I’m still considering the offer. I’ve fought Leon before in my dreams, so I have some idea of what to expect. Besides, this could be our only chance to get out of here now. The fae will keep a close eye on Tira after this, so there’ll be no more sneaking around.
“Alright,” I say, then turn to speak to the blond fae gathered with the others. “Alastor, will you confirm that Leon will let us go if I win?”
He looks between Leon and me. “The captain’s word is sound,” he says.
“No. Use your magic,” I demand. “I want to hear it from his lips, knowing he can’t lie.”
I fix Leon with an unapologetic stare. If he thinks I’m ever going to blindly trust him again, he’s a fool. As foolish as I was when I bought all his talk about parting ways at the border. I won’t make that mistake again.
Leon frowns at my request but nods his permission to Alastor. The air fills with the fizz of Alastor’s magic before he speaks.
“Leon, do you promise to uphold your end of the deal if Morgana wins the fight?”
“I do,” Leon says.
The magic’s aura fades, and Alastor shrugs at me. “There you go.”
“Fine,” I say. “Let’s do this then.”
“Maybe somewhere away from the horses?” Alastor suggests. “We could do without them getting fried or stabbed.”
Before anyone can answer, Etusca’s voice cuts shrilly through the air. “Morgana, don’t do this. It’s not safe.”
I ignore her, just as I have every day since she sold me out to the fae.
“Where should we start?” I ask.
They find a clearing safely away from the horses. I pull my knife from my pack and sheathe it in my belt. The fae took it off me at the border, but Tira managed to sneak it back for me. When Damia sees it, her eyes narrow.
“Remind me to hide that better in future.”
Tira catches my elbow, looking nervous. “You will be careful, won’t you?”
I nod. I’m doing this for both of us, even if she isn’t stuck with the fae like I am.
“We’ll stop at first blood, or whoever surrenders first,” Leon says.
I loosen my stance a little, readying myself for quick movement. The others put as much space between us and them as they can while still staying close enough to follow what’s happening.
My hand wanders to my knife, double-checking that it’s still there.
I hope I won’t have to use it in close quarters.
When it comes to physical strength, I’m completely outmatched, so my plan is to bring him down at a distance with my magic.
Even then, I’ll need to do it quickly—surprise him with brute force early.
I don’t like my chances if this drags out.
“Ready…” Eryx’s growling voice rings out through the trees.
Leon drops into a crouch, and I can’t shake the feeling that I’m a fluffy little prey animal in front of a wolf. I focus my thoughts, finding the rage and heat in my veins.
“Begin!” Eryx shouts.
I throw my palms forward, hurling a four-foot-wide stream of searing light in Leon’s direction.
But he’s ready for it, and his crouching position allows him to roll swiftly out of the way.
I summon more sunlight, but it takes a little longer after the intensity of my first blast. I expect Leon to charge at me, but instead he straightens up, watching me from the edge of the clearing.
The ground beneath me rumbles and begins to split open just as I conjure my second beam, throwing the golden light wide.
A tree groans and crashes to the ground just as I do, the churning earth threatening to swallow me up as Leon’s terrial magic shakes it apart.
I drag myself out of the collapsing hole, focusing on the fallen tree now in my eyeline.
Think of freedom. Think of the thing you yearn for most.
I find the pull of my desire and use it to summon my orbital magic.
The fae shout, and Etusca screams as the tree goes hurtling across the clearing.
And yet somehow, it misses Leon. He’s so quick that I lose track of him whenever I so much as blink, but I do my best to aim for him as I release the tree with a deafening crack.
It hits another trunk, splitting in two.
When I see him, he has his sword drawn, and he’s stalking toward me.
I try to scramble to my feet, but the ground is still shaking beneath me, making it impossible to get my balance. I attempt another sun beam, but I’ve blown through my magical reserves, and it’s harder to draw the heat from my blood now. It comes out in a weak flicker Leon easily sidesteps.
I’m exhausted, and he’s barely out of breath.
When he’s only a few feet from me and I can’t summon enough magic to hold him back, panic sets in. I need to keep him away, to buy myself a few more moments, because once he’s beside me I know it’s over. I grab my knife from its sheath and hurl it.
My aim is good even without my orbital magic, and the blade hurtles toward Leon. In a blur of motion, he raises his sword and knocks it off course without even breaking his stride.
I’m out of time. He’s on top of me in seconds, shoving me down with a knee to my chest, pulling my hands above me and pinning them to ground.
I start to thrash, desperately trying to escape. But he’s so strong, and all the power seems to have been drained from me.
I know he’s chosen this position deliberately. We both remember the last time Leon pinned my hands like this. Back then, we were in bed, and I was his plaything, begging for him to touch me. Gods, it’s awful to be taken back there now, and I hate him for it.
“Get off me ,” I bark, even though I know it’s a useless request.
“Do you surrender?” he asks.
“No!” Even if I’m unable to move an inch beneath him, I can’t bring myself to yield. Even though I know I’ve failed. I never had a chance to begin with. But I can’t bear to say the words—to admit that I’ve let Tira down and kissed my chance of escape goodbye.
“Very well,” Leon says and lowers his sword above my head. I feel a sting on my arm, a sharp twinge that makes me draw in breath, and then he releases me.
I wrench my arms down, only to see a tiny scratch just below the crook of my elbow. A bead of crimson collects along the angry, pink skin.
“First blood,” he says, pulling his knee away.
I climb to my feet as fast as possible, my face burning. I’m humiliated and ashamed, and looking into his smug face, I know that’s precisely what he wanted out of this.
“This wasn’t about a deal. You just wanted to teach me a lesson,” I say.
He smirks. “Perceptive.”
I hold back all the pointless expletives threatening to spill out of my mouth.
I lost, and I’m going to have to find a way to accept that in the days ahead.
But I let my eyes do the talking, burning into him as I wipe the drop of blood from my arm.
I turn, walking straight past our audience toward the camp, refusing to look back.
“I’m sorry,” I say to Tira when I reach her side. “I should’ve done better. I should’ve known better.” She squeezes my hand.
“I thought you looked pretty badass,” she says.
“Really?”
“Well, until he squashed you like a bug.” She winks.
“Seeing as we’re all up anyway, let’s move out,” Leon calls through the camp, and the fae start to collect their things. It takes Damia several hard slaps to wake Stratton—a job she enjoys a little too much—and by the time the confused fae is up and walking, we’re ready to leave.
Despite Tira’s joking, my mood doesn’t improve much as we push on through the lush woodland.
Every time I catch a glimpse of Leon up ahead, the rush of humiliation comes back to me.
Not just because of the fight. It’s all of it: the fact that I ever trusted this man with my mind and with my body, only for him to betray me so easily.
I thought before that Leon was just like Etusca and the others who raised me. Now it occurs to me that he’s worse. Because unlike them, he made me believe I was strong before he tore me down.
And I’ll never forgive him for that.
Table of Contents
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- Page 3 (Reading here)
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