AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Mirage pursed her too-perfect lips. ‘Killen, the man you just met, is about to board his ship in less than a week and head to Katáne. A place he’s never been before. While he’s got more raw power and menace in one talon than most warriors across Pegasi have in their entire bodies and is well-versed in self-trained combat, he has no formal skills whatsoever. Given his recent fluke win against his grandfather, he thinks he can get by, but wisdom tells us otherwise. He’ll need a fight master to show him the ways of the blade so he can survive the sword and koya sab?r fights. He has to pass muster on the planet and gain the respect he requires to capture the hearts and minds of the people he’s about to lead.’
Sana’a gave a low whistle. ‘Is that right?’
‘The problem is he’s a tad overconfident about his abilities. This is where you step in. We’re asking you to become his kísímí, as they call blade masters on Katáne. He may have rumbled you today, but he would have been disadvantaged once your SHärd blades started flying in a one-on-one bout without his guards to support him.
Sana’a’s brow creased. ‘Why can’t a Katánian train him?’
‘Because most want to kill him even before he’s set foot on the planet, enraged by his actions against the old King and his claim to the throne. Rumour has it many across Katáne see him as an unwelcome usurper. The ruling classes and those eyries of those who lost their hawk fathers during their latest civil skirmish are baying for his blood. He needs an impassive master. Also, one who can teach him an unconventional and street fighting style so he has the advantage of being unpredictable at all times.’
‘I see,’ Sana’a mused, still unsure. ‘But don’t the Katánians fight with talons, wings, and íkan kätu? I have none of those, ‘except for the SHärd blades.’
‘Your aether weapons are just as superior if not more capable than their sab?rs, which they wield like swords. Remember, you’re not battling them; you’re training one man to flay and slay as you do with your blades. So he can use his koya in unorthodox ways unknown to his people, giving him an advantage over his foes. This makes you the best candidate to work with him.’
‘How about his guards? Couldn’t they hone his skills?’
‘They’re not fighting masters; they are his armourers. They can’t give him the guidance they need because they’ll be fending off his enemies to the right and left. They’re also running his army until he can step in as General.’
Sana’a shook her head. ‘He won’t listen to me, not after tonight.’
‘He will when he sees you in a match. He’ll be a fool not to.’
‘And how will this mystical occurrence unfold?’ Sana’a drawled, still disbelieving.
Mirage smiled. ‘You’ll fly to Katáne and set yourself up in their most famous fight arena. It’s situated in the capital city, Kos. You’ll wow the populace with your outstanding blade skills. The k?thi are celebrities on their planet. The best among them are rewarded for their skill with castles, lands, and courtly influence. They’re even celebrated as romantic heroes—livening up legends, poems, and paintings with their clashing koyas and chivalrous deeds.’
Sana’a shook her head. ‘Not my style. I live in shadows, not on a stage or platform.’
‘What you are is a professional shikari, and you’ve done worse with your intentions and blades. So suck it up. For a little while. Until he takes note of you. He’ll be intrigued about what you want on Katáne but impressed with your blade skills. Use that opportunity to let him hire you as his kísímí. It is up to you to persuade him you are the best fight master he needs.’
Sana’a sat back, her lips twisted.
‘You’re not convinced.’
The Shotelai woman gave the alluring creature a raised scornful brow.
‘Watch this,’ Mirage said.
She leaned in, flicking a second holo into Sana’a’s wrist comm. A privacy shield rose around it before imagery flitted across the screen.
It depicted two figures contorted midair above a white-hot salt plain.
Sana’a snapped forward as her eyes locked onto a gigantic chrome-winged chimeric being. His eyes blazed with silver flames, and his hands and feet were burnished bronze.
His face was like the sun shining at noon strength, and she recognised it with hitched breath.
He was caught in a plumed battle with a creature so monstrous and large that it obscured all view for a mile in all directions. Its wingspan was that wide and broad.
‘That is the Král-In-Waiting, in full Sab?r hawk mode,’ Mirage said as the vision continued.
The two swooped, swiped and attacked each other, lost in mortal combat of such savagery. Sana’a’s eyes narrowed as she took in the holo.
The titanic-winged predator lashed with its brass beak and six-foot-long talons. Even as arrows of silver-white heat flashed from its eyes, sab?r-like blades flung from its wings and crackling krest.
She raised an eyebrow as the man she’d deigned to kill fired off a set of his lethal feathers in one high-speed pass. When one of the serrated quills sunk deep into the chest and heart of the attacking K?str?l monarch, he let out a mighty guttural bellow. Before plunging to the salt-crusted earth below.
‘Brutal, no?’ asked the Sable consigliere.
‘Without doubt,’ Sana’a responded, shaken by what she’d seen.
