“Now. You and me. Let's settle this once and for all.”
I rubbed my eyes. Sometimes it felt like I had assumed the role of a parent without realizing it. Distancing myself from their conversation, I sat in the chair and picked up my book.
I was just finishing my wash, when four men entered the bathing room. It was well past midnight and usually no one used the facilities so late. I straightened and threw my towel over my shoulder.
“Did you think we forgot about you?” One of them snickered.
Slowly, I turned to face the group. An ambush. I bet they thought being naked would somehow make me weak.
“There’s no one here to help you.”
“Didn’t you get enough the first time?” I asked, quickly summing them up.
“You got lucky, that’s all.”
“I tell you what . . .This time, I’ll break both of your . . .”
Not even finishing my sentence, I lunged forward and kicked the first guy in the stomach and finished the move with a powerful blow to his nose. The sound of cartilage and bone breaking was my signal to move to another. As I turned, I raised my fist, pointed it upward, and hit thesecond one in his jaw. His head snapped to the side, taking his body with him. Before he was even on the ground, I was already by the third. He had a little more time to prepare and his arm was already swinging toward me, his body following. I deflected him with a simple elbow block, and used his momentum against him. When his movement was interrupted, and he hyperextended his body forward, I brought up my knee and got him in the groin. His arms dropped to protect himself as he bent over in pain. I put my hand on the back of his head, and slammed it against my other knee. The room was filled with grunts and whimpers, as I turned to the last man standing, but he was already running away.
Fucking coward.
I walked around the laid-out bodies, back to the bench to fetch my clothes.
“You won’t get away with this,” one of the men growled from the floor.
“Haven’t you had enough?”
“One day, when you least expect it, I’m gonna get you.”
I returned to the place where he was slumped against the wall.
“Are you trying to get killed?” I asked.
“You’re an intruder!”
That statement interested me. I grabbed him by his hair and lifted his face up.
“What did you just say?”
“You’re not one of us. You used the attack to get closer to the bride. You cheated.”
“And where did you hear that?”
“I ain't gonna tell you.” He spit on the floor, forcing me to grab the swollen part of his nose and squeeze a little more. “Stop! Fuck! My nose!” he wailed.
“Who did you hear that from?” I repeated, applying a little more pressure.
“It was Adger, alright!” the man shouted.
I sighed and rubbed my eyes. The game turned more dangerous with every day that passed. Lord Adger was suspicious and went so far as to plan an ambush for my removal. Without saying anything else, I rinsed my knuckles with cold water and put on my flying suit before leaving the room.
As much as it irritated me, staying in the common quarters was not ideal. I went to the top of the stairs and with a well practiced movement, opened the window and sat on the window sill, before carefully fastening it behind me.
When I got to Alina’s window, I peeked through the gap between the curtains and quickly relaxed once I saw that she was already asleep. Carefully, I opened the window and stepped into the room. When the floorboard creaked I stilled, watching her peaceful face partially concealed by the shadows. For someone who did not expend a lot of energy during the day, she slept plenty. My lips twitched, and my stupid, good for nothing heart ached.
Even after our fight, when I was so mad that I thought Icould not stand being in the same room with her, I could not simply walk away. Deep down I always knew how things should be between us, we would argue and fight but at the end of the day, I would still come after her without any trace of pride or resentment. I needed her as much as I needed water, nourishment, and the air to breathe. If I could not have her, there was nothing else that I wanted.
I stood for a moment, listening to her quiet breathing and without thinking it through, I stretched on the bed beside her, careful not to wake her up.
