Page 87 of Feathers and Thorns

“Oh, you missed out on a few good takedowns, for sure,” Jai said, his eyes brightening. “Ori thought he could best her, and she had him on his back in less than thirty seconds.”

“Go, Enara!” Soren whooped.

“Hey, I have an idea,” Jai said, playing with the dark hairs on his chin.

Soren gave him a skeptical look. “I’m listening.”

“Why don’t we have a mini tournament? Maybe boost morale with some sort of prize.”

Soren couldn’t help the grin that spread across her features and crinkled the corners of her eyes.

“I’m listening.”

* * *

The crowd cheered as Baz grappled one of the Braexian’s and threw him out of the circular ring carved into the ash-covered ground. He was coated in the black dust and breathing heavily.

Enara couldn’t help but appreciate the way his large muscles strained against his tight training shirt. The leather molded to his skin in a way that made her want to take him right there in the training ring.

After Baz was named the winner of that round, the Braexian stormed off, kicking up a cloud of soot in the process and sending a few of the onlookers into a coughing fit.

“Someone’s a sore loser,” Enara said under her breath as she watched the mountainous man stalk off.

“He’ll be all right,” Callan replied from beside her. His arms were wrapped around Saoirse, who was looking at her with wild eyes.

“Be glad you weren’t the one to take him out,” she said, smirking. “That would have been a real temper tantrum.”

“Why?” Enara asked. “Because I am a woman?”

“No,” she replied, her smile getting larger. “Because Braexian men prefer to dominate those they wish to bed.”

Enara looked at her, open-mouthed, unsure of how to respond to the comment.

“Julian was hoping he could win your affections by defeating Baztien,” Callan explained.

Enara’s mouth started working again as Baz returned to her side after finishing his victory lap.

“Then what? Did he think I would just leave Baz in the dust and jump into bed with him?” she asked incredulously.

“I mean, basically, yeah,” Saoirse replied, suppressing a giggle.

“Braexians do many things to display our affections toward our intended. Fighting just happens to be one of them.”

Enara huffed her annoyance in the direction of the beastly man who was talking with knife hands at a group of his brothers and sisters who seemed to be laughing at his expense.

Baz followed her gaze and asked, “So, do you mean to tell me that I was just part of a literal cock fight?”

Enara pressed her lips together and smacked his shoulder while Saoirse and Callan burst out laughing.

Baz reached forward and booped Enara’s nose with his pointer finger, leaving behind a dot of black residue. She finally broke, and he was rewarded with a full belly laugh. The sound brought joy to his ears, and he used his sleeve to wipe off her nose before following it up with a kiss.

“Hey, save it for later. You’re up, Enara,” Soren yelled from across the circle where she stood with Jai, Adaryn, and Rook.

Soren had yielded in the third round to a wiry teenager from Irefeld. Enara knew she probably could have bested him, but Soren likely wanted to give him the confidence boost. It must have worked, considering he went on to win two more rounds after that, using his long limbs and speed to defeat two larger men.

Rook had looked furious the entire time Soren had been in the ring, and Enara could see his hand flexing around his rapier. She had also noticed how his whole body seemed to relax anytime Soren was in his presence. To her surprise, she had grown to find him somewhat tolerable. He had even won Baz over, though it irked her to no end that he made jokes at her lover’s expense.

She shook her head, returning her attention to the task at hand, and entered the ring.

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