Page 31 of Between Soul and Vessel
My hand tightened, and the metal handle groaned under my grasp.
Overtop of the clapping, the empress looked at us, a smug expression on her face as she said, “Begin.”
Aryx moved with the speed and the precision of a lethal arrow, shooting straight for me.
I raised my shield to answer the call of his swords as they came down over top of it.Thunk. Thunk.
I pulled back, my sword catching his twin blades just in time. I shoved my shield at him, but he jumped back, narrowly escaping my attempt to knock him off his feet.
He charged again, and I dropped down, missing the bite of his blade by a hairsbreadth as it sailed over top of my head. At the same time, the tip of my sword slid across his skin, splitting it open. It wasn’t a deep cut, but it still earned a collective gasp from the audience.
Aryx heeded the wound no mind as he said, “That was a good move. Who was the brilliant bastard who taught you it?”
I cracked a grin. “You speak too highly of yourself.” I raised the tip of my sword, pointing at him as a sign I was ready to go at it again, and he charged at me.
Someone was playing offense tonight.
Our swords clashed in a fury of silver streaks as we moved around the pool.
He fired low, and I spotted an opportunity. Muscles firing, I drove my shield down, pinning his blade against the pool floor, causing an explosion of water.
Using his free hand, Aryx sent his knuckles colliding into the side of my face, snapping my head to the right. The edges of my mask cut into my cheek and my teeth rattled in my skull. I leaned into the screaming ache, enjoying the blistering-white pain. The immortal’s fist, backed by the strength of his sword’s handle, was like taking a cannonball to the face.
Stars peppered my vision. I shook my head, trying to clear them.
“That all you got, you old fossil?” I teased, feeling the warmth of my ichor as it raced like a river down my face, dripping onto my chest.
Aryx chuckled at that.
“They fight like animals,” a female said, her voice filled with amusement.
“Truly sadistic beasts,” cooed another. “Can you imagine when the realm was full of them?”
“What a horrible time that must have been,” stated someone else.
The empress’s laughter rang out.
Aryx and I charged at each other again, colliding in the middle in a spray of water and steel. Each time our swords met, it elicited an excited response from the audience. We went at it for a while, putting on a good show. To us, this was no different than a sparring session, something we had done thousands of times, but to them—the females—we were unhinged monsters, lapping at the chance to destroy one another.
I swung my sword, striking from the left, and he parried my attack. I did it again and again, until my hand was flying, firing shots this way and that. One nicked him in the side, and he winced. I took that opportunity to fire my foot into his torso, kicking him out of the pool.
The audience let out shocked screams, racing out of the way as Aryx smashed into a pillar.
I charged after him, arm whipping back, readying tostrike, then swung at him, but he ducked at the last second. My blade chewed into the stone just above his head, slicing off a few of his curly blond strands. They tumbled onto the flat of the blade. I nodded in approval—the blade might be unbalanced, but it was plenty sharp.
“Arghh!” Aryx growled as he forced his blade ahead, aiming for my leg. I swept my shield to the right into his extended arm and knocked his sword free. It went skittering out across the floor.
I flipped my shield to the side and rammed it into his chest, locking him against the pillar.
My hand shot out, grabbing his sword before he could use it on me. The metal chewed like teeth, biting deeply into my skin. Warm liquid seeped through my fingers as I tore the blade from Aryx’s hand and tossed it to the ground.
The audience went wild.
Releasing my shield, Aryx gasped for air as he crumpled to the ground.
“Bravo, bravo,” the empress said as she stood up, clapping along with everyone else. “The God of Love will be making one of you very happy tonight.”
I went over to Aryx, braced his forearm, and helped him up.
