Page 60 of Galadon
Galadon grunted next to her.
While Nicco wiped his face with one arm, Boese pulled a dagger and stuck it in the other male’s stomach. The audience gasped. By her estimate, he was struck in the right kidney. As someone who’d lost one of hers recently and spent over a week regrowing it, she had some experience with the matter. It had to be brutally painful, especially as Nicco pulled the blade out and blood leaked from the wound.
She hated that they couldn’t interfere and help him.
The two males backed away from each other, one staggering in pain. Boese twirled his sword like a baton, showing off for the crowd. Lorcan mentioned hating this guy as well, and she could understand why.
As Nicco swayed on his feet, he managed to keep hold of his sword. Boese charged him, pointing the blade at his opponent’s chest. Their weapons clanged together, slid, and somehow, the horrible shifter stuck his into the side of the honorable one’s throat. That was an automatic win, but it wasn’t good enough for the bad guy. Boese pushed the blade farther until half of Nicco’s neck was cut off. He collapsed to the ground, spurting blood before his eyes lost their spark of life.
The crowd roared, mostly in anger. Unfortunately, there weren’t many rules to the duels, and fighting to the death was permissible when it came to a bitkal. Of course, Galadon had just taken a man’s life two hours ago in the street, and he’d suffer no repercussions because he was defending Rayna, and it had been two-on-one. There were enough witnesses that he wasn’t even questioned about it.
Nicco’s body was carried from the field, and the elders met to draw names for round two. They waited in tense silence for them to be announced. After several minutes, an older male called them out. Telarion would face the remaining male pure dragon. Lorcan would duel against the remaining pure female dragon, who’d been his mother’s friend, and Galadon got Boese. Rayna worried for him, but she was also glad because if anyone could handle that horrible guy, it would be her half-mate.
The six remaining contestants met with the elders to discuss their duels. She overheard that they had a thirty-minute break to rest and prepare. Boese demanded to fight in human form, which was fine with Galadon.
When he returned, he stopped beside her and began his transition immediately. When the fire died, she noted he’d only put on his pants, boots, and various weapons, but his muscular chest was bare. Not that Rayna was complaining about being able to appreciate all his muscles, but why would he do that? His camrium tunic gave him some measure of protection.
Galadon noted her confusion. “By going into the fight bare-chested, I’m stating that Boese is of so little concern to me that I don’t need armor.”
She wanted to argue that point, but too many people stood nearby. He was supposed to be the strongest fighter in thetoriq. If she questioned his decision, it would undermine him. Rayna would just have to worry in silence.
“Whatever you think is best,” she said, turning her gaze away.
Galadon took her arm and turned her to face him, then leaned closer to her ear. “Trust me. It will enrage him, and he’ll make more mistakes.”
He might be quicker to cheat, too,she said into his head.
“Let him try,” he said with a feral grin.
Galadon let go of her to warm up and loosen his muscles. Switching bodies had to be a little awkward at first, but he moved with grace for a man his size. Rayna handed him a canteen of water, insisting he drink. He did it without question. It reassured her a little that he listened to her on that point.
The first duel went as she feared, with Telarion defeating the pure dragon through questionable means. He didn’t kill his opponent, but he did slice through a back leg. A healer had to go to work right away to save it. The shifter only received one nasty bite on his arm, but it didn’t seem to bother him much.
Lorcan spent ten minutes on his duel with the female dragon giving as good as she got. He finally pinned her down and clamped his fangs around her neck. She conceded gracefully, and they both walked off the field with minor injuries. Rayna was relieved that it went well.
It was finally Galadon’s turn. He didn’t look at her before walking onto the field, but she didn’t blame him. The lone shifter was fully focused on his opponent and likely planned his opening move. She wondered what he would do.
The look on Boese’s face was priceless when he stepped forward, spotting Galadon bare-chested. His complexion turned red. Apparently, this was an insult Rayna had never heard about before, but the spectators appeared amused.
Rayna glanced over at Aidan. “So not wearing a tunic is a thing?”
“It’s rarely done, but yes, to not bother covering one’s chest for a formal duel is the highest insult one can make. It tells their opponent that their fighting skills are less than that of a fly.” Humor danced in his eyes. “You’d have to truly hate the other fighter to do such a thing and be very confident you can win. Otherwise, you’ll look like a fool if you lose.”
“Right,” she said, sighing.
Titan joined them. He’d left during the break and hadn’t returned until now. “Odds are so high for Galadon that no one is betting against him except Boese’s family.”
“They know something the rest of us don’t,” she surmised.
He nodded. “It likely won’t matter what he tries, though.”
Rayna really hoped that was true.
She studied Boese, noting he was a very large man in his human form and almost as massive as Galadon, though his shoulders weren’t quite as wide. Heavy muscles rippled from his bare arms. He had warm, golden skin and long, dark brown hair, which he kept tied back at the nape of his neck. For the duel, he’d donned a black, sleeveless tunic that buttoned at the front and snug black camrium pants with matching boots. His face was blockish, and he had a large, flat nose. His amber eyes were coldand merciless as he drew his weapon and set his feet apart in a wide fighting stance.
The duel began, and her focus went to Galadon, tuning out everything else. He stood perfectly still with his sword at his side as Boese charged him. At the last second, he lifted it to deflect the other blade, then kicked the shifter in the chest so hard he went flying backward six feet onto his butt. Anger lit his opponent’s gaze as he staggered to his feet, breathing hard. She suspected Boese had a few broken ribs, considering his forward momentum when struck.
Over and over, he tried to get close to Galadon, but he failed. Rayna got the feeling that whatever trick he planned required proximity. He tried throwing dirt at Galadon’s face at one point, but the lone shifter twisted fast enough to avoid the spray. Then he kicked his foot backward to slam into Boese’s knee. Thecrackas it broke was audible.
