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His presence had intrigued and unsettled her, leaving her mind with questions. How had he worked out where she was?
She paced back and forth in her small chamber, her thoughts racing.
’Twas the freakin’ jewel he wore.
She swore it had dark kätu woven into its glittering depths.
Every fokkin’ time, it flashed around her, it drained her soul, weakened her defences, and left her defenceless.
It also, for some reason, eased the aching, painful throb in her joints that had been her hated companion since puberty.
Worse still, Killen’s touch ignited primal fires within her, awakening desires and emotions she had long suppressed. It frightened her, but a part of her yearned for more.
She dreaded her mission, but she’d made a promise to Mirage.
She just wished Killen didn’t rumble her plans for him.
Instead, she hoped her reticence act had been convincing enough.
To catch the most significant game, one needs the most giant lure, she remembered her father saying. But damn, this was one freakin space whale she was fishing for.
Unable to sleep, Sana’a sought solace in the one place that always brought her peace - the íkhara.
She headed to the arena. The cool night air calmed her nerves as she approached the fighting pits.
She practised for hours until dawn’s light pierced the sky.
Only then did she set aside her daggers and drag herself back to her room.
She peeled off her metsai undersuit with care, ensuring not to aggravate her pain.
After a long hot shower, she took another dose of tik? and collapsed in bed.
For a dreamless, restless kip of just one hour.
Before she rose once more, showered and changed, ready to face another day, with a singular thought in her mind.
‘One oath, two blades, three tragedies, four slays, five fates.’
Chapter 12
Kos was a city bristling with anticipation.
Even the golden tendrils of íkan that peeked through the walls fluttered with excitement, sending blooms and wild overgrowth all over the avenues and streets and flowing into homes through open windows.
All because match season had arrived in the obsidian metropolis.
Within a week of her assessment success, Kaniz declared Sana’a ready for a real fixture, and she was rostered on to fight her first public match.
These took place once every seven days.
Before each match day, the k?thi masters conferred in secret and then released the tournament lists, which were distributed in holos and signs around Kos.
The announcement of the combats and the kavaliers in play caused great excitement in the glass-like burg.
Bookmakers went to town to lock in bids from the populace.
The fights’ infamy attracted the attention of old and young, warriors and civilians, rich and poor.
