Page 33 of Storm of Blood and Shadow

A strand of my hair has slipped out of my braid, and I twirl it around my finger, giving my hips a saucy tilt as I smirk at her. “Your husband always preferred my hair down.”

“Former husband,” she hisses.

“Did you know I fucked him a few nights ago?” I flash her a wicked smile. “He told me my cunt felt so much better than yours—”

With an angry cry, she lunges, and I let her strike me full in the face. Pain pounds through my jaw. My teeth cut the inside of my cheek on impact, and I spit out flecks of blood onto the dirt before launching myself at Lady Falima with a scream.

We grip each other’s arms, grappling, straining. Falima shoves me, then kicks my shin so hard I stumble. Before I can recover my balance she knocks me bodily to the ground, her weight on top of me, pinning me down. I grip her wrists to keep her from hitting me in the face or grabbing my throat.

We’re both panting, screaming, grunting, muscles taut, our bodies already coated with sweat and dirt. But after that first blow, the fight isn’t about us anymore. Nor is it about the girls who are sneaking through the barrier and racing into the forest. Nor is it about the bronze dragon who lands hastily in the courtyard, calling out to us first in Dragonish before switching to the Eventongue and ordering us to stop fighting.

None of that matters to Falima or to me.

She could bite me, but she doesn’t. I could reach up and stab at her eyes with my fingers, but I don’t. We were never each other’s true enemies. It was always the others—the lords and counts and captains, themaleswho thought they owned us, who considered it their right to take everything they wanted while we schemed and struggled to keep what we had.

Falima is crying, tears tracing darker valleys in the film of dust on her cheeks. My throat is swollen tight with the sobs I’m holding back.

I ram the heel of my hand beneath her jaw and apply pressure. She breaks my grip and pins me down, but I’m far more flexible, and with a kick and a twist I manage to flip us both over so I’m on top of her instead.

We have to keep fighting long enough to give the others a head start. If we stop too soon, Gosrik will realize several of us are missing.

I haul back for a blow, exaggerating the movement so Falima has time to shift aside and avoid it. I pound the dirt with my knuckles instead.

“Enough!” Gosrik bellows. “Stop this at once! You’ll injure each other!”

I exercise daily and I’m strong for my size, but Falima is tougher than I expected. I ease off her a little, and she takes the advantage, throwing me aside and scrambling to her feet. We circle each other, eyes locked.

Gosrik places a large clawed forepaw between us. “There is no cause for a quarrel.”

Ignoring him, I lunge at Falima again. She greets me with a punch straight to my breast, and I double over wheezing. Then I’m on the ground again, with her forearm across my throat.

“It’s enough,” Falima whispers, her dark eyes glittering with tears. “I’ll hold you like this a few more minutes, and then this ends, do you understand? They got out. It’s over.”

I nod slightly, pretending to struggle against her hold. “I’m sorry,” I gasp out. “I’m so fucking sorry.”

“Neran should be sorry,” she replies viciously.

“Well…” I choke out a hoarse laugh. “He probably is now.”

“I doubt it.” She shakes her head. “He’s a slimy one. He’ll find a way to ingratiate himself to the King of Vohrain.”

“Fuck him.”

“We both fucked him, and we both regret it.” She leans back, removing the pressure from my throat. “Never again.”

“His dick looks like an old tree root,” I whisper. “Maybe that’s a recent development.”

“Oh no, it has always looked like that.” Falima laughs hoarsely and rises, extending a hand to help me up.

The bronze dragon stares at us, dumbfounded. “What was that all about?”

“My husband wanted to fuck her,” Falima replies.

“I fucked her husband even though I didn’t want to,” I add.

“You…” The dragon looks at Falima, then back to me. “And you… did what?”

“It’s a human thing,” Falima offers helpfully.

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