“I am not going to fight you, Kael.”
“Draw your blade or die, you whore!” he screamed, spittle flying from his mouth. He looked wild standing there in the sparsely furnished room. His hair was tousled, teeth bared menacingly as he positioned himself in a fighting stance. “You no longer have an option. If you want to walk away from me, then you will have to do it over my corpse.”
Reluctantly she reached down for the sword hanging at her side. She had no chance in defeating him here. Not while he was so filled with rage. His unstable mind made him an even deadlier opponent, lacking any fear of death. Unfortunately for her, the situation was to his advantage.
If she fell at the hands of Kael, Thade would hold himself accountable for having let her go in alone. She hated the thought of putting him through such anguish. He already suffered so much because of her over the years. All she could do now was defend herself. With any luck, escape might be possible. If she could hold him at bay just a little longer, she could send some signal to Thade through the window. Kael would be no match for the two of them together.
Seeing Kael’s blade descending upon her, she drew her sword in a fluid motion with her right arm. Instinct remained in her favor for battle. Survival had been something she’d grown accustomed to fighting for, and the body could muster unnatural strength when faced with the possibility of death.
Their swords clashed with a loud scrape of metal on metal. He was stronger than she remembered, bearing down on her ruthlessly. She could see the look of a killer in his eyes. A madman. He moved with incredible temerity and speed, gripping his sword in both hands, swinging almost wildly. Very little semblance of technique could be seen through his strikes. It was hard to defend against. There was no method to his madness, Kael’s movements sporadic and unpredictable.
Through the rush of the battle, Leyna was grateful for the superior design of the saber Thade had provided her. With the power of Kael’s strikes, the blades she used during the war would have shattered into pieces, leaving her vulnerable. This weapon was lightweight enough for freedom of movement unlike any other she had wielded. She found it easy to maneuver from side to side, blocking his blows easily.
With a high feint, Kael lured Leyna’s sword arm up, grabbing it securely in his free hand. The impact of his elbow across her face sent her reeling. She felt as though she was falling, but somehow she was still on her feet, held firmly in place by Kael’s uncanny strength. Not since her fight in Mikel’s arena had she felt physical pain to such severity. The strikes from his elbow came repeatedly, snapping her neck to the side with every blow.
The sudden pain in her leg came unexpectedly. A grotesque snap echoed through the room around them as Kael drove his foot hard into the side of her knee, her screams filling the air, shrill and panicked. She crumpled to the ground in a heap. Her fingers barely managed to maintain their grip on her sword, tears of agony streaming down her cheeks. She needed to stand up. There was no way she would be able to hold onto the fight much longer if she remained on the ground. She would be at his mercy with such limited range of motion.
In one final surge of strength, she forced herself back to her feet, crying out at the pain shooting through her left leg. It was excruciating. Adrenaline was the only thing keeping her from collapsing to the ground in defeat. Fierce and defiant, she lunged at Kael, most of her weight distributed on her right side, pushing through the pain to force him back, disarming him in his state of shock at seeing her determination. His sword clattered onto the floorboards a few feet away, leaving him in confused awe.
The distraction lasted only seconds before he sprung into motion again. He charged forward in blind rage, driving his shoulder into her chest, knocking her hard to the ground on her back. The impact sent her own sword tumbling from her grasp as he straddled her body, his fists pummeling mercilessly at her face.
Protecting her head was the only thing she could think about in that position. Her hands moved up to guard her temples, absorbing much of the impact with her arms. She squirmed under his weight. He was more balanced than Mikel had been when she’d fought him that last afternoon in Dalonshire, and the injury to her leg would make it more difficult to maneuver to freedom. Thrusting her hips upward, she tried to throw him off, desperate for a single moment of peace. Her attempts to unbalance him only added to his uncontrolled rage. With immeasurable strength, he pried her arms away from her head, pinning them down to the floor. Once unhindered, he slammed his head forward into hers, his crown and her nose connecting with a sickening crunch.
Blood filled her mouth, coppery and bitter. She didn’t even feel the pain as their heads collided again. She was barely clinging to consciousness. A deep cut had opened on Kael’s forehead, his hand lifting up to dab at the blood curiously. “Are you going to force me to kill you?”
“Do what you will,” she whispered haggardly. “I gladly accept death if my only other choice is to submit to you.”
She could barely feel his fingers wrapping around her slender neck, tightening, pressing hard against her throat. As she started to gasp for breath, she noticed Kael’s expression falter. A trickle of air passed through her lungs. Just as she felt the cold chill of death creeping over her, Kael suddenly pulled away, rising to his feet in a frantic motion.
He looked frightened in that instant. A hint of the man Leyna had once known could be seen through his abyssal eyes, gazing down at her in horror. “You brought this on yourself,” he gasped, his fingers running desperately through his disheveled black hair. “If you would have just done what I asked of you, none of this would have happened. We could have been so happy together, Eleni.”
Kael moved over to the door. Leyna could hear the sound of his fist connecting with the wall, splintering the wood under the force of the blow. She couldn’t move. Her spirit felt as though it was floating above her body, watching everything, detached. Was she dead? Is this what it felt like to die? There was no pain. The eyes on her body stared emptily up at the ceiling, almost seeming to peer through her airy form looking down from above.
Through the fog of her mind, she heard Kael say something about a doctor. He was standing over her again, talking about getting help. But what good would any of it do if she was already dead?
She didn’t want to die. Panic filled her. No. She couldn’t die. Not yet. There was still so much that needed to be done! Thade was waiting for her. Somehow, she needed to get back to her body. It wasn’t time for her to die. Damir was still out there, preparing to wage war against her people. They needed her help.
Swimming through the empty space, she drew in closer to her motionless form lying on the floor. Her chest rose, ever so slightly, trying to filter air into her lungs, previously deprived under Kael’s grasp. Yes! She was breathing. She was alive, though barely. But barely was enough.
With one final surge of power, she dove back down, willing her body to move. Her eyes blinked. Good. It was a start. She was conscious, at least. Now if she could just get her limbs to move.
In her mind she could see Thade’s face. Regardless of whether or not she would ever be good enough for him, he was the reason she found to keep going. He needed her. The Queen needed her. Revenge felt trivial at that moment. There were other reasons why Damir needed to die. Why Kyros couldn’t be allowed to live. They stood to kill more than just a single family. They would exterminate an entire race if given the chance.
Her fingers twitched. She started to come back from her reverie, pain flooding her senses once again. She had to look beyond it. Kael was still there, his fingers pressed against the side of her neck in search of a pulse. There was a commotion coming from the doorway but her head wouldn’t cooperate to turn and see what was creating the stir. Kael rose to his feet in a swift motion. Everything was out of her line of sight, her ears only catching bits of conversation passing between Kael and someone else. Another male, the sound of the new voice cutting into her vague consciousness with a familiarity that she couldn’t deny. Thade.
“Stand aside, Kael. I came for her, not you.”
“You think I am going to just hand her over to you? My own wife? Have you lost your mind?
“There is no one here who fits that title for you.” Thade’s voice was eerily calm. He was coming closer, the creak of the wooden floor signaling his location for Leyna’s dimmed senses. Desperate, she gathered every ounce of strength she could manage, her neck rolling to the side to bring the two men into view. Kael was moving away from her toward his fallen sword. His distraction granted Thade an opportunity to cross the room to Leyna’s side, falling to his knees in a rush, eyes open wide at the sight of the injuries she’d sustained.
“Leyna! Can you hear me?”
At the sound of the name being spoken, Kael froze, gazing blankly into the distance. Leyna could feel Thade’s hand lightly brushing over her face. With a gentle sweep of his fingers he tucked a blood-soaked strand of her hair behind her ear, staring into her eyes as if willing her to move. To blink. To give any sign of life.
It took too much energy to speak. So many words came to mind that she wanted to say, but no sound came. She could sense Thade’s anger rising as he took in her battered appearance, his eyes turning on Kael with a ferocity she’d never seen there before. He was positioned like a barricade protecting her from further advances. She admired the honor Thade showed in his desire to defend her. So many men she encountered over the years wouldn’t have thought twice about risking their own life for the sake of a woman. But she didn’t want him to fight Kael. The thought of anything happening to Thade was more painful than the sensation already coursing through her body.
Seeming to regain his composure, Kael cocked his head to one side, peering curiously at Thade through his blackened eyes. “Despite what you may like to think, or who you are convinced she is, I know my own wife when I see her, and she is lying there on the floor behind you. Hand her over to me and I will not go to Queen Nesperiti to inform her of your vile behavior.”
“By the hand of Queen Vorsila Levadis herself, that woman you refer to is not your wife, nor will she ever be. For nearly three weeks now, you have been a single man. And this woman is free of you. I suppose this suffices as your official notification of annulment.”
Leyna felt her heart crash inside her chest. She was free? The decision had come sooner than expected, but when had he heard the news? And by the Queen? She feared it was nothing more than a ruse to fool Kael into submission. It was too good to be true.
“Well, she must have her claws sunk deeper into you than I thought. The only way a decision would have been reached so quickly is if you had something to do with it. An abuse of power. I wonder, what reward were you expecting?”
“Other than seeing a good woman rescued from a life with a man who does not deserve her? I smell the stench of your treachery from here. You are a disgrace to your people.”
“I dedicated my life to my people! I risked everything to get the information you required and this is how you repay me? You steal my wife? Defile her? You humiliate me and then insult me further by calling me a disgrace? You are a no good scoundrel. You don’t deserve the power you hold.”
With an eerie calm, Thade rose to his feet, moving to clench his fingers around the neck of Kael’s shirt, jerking him forward. “You accuse me of defiling her? Look at what you have done before you cast accusations! You treat her like she is nothing more than a slave. An animal! She is not so low as to deserve such treatment. If you were any bit a man, you would have treated her like a goddess.”
Unfazed by Thade’s firm hold on him, Kael laughed, pushing roughly to break away. “You are going to school me in how to treat a woman?” Lifting his sword, Kael aimed the tip of the blade at Thade. They held each other’s gaze, unflinching.
“You dare draw your blade on a man of our Queen?”
“I intend to do more than simply draw it.” Kael lunged forward with his sword, a scowl crossing his features as the blade met with only empty air, Thade’s body twisting easily to avoid the blow. Thade moved with incredible precision, stepping forward to apply pressure at various points of Kael’s body with an intricate weaving of his hands. The tips of his fingers struck Kael’s neck and chest, causing him to gasp for breath. Unable to maintain his grip on the sword, it fell from Kael’s hand, landing on the floor with a clatter against the wood.
“Get out of here,” Thade pushed Kael backward, a dull thud accompanying the sound of his body collapsing to the floor in a breathless heap. “If you show your face anywhere near her again, I will have you arrested, the way you should have been the last time I saw you. For your deeds, you are hereby declared a traitor and banished from ever returning to Tanispa.”
Clutching at his chest Kael clambered to his feet. “I’m not done here,” he snarled. Wildly he reached out for Thade, gripping his doublet to try and throw him to the ground. Thade stood firm, stance solid, unmoving.
“The longer you insist on fighting me, the less time there will be to seek a doctor for her,” Thade said through gritted teeth, grabbing Kael’s wrists in his hands to twist them outward, locking them in place to apply an awkward pressure to the joints. “Do you want to be the one responsible for her death? The woman you claim to love?”
“Let the whore die,” Kael winced at the pain under Thade’s grasp. Desperate for a means of escape, Kael thrust his knee upward, driving it into Thade’s stomach to release his hold. “If I kill you, it will serve to not only defend my honor that you have insulted, but it will also guarantee you and your people stay out of Damir’s way. At least they appreciate the effort I have invested into our work.”
Thade recovered quickly, seemingly unshaken by the blow. Like an impenetrable force he moved forward, a flurry of punches raining down upon Kael’s disoriented form, forcing him back, further away from Leyna. “That was all I needed to know,” Thade replied calmly, delivering one last strike to the side of Kael’s head, the knuckles solidly driving into his temple, rendering him unconscious.
Falling limply to the ground, Kael laid there, unmoving. Thade paid him little attention as he rushed back to Leyna’s side, scooping her into his arms with the utmost care, not wanting to hurt her, unsure of the extent of her wounds.
“Is he dead?” Leyna gasped, managing to find her voice through the pain and confusion.
Relief flooded over Thade’s features to hear her speak. “Do not worry about him,” he replied, stepping over Kael’s body toward the door. “Let’s get you out of here first.”
Out of there? But her belongings were still in the closet. And the sword! Exhaling a sharp breath, she scanned the room frantically for the saber that had fallen from her hands when Kael knocked her to the floor. It couldn’t be far from them. She’d heard it clatter over her head.
Struggling against Thade’s grasp, she fought to lower herself to her feet, not ready to leave. Her own limbs worked against her efforts, preventing her from breaking free. “Your sword,” she groaned. It took all of her strength, pointing her index finger toward the fallen blade near the window. “And my clothes. It’s all still here. I didn’t have time –”
“Hush,” Thade quieted her, moving swiftly toward the saber where she directed him. With a fluid sweep he retrieved the blade, showing no difficulty in maintaining his hold on Leyna, hurrying toward the door before she could protest. “We cannot worry about your belongings. We must hurry. He will regain consciousness sooner than I would like.”
She wanted to argue. There were so many things she wanted to say, but her mind was slowed from the agony flooding her. The movement alone exacerbated the pain throughout her body, waves of discomfort a constant reminder of her i
njuries. She just wanted it to stop. To her relief it did, her vision fading as Thade carried her through the lobby and out into the night.
When Leyna started to regain consciousness, she was painfully aware of an uncomfortable pressure and stiffness in her left leg. Someone was leaning over her. The cloudiness of her vision was persistent, casting shadows over everything around her. Vaguely she detected a subtle perfume. “Maeri?”
“Hush, Leyna,” Maeri breathed. “Just relax. You are safe now.”
“Leyna?” Feolan’s voice was louder. His anger was evident, the sound of his heavy footsteps coming closer from the other side of the room. “Why did he do this to you?”
“Darling, please. I just told her not to speak. She needs to relax.”
“I was under the impression that Kyros left town and had taken Kael with him, given Zander’s last report.”
Left town? Kyros hadn’t mentioned anything to her about leaving. “It is difficult to explain,” she coughed, straining to open her eyes to let in more light. “Where am I?” Nothing Leyna did allowed her to see the details of the room. She could feel the soft cushions underneath her, and see the white ceiling overhead, but her head hurt too much.
“We are at the Consul’s home,” Maeri replied quietly. “You are in rough shape. I don’t think it would be wise for you to go anywhere else for a while. Your leg – was badly broken. Of all the things I actually paid attention to in Faustine’s lessons, you are lucky I remembered wound tending. The bone is set, but if you aren’t careful, it won’t heal.”
“Where is the Consul?”
“He is here,” Feolan nodded. Leyna could feel his hand patting the back of hers, reassuringly. “He was rather upset by your condition when he arrived back here. We thought you were dead at first. You showed no signs of life; and those bruises around your neck –”
What an odd thought, to imagine Thade being so bothered by her injuries. During the war, they had witnessed far more gruesome sights than a few broken bones and minor lacerations. “I never took him to be the squeamish type.”
The Myatheira Chronicles: The Vor'shai: From the Ashes (Volume 1) Page 72
