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“You’re a woman of royalty. Married to the most powerful king of Omnia. You should be off doing queenly duties, not continuously putting yourself in situations where you can get hurt!” I yell at her, my voice bouncing off the walls.
Her normally bright-green eyes darken, nearly black. Stepping into my space, she glares up at me and I watch as her jaw muscles flex.
“Do you find me weak, Captain? Just another one of your fragile damsels in need of saving?” she hurls the words at me like daggers as the air around us charges, as if a storm is about to break.
“I think you’re a queen, and you should act like it. Let your king do the fighting, not you,” I answer.
A roar escapes as she slams her forearm into my chest, shoving me backward. I stumble a few steps, dumbfounded by her ability to physically move me. I have over one hundred pounds of muscle on her. She shouldn’t have been able to do that. Staring at her, she bares her teeth at me as her nostrils flare in anger. She’s a predator aiming for the kill.
Now she looks like the queen of Umbra I would expect.
I grit my teeth and take one step back to prove that I’m done. She lunges at me faster than before, her movements like flashes of lightning in the night sky. The sword cuts through the air with awhoosh, and I barely bring my sword up in time to block the attempted hit to my chest.
She whirls, unleashing a barrage of strikes in quick succession. I’m forced backward with each blow, trying to find an opening to counter. My scanning misses her swing to the right, and she lands a hard smack on my ribs, matching the one from earlier.
The sting of pain has me wincing and arching away from her, trying to gain distance. But she doesn’t let me have it.
Was she holding back earlier?
I bring my sword back up to parry another hit. The wood collides with a loudcrack. The vibration shaking my arm. She continues to drive me backward when I notice a pattern. She hesitates after every few swings, not hitting as quick or as hard.
I wait until the next hesitation and use the opening to land a hit on her arm. Not too hard, but just enough to get her to stop.
As my sword barrels toward her side, she drops, moving under my swing, and pops up on the other side. Her fist makes impact with my left jaw, stealing the air from my lungs and thoughts from my mind. Acrackechoes through my head.
I falter and stumble a step, but she swipes my legs out from under me. I slam into the stone floor with a loudbang, and I groan.
Then she’s on top of me, pinning me to the ground with her blade to my throat. The black edge kisses the smooth skin on my neck. Her knees and legs trap my arms while her hips sit on top of my waist. I grit my teeth.
Gods, why does she feel so good?
A sharp pain shoots through my jaw, helping to clear my filthy thoughts about the shadow queen. Strands of her long, red hair fall in light curls from her face as she leans down.
“What about now, Captain? Do you still find me weak?” Her words are venom, cold and deadly.
The cut on her lip trickles blood down her gorgeous face.
Just another mark to add to her current assortment.
Her eyes scan me, landing on my lips for a moment before darting back to fix me with a stare.
Conflicting emotions surge through me, a blend of fury and fascination. She shouldn’t have been able to take me down. I’m double her size and a trained royal guard. I hate the part of me that’s aroused by this whole situation. A damn goddess of a woman is sitting on top of me after putting me in my place for assuming she was like all the other women I’ve encountered in Omnia. Or maybe that’s just my feeling of failure rearing its ugly head. I’ve trained my entire life trying to protect the ones around me from the evils of this realm.Of this kingdom.And here I am, pinned by a secret queen.
The queen’s voice brings me back from my racing thoughts, “It would be wise of you to remember this is Umbra. The land of beasts and monsters. We don’t have the luxury of being weak. Power-hungry men forced us to become warriors. Men who seek to destroy everything good in this realm. I’ll always be a warrior, regardless of my title. Do I make myself clear?” she hisses, drawing her face closer to mine.
I stare helplessly into those haunting eyes. They feel as if they are burning into my soul, picking every piece of me apart to remake me anew—forcing me to face those truths she’s been preaching about.
I nod a response, which earns me atskof disapproval.
“Words, Captain,” she says, studying me, waiting for an answer.
I swallow hard, causing the blade to nick my throat.
“Yes. Crystal clear. Can you tell me how you are doing this? No matter how much I try, I can’t get you off me.” I say, wiggling beneath her to prove my point.
Her face softens as she uses my chest to push herself to sit, creating more friction on my lap. I lock my eyes on the ceiling as I try not to think about her positioning. I get the feeling she knows exactly what she is doing to me right now.
“Were you never taught leverage, dear Captain?” Her voice is a playful taunt, which causes me to bite my lip to hide a smile.
