Page 42 of The Princess's Chosen

"That man is mine, and I'll take him from you now," I said.

"Is it a challenge?" a familiar voice cried, and Emory and the rest of the room laughed as I searched their faces until I found Scrapper, looking worse for wear, raising one bruised eyebrow at me.

"It is," I said, and the laughter died abruptly.

"No," Aric rasped. "Damnit, Scrap."

"I challenge you," I said, holding Emory's strangely delighted gaze.

"You challenge me?" Emory asked, laughing lightly, glancing down at Aric still held by the sweaty strands of his hair.

"If I win, you turn Aric over withnofurther harm done to him or anyone in this court," I said, thinking of the bruises Scrapper was sporting.

"And if I win, I get to cut off his head and put it where he can watch as I fuck you," Emory said, grinning.

"No!" Aric shouted as loud as he could from the floor, but his words were ragged.

I looked Emory over head to toe. He had more damage to his left side, and he was holding a long blade in his right. He must've relied on his offense rather than his defense.

But I would've betanything—even the horrific taunt of his demand—that he hadn't been trained in three forms of fencing and the inukat fighting style. He would be rough and follow no rules, but he was already injured and tired compared to me. And I knew what he saw, what he recognized as he looked at me. A princess, in a pretty dress, near to tears over a man she—

"Deal," I said, and I noted the gasp from our audience and the slight falter of Emory's smile. He hadn't expected me to take that bet, so I needed to seem desperate rather than prepared.

"It's all right, Aric," I said softly, meeting his eyes, letting my own fill up. "I-I won't let anything happen to you."

There was a whine in my voice that I never used outside of when I was with my Chosen, and Aric blinked his one eye rapidly, staring at me. Emory jerked his head at two enormous men who stood against the bar. They hurried forward, gathering a stilled and silent Aric between them.

"You heard thelady," Emory said, smirking. "No further harm until after I win."

I gave Emory one single second to seem delighted with himself before I leapt forward, swinging the inukat and whipping it towards his throat. He barely blocked the strike and stumbled back into a table, leaning away with wide eyes as a sudden cheer went up from the room. I hadn't expected to win with one blow. All I'd meant to do was make myself room to move deeper into the circle, passing a table where Aric's own blade lay bloodied at the edge of a chair. I picked it up, and Emory's eyes flicked between my two hands, caution growing.

"That's it, lovey! We'll see who's fucked now!" a woman cried from the audience, and I grinned and waited patiently for Emory to move next.

He was expecting me to strike fast and often because that was what he would've done, and his frown grew as I learned the feel of Aric's dagger in my hand. It was similar to my own, and my left hand wasn't my best, but the two blades would be excellent for distracting Emory.

Footsteps thundered down the stairs, and I waited until Emory's eyes flicked before diving and thrusting, him skirting away with just a knick to his side.

"It's all in hand, gentlemen!" I shouted without turning my eyes away from Emory.

"Don't intervene," I heard Thao hiss. "He doesn't stand a chance."

The next thing I learned about Emory was that he must've been an egoist because those words made him grind his jaw and roar as he ran forward, trying to use force against me. I ducked and spun, and Emory bellowed as I ran the edge of the inukat gently up his spine, just a scratch, but one that bloomed with red on his already sweat-stained shirt.

"You littlewhore," Emory snarled, whipping to face me. "I'm going to leave you bleeding. I'm going to fuck you raw and hard until you can't sit for a week. We'll see what your ass can take too."

I resisted the urge to answer that I knew exactly what my ass could take, but my Chosen laughed, and I thought I even heard Aric choke.

Emory struck again, and I knocked it deftly away before realizing it was only a distraction. He heaved a chair directly for me, and I grunted as it hit me in the stomach and thighs. My hands were busy and my skirt was cumbersome, and Emory expected me to try to avoid the chair, so instead I jumped up, balancing carefully on the edge of its seat and ignoring my own need for air. Thao had taught me that pain was mostly mental, and I didn't have time to indulge. Breath would come, Emory hadn't broken anything and he was startled by my change to his plan, stumbling back as I jumped forward and advanced on him.

"You've got him, Your Loveliness!" Scrapper shouted.

"Get him!"

"Stab 'im in the dick! He don't deserve one!"

"You're not very popular, are you?" I asked, deciding to go ahead and prick that fragile ego once more.

Our blades connected once more between us, my inukat to his long dagger, and I grinned as I tilted my sword toward his face, knowing his could never reach me in the same way. It grazed near a lock of his hair hanging over his forehead, and we both watched as the diamond-sharp edge of the inukat trimmed the lock by a fraction, a little fluff of copper red hair falling to his nose, stealing his focus as I slipped Aric's dagger between us and pressed it to the apple of his throat, hard enough for blood to bead on the tip.

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