“Ride, Sahar,” Aleksi yelled over hisshoulder.“Ride away now.”
She shook her swirling head.Aleksi was astrong man and a good fighter, but it was two against one, andalthough he was more than holding his own against both princes, shecouldn’t trust he would come out victorious, much less alive.
“Ride, Sahar,” he yelled again when shehadn’t moved.
“I will,” she yelled back, wincing at theinstant throb in her head.She drew her waist blade.“But notwithout you and Lasair.”
“By the gods, woman,” Aleksi cursed as Saharstepped up beside him.“You are as stubborn as—”
“You.”
He laughed, short and harsh, and would havekissed her then and there, but Yago and Taweel pressed theirattack.She was a good fighter, but she was still unsteady on herfeet, and her waist blade was no match for a sword.By unspokenagreement, Yago turned all his attention to her, while Taweel facedoff with Aleksi.
It was impossible for Aleksi to concentrateon beating Taweel down while watching her and Yago out of thecorner of his eye, trying to make sure she was in no immediatedanger as she danced around the Wolf’s strikes, jumping back andforth and nipping at him with her puny blade.She didn’t look to belosing any ground, but she wasn’t gaining any either.Though Aleksihad given his oath to capture the princes alive, this fight waspast tiresome.
He doubled the speed of his blows, keepingTaweel on the defensive until the Tall was barely able to lift hissword to block Aleksi’s.He glanced over at Sahar and saw that shewas still staying out of the Wolf’s reach.He resumed his attack onTaweel, a jab here, a feint there, waiting for the right moment tostrike.
“Yago,” the Tall cried out, “slay the bitchand come help me kill the bastard.”
Aleksi swung down, and Taweel got his bladeup to block the blow, but as soon as Aleksi’s blade hit Taweel’s,he swung his sword out and up in a slicing arc, laying the Tall’sunderarm wide open.Taweel screamed and dropped his sword, pressingthe gash with his other hand to stanch the flow of blood.Aleksiturned to check on Sahar and saw the blade flying through the aironly a breath before it sank into his left shoulder.Switchingsword arms, he grabbed the hilt of the dagger and pulled it out asYago charged him, sword raised high.Aleksi blocked the Wolf’ssword with his and stabbed him in the belly with his own dagger.Hepulled the blade out to stab again, but his injured arm was pulledback with a vicious yank.The heavy weight of a man landed on hisback and an arm snaked around his neck.
He slammed his elbow into Taweel’s belly,once, twice, three times, and felt the Tall’s grip begin toslacken, but then Yago was standing before him with a sickeningsneer on his bloodied face, gripping his sword with both hands.
“Say farewell to your whore princess,” Yagosaid.He slammed the flat side of his sword down on the wrist ofAleksi’s injured arm, and his sword dropped from his numbed hand tothe ground.
Yago raised his sword for the killing blowand a tigress roared.The Wolf went heels
over ass, his feet swept out from under him,then the loud, resounding thunk of wood on skull reverberatedthrough Aleksi’s ears.The Tall’s grip slackened and fell away.Aleksi heard the dull thud of a body hitting earth as he sucked inair and watched the Wolf turn tail and run.
Aleksi bent down to pick up his sword, butthe ground came up to meet him as everything around him shimmiedand swayed.He braced himself on his hands and knees and took inseveral deep, steadying breaths.
“Curse this dizzying weakness,” he grumbled.“The Worm is getting away.”
She laid a hand on his good shoulder.“Itdoesn’t matter,” she said.
Aleksi glared up at her.“It does matter.Taweel is dead and you don’t have a prisoner.You don’t have yourproof of the Wolf’s treachery.”He shook his clearing head and satback on his heels.“Quickly, bind my wound and I’ll go afterhim.”
“Do you think Yago will come back at us?”
“No.I gutted him.He will be in no conditionto stand and fight.With any luck, the wound will fester and killhim, but not before we get him back to your father.”
Sahar stared off in the direction Yago hadfled on Tor.“Let him go,” she said.
“What?”Aleksi couldn’t believe what he washearing.
“Let Yago go,” she said, meeting Aleksi’sangry glare.“The Wolf will live or not and the Ox will have hiswar or not.Either way, we need to warn my father, and get yourwound tended to properly.I will cauterize and bind ittonight.”
She stood and walked over to the horses,ignoring Aleksi’s gaping jaw as she reunited with Lasair, horse andmistress cooing and nickering into each other’s necks.
“Do you mean to tell me,” Aleksi stood andglowered down at Taweel’s lifeless body, “that I could have killedthe Tall and the Wolf at any time?That this”—he tapped hisbleeding shoulder—“was for nothing?”
“Of course not,” she snapped.“It was foryour one hundred gold pieces.You needed me alive to collect it,and I needed you alive to… It was them or you, I chose you.”
“Am I supposed to thank you?”
“Why are you so angry?”
“Because,” he yelled, “you almost gotyourself killed, and me in the bargain.”
