Page 292 of Gladiators of the Vagabond Boxset

The second Xurtal was fast, he had some experience fighting, and his reflexes were good.

He ducked out of the way when the Rummicaron charged, and I fed that sucker my arm, laughing when I saw the excitement on the faces of my two conscious assailants.

“Yes!” the Xurtal taunted. “You’re not so tough with only one arm! ”

With just a thought, the metal I’d concentrated around my arm pushed out in spikes, impaling the guy gnawing on my arm like it was his favorite treat.

There was a brief moment when I saw the horror in his eyes, that moment when he realized he’d made a grave mistake.

Then the light went out, and I let him slide from my limb to the dirty station floor.

Shaking out my fist, I allowed the last one standing to see how metal coated my flesh and let it ripple with spikes.

“Thought I was unarmed, did you?” I mocked, pleased to see the fear in the bastard’s eyes.

“Nobody touches my female. Nobody.” He spun around on his heels and started running, abandoning his companions to save his own skin.

Pleased with the easy victory, I turned around to look at Tori, expecting to see appreciation—or maybe even awe—on her pretty face. Surely, I’d shown her that I could take care of myself and of her. I didn’t need her to watch my back; I was fine.

She always confused me, never responding the way I expected her to, and this time was no different. An angry scowl marred her features, her dark eyes glittering at me defiantly. “Your female? Really, Eoin? You know I’m not, and as long as you can’t understand why, that will never change.”

I growled in frustration, ready to just toss her over my shoulder so I could return her to the Vagabond.

If she was going to be this stubborn, if she continued to think I was a bad mate for her—fine!

I’d take her anger, as long as I had her where she was protected by all my brothers.

Reaching for her with both hands, I froze when I felt something hot slice across my lower back.

Tori’s hand lifted, the glint of the laser pistol visible, its muzzle lighting up red as she pulled the trigger. With a thud, someone collapsed behind me, and cursing, I turned to look. The black-clad Xurtal clutched his hands around a wound on his leg, his bloody dagger on the floor next to him.

“You better run if you know what’s good for you,” Tori said succinctly, without a hint of fear.

The gun she held was pointed at the center of that Xurtal’s chest, her fingers steady and her aim precise.

The thug responded to that calm threat with the first smart thing he’d done all day.

He knew she wasn’t bluffing, so he scrambled to his feet and started limping away.

The swears he was uttering were enough to make even my ears turn blue.

She’d proven me wrong, and I felt a deep sense of shame at mistrusting her ability to shoot this much.

I knew she went to target practice three times a week under Camila’s masterful teaching, and unlike most of the other human ladies, Tori never missed practice.

I also hated that I hadn’t paid enough attention and had taken a nasty cut to my back.

I’d assumed they were all downed, and that had gotten me injured.

So much for proving that I didn’t need her help.

Ducking, I ignored the burning pain of the cut on my back, the blood dripping steadily from the slice, and picked up the damned blade.

The metal wasn’t pure, riddled with imperfections.

Whoever had forged this had been an amateur—or, at the very least, a hack—but I pulled at the individual parts that made up the blade, absorbing all but the leather bindings around the hilt and the glue that kept tang and hilt together.

“Damn it, Eoin! You got hurt,” Tori exclaimed, and the way she started to pull her wrap from around her shoulders—ready to press it to my wound—eased some of my hurt pride.

She might not want to be my mate, but she did care about me.

She cared so much that she’d left the safety of the Vagabond and her child to protect me.

My mom would tell me I was an idiot for not letting her do so, but I couldn’t stand the thought of innocent Tori out fighting.

What if she got hurt? Or worse? She had Novalee to think of, she couldn’t leave her baby without a mother.

The thought of losing her made my chest clench painfully; I’d already lost so much, I couldn’t lose her too.

“I’m fine,” I said, far too gruffly, and I swatted away her hands. Yanking the fabric from her fingers, I started wrapping her back up in it. “You can’t show your face out here, Tori. Those thugs realized you were human, that’s why they attacked.”

“Fine my ass, you are bleeding, and I took care of that last one, didn’t I?

I had your back, Eoin,” she said stubbornly, but she allowed me to tuck her hair gently beneath the protection of the black fabric.

Turning to show her my back, I focused on repairing the damage by smoothing metal over the area.

It would burn much of the resources I’d just consumed, a little more even, as they’d been of low quality—but it was worth it to see her eyes go wide in surprise.

“I’m fine. Now, let’s hurry back to the Vagabond,” I said, taking her by the hand to hurry through the warren of pathways that led to the docks.

To placate her desire to rescue the two humans we knew about, I added, “Sunder can help us locate where that bastard is staying.” I had no intention of taking her along for the subsequent rescue, and I could obviously call Sunder on the coms to get the information right now, but it stopped her from dragging her feet.