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On instinct, I geared up to run. But then the two stepped closer and slapped each other on the shoulder. Callen did this without releasing me, and I heaved a sigh of relief. They were friends?
Hubby Dearest lifted my knuckles to his lips and kissed, leaving me reeling. He didn’t look at me, and he said nothing, but he let me go and gave me a gentle nudge toward Buzz and Ponytail, who stood at the front of the crowd. “Not a scratch,” he told them.
Where? On me? “What’s the plan?” I asked as the pairushered me forward. All the other warriors were currently backing up, forming a circle inside the stones.
The two guards remained silent, working together to herd me toward the rest of the crowd without ever actually touching me. As soon as I reached a spot distanced from the other spectators, my escorts took posts at my sides.
Prince Jamie approached. Buzz moved aside, making room.
“The plan is simple,” Jamie said, his attention fixed on the royals. “Both Callen and King Malachi forwent gelu root to allow the spark of rage. They will fight. If Callen can hold his temper till the end, which is far worse than that of any other sentinel. Our army must accept that you are his firebrand and a reason they, their families, and innocents are forever safe from the king’s wrath.”
“And if his temper is triggered?” I croaked.
“You will calm him and prove the same. Though I doubt they will respect you as much.”
“And if I fail?”
“Then most of us will die today as we attempt to stop him.” To punctuate his words, thunder boomed and lightning flashed, electrifying the air.
Bile burned a path up my throat. “Maybe we should give him the gelu root, just to be safe.”
The prince frowned at me. “Everyone would know by his scent, and no one would ever accept you.”
I didn’t care about their acceptance when lives were at stake!
In the center of the ring, Callen and Malachi faced each other. Aggression mounted, far worse than what I’d sensed before. I expected a countdown. Something. But faster than the next flash of lightning, Malachi threwa brutal one-two punch. Callen’s face whipped from side to side, blood spraying from his nose and mouth.
Gasping, I flattened a hand over my heart. Right before my eyes, the bone in his nose snapped into place and his jaw realigned on its own. Cut skin wove back together. Crimson ceased flowing.
No one cheered the healing. Everyone remained on edge, watching Callen and me. Expecting him to erupt?
“Your make-the-enemy-strike-first strategy will get you into trouble,” Malachi warned. “One day, an opponent will deliver a blow you cannot recover from.”
An icy smile lifted the corners of Callen’s lips. “That opponent isn’t you, and that day isn’t today.” Whoosh. He nailed the other man in the center of his throat—with a dagger. A dagger he cruelly twisted before removing.
I blanched, smashing a hand over my lips. Malachi healed quickly, too, at the same time slamming an elbow into Callen’s wrist, forcing him to relinquish the blade.
From there, the fight was on. My eyes widened. Oh. My. Goodness. They were wild animals. Punching. Kicking. Clawing. Kneeing. Stabbing. Hacking. Neither showed mercy. Streams of blood slung here and there. Skin split, and bones shattered. Someone spit teeth across the dirt. They sometimes spoke in that lovely language, but they never cursed or screamed in pain. Occasionally, they grunted.
Despite the staggering level of violence, they moved with surprising grace as if they enjoyed the challenge. Relished it even. And they were fast. Unnaturally so. Each seemed to predict what the other would do, a split second before he did it.
Not once did Callen act out of control, and I began to chill. To enjoy the spectacle of it all. I’d only ever seen afight like this in movies, with the help of special effects. It was gruesome but without the taint of fear, it was also kind of hot, with a show of rippling of muscles and utter brute strength. Nothing stopped or slowed my husband. He overcame any blow and delivered double in payback, all while glistening with sweat.
Thunder boomed with more force, and a smattering of icy raindrops fell. The battle raged on, even when the sky opened up and deluged us, soaking me in a blink. My teeth chattered from the cold.
“He’s proven himself already,” I remarked. “Either give me some pom-poms so I can cheer him on the right way, or let’s blow a whistle and call it good.”
Jamie scowled at me. “I don’t know what you hope to gain, but this game you’re playing with him must stop. When you betray him, and you will, you’ll break him, and none of us will be able to put his pieces back together this time.”
The animosity in his voice raised my hackles. “I’ve been good to him since the wedding, and not even you can argue that fact.” Though Ididknow a traitor had infiltrated Callen’s team, and I’d said nothing. To protect myself, yes. But. In doing so, how many others did I leave in jeopardy? Everyone? No one? Callen claimed Tavish cared about me alone. “Mostly good.”
A sword cut through Callen’s shoulder, and I winced. Winced again when he sank deeper into the blade to glide closer to Malachi—on purpose. He plunged a dagger into the other man’s eyes, a quick one, two jab, just as lightning flashed, highlighting each blow. I cringed as blood poured from the sockets. Of course, that was the exact moment Callen happened to glance my way, checking to see if I observed him.
I blew him a kiss, and it would’ve been sexy, I was sure, if my teeth chattering hadn’t worsened.
When he noticed my frozen condition, he frowned.
Malachi stabbed him in the gut, and I flinched.
