Page 108 of The Serpent’s Shadow

Instead, she shocked me again—

Her arms came out andpushedinto my shield, against my chest. The shove was not enough to topple me, of course, because I was much too large.

But I stumbled back a step, and with an admiring flash, I recognized what was happening—

Too late.

My stumble brought me up against her shield stuck in the ground, behind me. It tangled in my legs. I tried to level out my foundation to stand straight, but she shoved a second time, and this time Ididtopple—

Up and over the shield, used as an obstacle to trip me. I landed hard on my back, air forced from my lungs.

It worked flawlessly, and the audience actually laughed as I flopped, knocking the shield down in the process.

Grunting, recovering swiftly, I lifted my shield up as she charged. My sword came up to stab at her stomach.

Yet she curled around my body like a snake, slithering across me, all but straddling herself under my stab and thenrollingup my body over my shield like it was a ramp.

She was barehanded now, and my body reacted as her strong thighs straddled my sides. Her face came inches from mine, a devious smirk on her lips—

And her fist was across my throat, lengthwise, before I could react—

As if she was holding an invisible dagger, blade against my neck.

“Bout, Ravinica,” she whispered deviously.

I stared at her with wide eyes, stunned.

Everyone fell silent for a split second, and in that silence I lived a lifetime, peering into her smoldering sunfire eyes.

Cheers erupted. Much louder than the second bout.

“Impressive,” Hersir Osfen said from the side. “Never seen a tricky move like that, initiate. Where did you learn it?”

Ravinica pushed herself off my body, and I had to rearrange myself and stay on my back for a moment so my swelling cock wouldn’t become obvious.

“The elves,” she told the Hersir. “One in particular showed me a few things. Humans could learn a lot from the way they fight, sir.”

Axel’s nostrils flared reflexively. Shaking his head and grumbling, his voice came out gruffly. “Is that so? Hmph. It would never work in real combat. Perfect for this, though.”

Then he turned around to inspect other duels, clearly much more impressed with her maneuver than he was with where she’d learned it.

The elves were a most hated foe, after all.

Ravinica put her hand down and I smiled up at her, reaching for it so she could help me up.

“Gods, you’re heavy,” she grunted as I nearly pulled her down with me.

I couldn’t stop grinning like a simpleton once I was standing, her body close to mine. “Osfen is right. That was brilliant, love.”

She winked at me. “Thanks. Sorry. Didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

I shook my head. “Are you kidding? I’m the furthest thing from embarrassed, little sneak. I’m proud.”

Her face lit up, and it was everything.

I wanted her to conquer and devour and find herself, and that was exactly what she’d done. Who gave a shit if I was the poor target of that conquering? I surely didn’t.

“Woods tonight?” I asked. The fire inside me couldn’t be dimmed. It had been much too long—I hoped she would want to work off some steam after passing her finals.

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