The steel of his narrow sword flickered in the light of the torches.
“No!” I shouted.
Tynan’s hair hid his eyes. He did not raise his head. He did not respond to my voice at all.
The sky was laced with thick clouds and a sudden gust of wind blew my hair forward, obstructing my vision.
“Not fair. Not fair,” the uneasy murmur rippled all around me.
“Coward!” Denis roared.
“The gods wanted—” Sage attempted to explain.
“Shut up, you drunk.” Halsey walked toward Tynan with his sword raised.
Someone had to stop it! Someone had to intervene. I thrashed against Denis with everything I had left.
Halsey was shortening the distance between him and Tynan. His large, disproportionate figure was stuffed into an ill-fitting suit. His bulging, triumphant eyes made his face unbearably ugly.
I fought Denis’s grip as time slowed.
Tynan’s eyes were closed, his body swayed slightly.
“Stop him!” I shouted.
All of a sudden, the crowd came to life, roaring with outrage.
Halsey prepared his blade, aiming a deadly blow.
At the same time, Tynan moved upward, his arm extended.
It took me a moment before I realized what just happened.
Tynan threw his sword. The entire blade had disappeared into Halsey’s chest, right up to its hilt.
Halsey’s eyes opened wide, blood mixed with spit came from the corner of his mouth.
Tynan slowly moved toward him. He placed his hand on the grip of his blade and twisted the sword before pulling it violently to the side.
A gush of blood burst from Halsey’s flesh, then he finally dropped to the ground, dead in an instant.
“Tynan!” I pushed Denis away, and ran toward him.
Dropping to the ground beside Tynan, I gently smoothed his bloodied face, unable to believe that it was over. He had been challenged twice, and won both of them.
“Princess,” Tynan whispered, his arm wrapped around my neck, pulling me closer.
“What is for you, will not go by you.”Sage proclaimed.
“The king has returned!” someone yelled, their voice loud and clear in my ears.
“Aye! Here, here! Aye!” the crowd hollered.
“Three clans? What are we going to do with them all?” I asked.
My hands roamed his cheeks, his hair. At this moment, I was incapable of letting him go. I needed to feel him, his warmth. His scent, so intimately familiar, was mixed with the smell of steel, blood, and dirt.
His lip curved and his gaze shifted to my lips. The next moment Tynan’s head dropped to his chest and his body relaxed in my arms. He passed out.
