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asks again.
He eyes me speculatively, and I get the feeling that many emotions flit across my face.
“Yeah, just shocked, I guess. That wasn’t normal, was it?” I work through the last few moments in my head. The rage on Julius’ face as he was pulled away is etched into my mind.
“No, it definitely wasn’t. I don’t think you should go back to the Hall for a while. Let him calm down,” he replies.
I stare down at my blood-splattered leathers and the small puddle on the ground as it slowly absorbs into the dirt to create a burgundy mud.
“I don’t really have anywhere else to go,” I mumble.
He looks at me with pity before slinging an arm over my shoulder. “Let’s go for a ride, then.”
Evander leads me down the path between the training grounds and the armory.
“I’ve never been on this side of the grounds before,” I say to him as we pass by the wood building full of weapons and training gear.
The path is more worn here, and the cobblestones have crumbled away into dust in some areas.
“I can’t imagine you would need to. The only things down here are the stables and the guard’s quarters.” He nods at the long, two-story building peeking out from the trees in front of us. “That’s the guard’s quarters. See that green door on the bottom right?” I nod in confirmation. “That’s my room, and the blue door above it on the second floor—that’s Lachlan’s.”
Heat crawls up my neck.
But he continues. “And on the other side, right there,” he points to a wooden stable, “is where we keep all the guards’ horses.”
