Rade’s nostrils flared, the first real sign of his fury. Just then he looked as dangerous as the rest of them. And when he looked out over the mass of cheering like he was ready to breathe fire, a chill walked down my spine.
Keir leaned down and spoke directly in my ear so I could hear him over the shouting. “Try to run and I’ll take my sweet time bringing you back,” he said. Then he released my arm and stepped forward. “Let him earn it,” he roared over the cacophony of the crowd.
The audience quieted and looked to Keir. He kept his arms crossed as he strode to the dais, the picture of unconcern. “The Seven are Kaldfold’s strongest warriors,” he said. “Our hierarchy is one of command, not strength. Each one of us could go toe to toe without gaining the upper hand.” He jerked his chin at Hedin. “Let’s see if he can.”
Rade shook his head. “I’m not going to make him fight—”
“I accept!” Hedin boomed over the king. The crowd applauded.
Keir raised his eyebrows at Rade as if to say,See? They love it. “Bain was the one to object,” he said. “So you will fight him. If you can hold your own for—what do you think?” He turned to Bain. “Ten minutes?”
Bain grinned, a wolf baring its teeth. “It’ll only take five.”
“All right. He stays on his feet for five minutes, and we will accept him as our new Second.” He looked back to Hedin. “Yes?”
Hedin didn’t back down from Bain’s malicious smile, matching it with his own. “That sounds more than fair.”
There was venom in Rade’s voice when he barked, “Clear the area.” His hand had been forced. He would have no choice but to oversee the fight. And even from a distance, I could see it outraged him.
I glanced back at Velka. She was biting her lip anxiously, but there was no hiding the excitement shining in her yellow eyes. It was reflected in Dalla’s beside her, and in every other Kald here. Myheart began racing, though it was certainly not excitement pumping through my veins.
Bain passed his fur cloak off to Keir, who resumed his spot beside me as Bain stepped into the clearing to face Hedin. They were well matched in size and strength, though Bain’s eyes gleamed brighter than Hedin’s, a touch of madness. Rade’s Fourth stood in the center of the circle and waited, an axe and a blade strapped to either side of him.
Hedin paced, not able to match Bain’s quiet menace. “How would you like your ass handed to you?” he taunted. “With swords, fists, or claws?”
Bain just kept grinning, the expression looking more and more twisted the longer it remained. “Your choice.”
Hedin unsheathed his sword and tossed it aside. “Fists, then.”
Bain’s axe and sword clanked against the ground after his, fingers twitching eagerly at his sides. He didn’t need weapons. Hewasa weapon.
I’d seen violence many times in Khada Palace and been on the receiving end of it more than I liked to count. But this… this was a different kind of violence. It wasn’t punishment bestowed by the Gods-Chosen to teach a lesson. This was about to be vicious for no other reason than one man’s dislike of another. If it was going to be anything like the night the Kaldfolk infiltrated the palace, I didn’t want to see it.
Keir was focused on the fight. I could easily slip away and hide in my cabin.
But then Rade held his arm above his head and brought it down sharply. “Begin.”
Hedin didn’t hesitate. He launched himself at Bain. I flinched as Hedin’s fist crashed into the side of Bain’s face, snapping it to the left. And he didn’t stop there.
Bain didn’t even try to defend himself but took each hit. To theface, the jaw, the stomach. The crowd screamed with each blow, so loud I could barely hear my own breaths sawing out of my chest, but I didn’t think Bain so much as grunted. Suddenly, I found myself rapt in morbid fascination, unable to move even if I wanted to.
“Come on!” people shouted.
“What are you waiting for?”
“Fight back, Bain!”
But he didn’t. Hedin continued to pummel him. The more he was hit, the angrier the crowd grew. They wanted to see a fight, not this beating. I didn’t like Bain, but it was difficult to watch him get hit over and over. I knew he could defend himself.Everyoneknew he could. So what was he doing?
Hedin eventually had to pause to catch his breath, hands on his knees, and Bain straightened. Even though he’d just had the life kicked out of him, he seemed to tower over the gasping Hedin. A gash split Bain’s right cheek, a bruise was already blooming over his jaw, and one of his eyes had swollen shut. He turned his head and spat out a glob of blood.
When he faced Hedin again, he smiled with bloodstained teeth.
Hedin scrambled to stand up straight, but he wasn’t fast enough. Bain rammed his fist into Hedin’s face, an uppercut that sent him stumbling backward. The crowd went crazy, a cheer loud enough to rock the mountaintops, and I realized this was as much a show as it was a fight. Bain had been biding his time, letting Hedin tire himself out before coming down on him with a wrath to rival the gods’.
Bain advanced slowly, a casual stroll, like he had all the time in the world. Hedin shook his head sharply as he tried to bring the world back into focus. But Bain had already reached him, pulling his arm back and sinking his huge fist into the side of Hedin’s head.
He stumbled again, this time landing hard on his knees, eyes rolling.
