Page 83 of The Genius
“I was close to rooting for the other guy. At least he looked like he wanted to win.”
Using a towel to dry off sweat, I laughed at my friends’ comments and smiled when I looked up to see Mila, my former student and Magni’s daughter.
“I didn’t know you were here.” I stepped away from my friends to the young woman who stood out among all the men. Her adoptive mother, Laura, stood by her side and looked like an older sister to Mila since there were only ten years between them in age.
“I’m sorry you got hurt, Marco.” Mila reached out both her hands to me. “May peace surround you.”
It surprised me that she still used that formal Motlander greeting after having lived here in the Northlands for so many years. Mila would be twenty now but she still had those cute dimples that I remembered.
“May peace surround you too,” I said politely and waited for a nod from Magni before I took her hands.
“When is your next fight?” she asked with concern. “I’ll come and watch.”
I smiled. “I thought you hated violence.”
“I do. My parents say that I’m too sensitive and that it’ll be good for me to toughen up before my own tournament.”
“So you are having one?”
She nodded. “Some time next year. I didn’t want to at first, but my dad insisted and then I did something foolish.” She looked back to Magni, who stood behind her. “I told him that if he would wear a bead in his beard for a year, I’d do it.”
“Huh. That explains the fashion trend.”
Mila’s large blue eyes looked up at me. “I never thought he’d do it or that it would spread the way it has. Maybe if I’d specified that it had to be more than one bead and in different colors… but I didn’t think that far ahead.”
The sole blue bead in Magni’s beard looked good on him and he had a smug smile on his face.
“Listen, Marco.” Mila lowered her voice. “I know you must have been very disappointed when you weren’t picked by the bride the last two times, but I’m certain Louisa will pick you this time. She came to see your fight and I saw her smile when you were announced the winner. Just be sure to smile at her when you stand with the other four champions. You have a warm and beautiful smile. She’ll pick you for sure.”
My jaws stiffened, the thought making me tense up.
“Oh no.” Her face tilted to one side with a sympathetic glance. “I can see how afraid you are of being rejected again.” Mila was misreading my reaction as fear. “Don’t be scared. If Louisa doesn’t pick you tomorrow, I’ll pick you for my champion next year, if you want me to.”
Laura moved closer. “Mila, please don’t make a promise like that. It wouldn’t be fair to the other competitors in your tournament.”
“I know, but Marco has a good heart and he would treat me well. How is it different from you promising Dad that you would pick him? You did it out of pity too.” Her eyes flew to me. “I’m sorry, Marco, I probably shouldn’t have said that.”
“It’s okay, Mila. I know you’re only trying to be nice, but I would never fight in your tournament.”
“Why not?”
“Because I was your mentor. It would be weird.”
“Right.” She nodded, with her kind blue eyes expressing sympathy. “Then let’s hope that Louisa picks you tomorrow.”
I was grateful for Mila’s kindness and the way Laura and Magni helped distract me from my misery by discussing the fights with me. Yet, something urgent was pressing inside of me. I needed to talk to Shelly and be a hundred percent sure she wasn’t pregnant before I fought my next fight. Excusing myself, I found a quiet place and called her up.
CHAPTER 18
Proof
Shelly
I had never felt inclined to throw things around.
Until now.
A tournament was a huge event in the Northlands and sent out live for all to see. Right now, there wouldn’t be a bar in the country that wasn’t tuned in, and more people were following the tournament from their homes.
