Page 56 of A Token of Blood and Betrayal

“No, thanks.I’ll just defend.”

My shrug saidSuit yourself.

A thunderous, hollow clanking made me jump and whirl around.Phedre stood there, eyes glinting, an oversized and very dented cowbell in one hand, a hammer in the other.“Begin!”

I rolled my eyes, then turned back to face—

Thad’s leg whipped out, hitting behind my knees hard enough to sweep my legs out from under me.

I went airborne, landed flat on my back, thenoomphedwhen Thad pinned my arms to the garden bed.

“Can this be over now?”Thad looked at the Valkyrie.He didn’t have a firm grip on my wrists.I probably could have freed myself, but I felt bad about the short spaghetti.As a way for him to get out of this fight fast, he’d chosen a good tactic.

“She’sterrible,” one of the Valkyrie whispered.“Was she even ready?”

“I rang the cowbell,” the other whispered back.

“Well, looks like I lost,” I said.

Thad gave me a grateful look, let go of my wrists, then offered a hand to help me up.

We both stood.Then, finger-combing shredded bark and dirt from my hair, I turned to the Valkyrie.“Looks like I need some pointers before trying anything like this again.”

Both sets of Valkyrie green eyes narrowed.“You let him take you down on purpose.”

“Nope.He won fair and square.”

Phedre held my gaze, raised the cowbell like she was summoning the Gates of Valhalla, then hammered it twice.

This time I spun and backed up quickly to keep space between me and Thad.Landing might not have hurt, but it hadn’t been fun.

Thad didn’t move toward me.He just shook his head and said, “Thanks for trying.”

“Anytime.”

That made him smile.

I lifted my hands and shifted my weight to the balls of my feet.I vaguely remembered my self-defense classes and sort of knew what I needed to do, but my muscle memory, my speed, and probably my strength, were all very subpar.My best chance was to end this quickly.

I shot forward and kicked out, aiming for his groin.Thad’s eyes widened in surprise.I was so sure I had him, but he rotated his hips at the last second, protecting himself while also,somehow, sending me crashing down on my back again.

Wheezing, I tried to suck back in all the air that had whooshed from my lungs.When I finally coughed and spluttered my way back to a normal breathing rate, Phedre and Thordis stood over me.

“We mentioned he’s the worst, right?”Phedre asked.

“I’m standing right here,” Thad said.

Ugh.I didn’t think I’d bethisbad.I mean, I’d survived a lot—the fight in the alley in Cincinnati, Shelli’s coven in Owen’s store and on the mountain.Hell, I’d even survived Arcuro.Thad should have been beatable.

I let him help me to my feet yet again.

“We thought you were faking the first time,” Phedre said.

“You said you had self-defense training,” Thordis added.

“That was over five years ago.”I rotated my right shoulder, which I must have either landed on or strained when Thad took me down.

“How are you even alive?”Phedre asked.