Page 156 of A Crown of Lies

A spearman charged her. She dodged to one side, letting the spear tip narrowly miss her. The spearman pulled back and jabbed at her again. With a grunt, she brought her war hammer down, snapping the wooden shaft. The spearman’s eyes widened as she lifted the hammer with a grunt and smashed it into his ribcage. He was heavily armored, but it didn’t matter. The armor crumpled with her blow, and he fell to the ground, his chest caved in. His lung was probably crushed, internal organs ruptured. A slow death. She lifted the hammer again. He screamed as she smashed his head in. Faster that way.

Two knights with swords were on her before she could recover. A glancing blow hit the armor on her arm. She turned and kicked him back while the second swordsman tried to stab her in the throat. Rixxis barely got away from that one. She thrust the war hammer forward, hitting the second swordsman in the breastplate. The strike was too weak to cave in his armor, but it was plenty to push him back, making room for a proper swing. She hit the first swordsman on the side of the helmet with a bone-shattering crack. He was dead before he hit the ground.

Rixxis lifted her war hammer to make quick work of the other swordsman, but the tail of a whip snapped around her neck and pulled, jerking her from her feet. She was dragged to lie at Divina’s feet. Divina smirked down at her. Rixxis barely had time to process who she was looking at before the whip buzzed around her neck like a living thing.

They left me, she thought, panic spearing her chest.Rowan and Ieduin left me!Maybe it was lies, all lies. Everything Rowan had said the night before. Rowan didn’t love her. How could he ever want such a hideous beast as her? She was barely even a woman! What ever made her think she was worthy of being called his queen? Let alone Ieduin’s goddess. What nerve she had! What an ego! She was lying to herself.

She was worthless. Hideous. A murderer…

No! Rixxis closed her eyes against the impossible weight of her own thoughts.It’s not true! Ieduin and Rowan wouldn’t lie to me. And even if they did, they don’t get to determine who and what I am.

Her eyes snapped open, and she gripped the whip wrapped tightly around her throat.

Worthless! You’re so stupid. You’re a liar, Rixxis, and when everybody finds out the truth—

What truth? That she was stronger than most men? That she was tall and muscular anddifferent? That she was powerful, and beautiful, and worthy of some godsdamned self-respect, no matter what anybody else said?

You tricked them! Lied to them! How could they ever trust you after that?said the voice, but it was sounding less and less like her own voice and more like something else.

They forgave me, she shot back.And they love me for who I am!

They lied to you! They hate you! They left you here to die!Now the voice sounded nothing like her own at all. It was hissing and dark, a whisper against her shouting.They only keep you around because you’re useful.

“Liar!” Rixxis growled and yanked the whip free from her neck.

The air popped, the curse Divina was weaving shattering like glass. Divina shrieked.

Rixxis rose with a shout and turned, landing a punch against Divina’s jaw. “Eat dirt, bitch! And don’t you ever fucking touch me again!”

Simeon tackled her from behind. They went to the ground, Rixxis landing on her chest hard enough that it knocked the wind out of her. Simeon grabbed her helmet and yanked it off, tossing it aside. He grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her head up. “I’m gonna fuck you with my sword, whore.”

Rixxis threw an elbow back. It connected with his nose, and she scrambled away, reaching for her war hammer, which had fallen when Divina caught her with the whip. Simeon grabbed her by the ankle just before she could reach it and yanked her back. She rolled over and kicked him hard in the chest. He lost his balance and fell back on his ass. She reached for the hammer again.

Divina’s whip cracked against her hand, and she hissed in pain, pulling her hand back from the hammer on instinct. She jumped to her feet and turned her hand over, examining the bloody line Divina’s whip had carved across her knuckles.

“Ugly bitch!” Simeon grabbed her by the shoulder, spinning her. He punched her in the jaw, hard enough she saw stars and tasted blood.

She stayed where she was for a moment, touching her lip. Her fingers came away bloody. Slowly, she turned back to glare at Simeon.

He grinned and brought his fists up. “You want to fight like a man? Then fight me like a fuckin’ man.”

Rixxis spat, straightened, and curled her fingers into fists. “Gladly.”

Simeon threw the first punch, but Rixxis bobbed to the side and threw a perfect right hook that connected with Simeon’s ear. He cursed and moved to the side, shaking his head, but the hit had been perfect. His ear bloomed and swelled, blood leaking from it.

She took a half step back, smirking, and gave a taunting gesture for him to try again.

Enraged, Simeon flew forward, throwing a messy flurry of punches. He was all strength and no form. Of course, she had the unfair advantage of having grown up with only boys for playmates, and then on sailing ships where boxing matches were a favorite pastime. To earn her place in the League of Iron, she’d had to last two rounds in the ring with a former blacksmith named Hammerhands Henley. Simeon would have been better off trying to take her with the sword.

Rixxis bobbed and weaved away from every strike, goading him into wearing himself out with his stupid wide swings. He tried to trip her. Bad idea. She turned to the side and threw an uppercut that would’ve knocked out a smaller man. He took it and stood there stunned for a moment, but didn’t go down.

His head jerked to the side suddenly, and he threw up a thick, armored forearm. Divina’s whip wrapped around it. “Fuck off!” He shouted and ripped the whip free. “The bitch is mine to kill!”

“Not if you lose!” Divina spat back. She jerked her head toward the Wytchwood. “The army’s left us behind! Finish her quickly so we can go kill Rowan!”

Simeon snorted and turned his head. From the direction he was looking, he was eying his sword. Rixxis’s hammer was in the other direction. They looked at each other. Simeon spat on the ground, and then they each darted in opposite directions.

Simeon got to his sword first, but Rixxis grabbed her hammer in time to defend against the downward strike he tried to deliver while she was still on the ground. He bore down on her, using his size and weight to break her hold. Rixxis’s fingers were coated in sweat and her grip slipped. She pushed back, gaining less than an inch.

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