Page 143 of Bound By Darkness

“Ouch!” I shouted as I took a step back, examining the cut along my arm.

“What were you thinking about?” His eyes were shimmering as a wicked smile stitched onto his face.

“Nothing,” I said as I kept my face neutral.

There was no way I’d tell him I was thinking about him underneath the tree or that I wouldn’t mind if it happened again.

Clearing my throat, I blew out a breath as I readjusted thesword in my hand. My palms were growing slick with sweat and my legs were threatening to bend.

At this rate, the game would never end and I’d never get my question answered.

Ivan whistled low, his pace slow as he walked around me. “Last shot,half-breed.”

“Fine,” I said, a tiny smile lighting my face. Despite the uneasiness I felt, this was fun.

When was the last time we’d sparred like this?

Ivan struck first, his blade cracking down with a force I’d never experienced from him before. It pushed my sword into the ground, the tip embedded into the soft dirt. “Come on,” I muttered to myself.

Ivan raised his sword, bringing it down in a low arc.

It would strike my arm if I didn’t move.

I fell to the ground, the blade nearly slicing my hair as I avoided its path.

Using my legs, I pounced back up, my arm grabbing the hilt of the sword as I yanked, the blade snapping from the ground.

I swung wide, hoping to strike any part of him.

He dodged effortlessly as he pulled the dagger from his side.

He swung his left hand toward my shoulder and I barely had time to deflect it with metal before he attacked from the right, my sword cracking against his.

My arms screamed to give up, but I needed to know the answer as I countered each strike, my feet threatening to buckle under the pressure. My thoughts were pounding in my head. I had to outsmart him, beat him at his own game, but with every strike, my plan was dwindling to ash.

He arched back, the blade angled at my arm. It would strike my flesh, earning him the final question. He swung high, the bladeperfectly angled?—

I lunged forward into the path of his blade, my body bending at the knees to angle the metal at my neck. I was betting on his ability, the quickness of his reflexes as the sword traveled straight to my exposed neck. Another stone closer, and he’d slice it clean off.

The blade halted.

It was only for a second, but it was the moment I needed as I shoved my sword upward, cutting the tip of his finger. The sword clanged against the ground as I let it go, my arms and legs screaming.

We stared at each other as our breaths mingled in the winter air.

“That was dirty,” Ivan said, his breathing a bit rugged. “But it was a good play.”

A smile rested on my face. “Thanks,” I said between rasps of air.

Ivan sheathed his sword across his back as his arms crossed over his chest. “Out with it, then. You won. What’s this question you have for me?”

I’d won, but at what cost? Now it was time to ask and part of me didn’t want to know. Part of me wanted to say I was crazy for digging into Moria’s words or Fin’s strange behavior in Laias, but I couldn’t ignore it.

Before I changed my mind, my lips opened as I said, “Who is your father?”

Ivan stumbled.

Actually fucking stumbled as he attempted to nullify his shock with his stupid impassive appearance. “Isaiash,” he said. “That’s the only father I care about.”

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