Page 44 of What Fury Brings
Indeed, Athon shook himself off before throwing a kick and catching Andrastus around the ankle, sweeping his legs out from under him. Athon threw himself on top of Andrastus.
Olerra could see the panic on Andrastus’s face from here. Perhaps if the two men hadn’t been oiled up, it would have been over, but Athon slid as he went to his knees astride Andrastus. The smaller man managed to roll over the bigger one.
Then they were both standing once more.
“How will you reward him when he wins?” Ydra asked, and Olerra knew it was a barely hidden goad with Glenaerys present to hear.
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“You could have Stryan tend to him.”
Stryan was a eunuch trained in full-body massage. Talented though he may be, Olerra didn’t think for a second that Andrastus would appreciate such a thing.
Still, she said, “I’ll take it under consideration.”
“When Athon wins,” Glen cut in, “I’m going to ride him so hard, he will be unable to think of anything except being inside me.”
Ydra could not mask her disgust. “He won’t think of anything else until you inevitably break something of his. An arm or a leg. You are not known for showing the restraint you should in the bedroom.”
“My men are not being paid for me to be gentle with them. They’re paid so that I might have my way.”
Olerra scoffed. “I thought you said you were courting Athon. Wouldn’t that imply you were wooing him rather than paying him?”
“There’s no difference. I can pay him with money, or I can pay him with my attention and goodwill. Either way, men only care that they’re being compensated.”
Ydra shook her head. “Is there any problem you don’t throw money at?”
“I haven’t hired someone to take care of you yet.” And then Glenaerys’s gaze shot to Olerra for the briefest moment.
Olerra knew that Glenaerys was coming for her, but she hadn’t dreamed that she might come for Ydra, too. Olerra’s lip curled as she leaned toward her cousin. “This fight for power is between you and me. If you come for Ydra, I may just have to start hiring assassins of my own. And I have better contacts in that regard, you will recall.”
Glenaerys rolled her eyes, but Olerra could tell the movement was forced. A brief moment of fear had shown through her cousin’s stoicism. “I will concede that Ydra is off-limits as long as you don’t come after my harem.”
“Agreed.”
They returned their attention to the fight. Andrastus had managed to get Athon into a choke hold. Each time the bigger man tried to grip the arm around his neck, his hands slipped. However, Andrastus didn’t exactly have the best hold. He was trying to keep Athon as far from his body as possible, as though he detested their naked skin coming into contact.
“That man’s prudish ways might get him killed,” Glenaerys said gleefully, as Athon finally dug an elbow into Andrastus’s stomach. “Athon shouldn’t have had enough leeway to swing that hard. Tut, tut.”
Olerra massaged her temples as she watched Andrastus fall to the mat yet again with the bigger man on top of him. She’d wanted to let Andrastus fight this one on his own. To show that she believed in him and to give him some confidence in this country where he’d been taken prisoner. But it would seem she’d let this continue for too long. She’d given Andrastus his chance. Now she needed to intervene.
Olerra wanted to call for a respite, but she couldn’t do so while Glenaerys’s man had the upper hand. Olerra waited and sent a prayer up to Goddess Amarra that her chosen would gain a modicum of intelligence within the next five seconds.
Losing this fight meant looking weak in front of the nobles, the very people she was supposed to be winning over by wedding Andrastus. Olerra vowed to take greater caution where her cousin was concerned.
Andrastus managed to wiggle enough to get a leg between himself and the bigger man. He kicked, sending Athon backward. Andrastus stood, gaining the upper hand for a moment.
Olerra took the chance, standing and shouting, “I call for a respite.”
The eunuch jumped between the two men before Andrastus could descend on the fallen man. Glenaerys called to her, “What’s this about?”
“See to your man, and I will see to mine” was all Olerra said inreturn. She hurried to the mat, for she would only get a minute before the fight was resumed.
“What did you do that for?” Andrastus asked between heaving pants as she pulled him off to the side. “I had him.”
“You might as well be dancing with him for all the damage you’re doing,” she said. “Or playing keep-away. You’ve barely landed a blow!”
“If you hadn’t slicked me up in this horrid concoction, the fight would already be over.”
