Page 46 of Dance of Stars and Ashes

“And if you win?”

“Then you’ll tell me how you created the dream forest.”

She rolled her eyes. He was obsessed with this. Obviously, there was no way she could back down from this challenge. There would be no living with him if she did. Not that there was really any living with him, anyway.

She lowered her sword and eyed him down. “You think you can handle me?”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure I can,” he said, cracking the knuckles of his left hand.

He didn’t give her any more warning before he yanked his sword from where it was anchored on his back and launched, but she was ready. If there was anything Row had taught her, it was to always be prepared for an attack when a man looked at her like that.

Steel clashed in the silence of the garden, the satisfying sound ringing in the air. Their blades met with enough force to send vibrations up her arm.

Not surprisingly, Rabin was quick as lightning as they parried, his movements smooth as smoke. Zarya ducked and lunged, trying to evade the slicing edge of his blade.

“Are you trying to kill me?” she hissed as their blades crashed against each other so hard it nearly threw her off balance.

“I thought you’d been trained,” he said, swiping out and narrowly missing her thigh.

“I have.”

“Then prove it, Princess.”

He continued attacking, giving her no space for breath as his sword moved like it had a mind of its own. It was so fast she could barely see it.

She grunted as she dropped, feeling the swish of his blade so close to her ear a few small hairs sheared away, scattering in the air. Moving around the garden, they fought, neither of them willing to concede or give up the advantage.

But he was larger and stronger and obviously knew what he was doing.

He forced her back, but her steps were quick and sure, and she managed to press him in the opposite direction for a few beats. He snarled and advanced, forcing her to retreat, their blades moving like liquid as they countered back and forth.

Zarya was tested to her limit. She’d been training almost her entire life, and while it was clear she still had things to learn, she would not let him take the upper hand. She would not go down without fighting with everything she had.

Rabin pressed harder, his movements almost impossible to track, until she advanced, ducking as he swung his blade. She thrust, and her blade met flesh as she nicked him on the bicep, paring through his skin.

The draw of blood stilled their movements, his gaze falling to where it oozed down his arm, and Zarya did her best to contain her triumphant smile. It wasn’t proper to celebrate injuring your opponent.

“I thought you could handle me,” she said, trying not to sound winded. Her chest expanded with tight breaths; her forehead beaded with sweat.

Rabin rolled his neck and then arched a dark eyebrow before he launched at her, and she swore he was moving even faster now.

“Bring it, Princess,” he snarled, and why did that cause a conflicted shiver to erupt in the very pit of her stomach and between her legs?

He spun around and swung as Zarya caught his blade, the crash echoing off the pavers and slicing through the quiet morning. They moved around the garden, dodging over flower boxes, fountains, and benches, trying not to trip.

Still, they fought, and Zarya was starting to tire, wondering how long they’d keep at this.

“How did you create the forest?” he asked again. “How did you bewitch me into coming there?”

“I don’t know!” she said. “I didn’t do any of that!”

“You’re lying,” he said.

“I’m not. Why would I lie?”

“Because you’re hiding something,” he snarled, and then Rabin struck, catching her in the thigh. His blade sliced through fabric and skin, and she gasped as she stumbled, her heel catching the edge of a flowerbed.

Rabin circled her sword, knocking it from her hand, before she tripped over her feet, crashing into the garden wall. He was on her a moment later, his front pressed to her back and her palms flat against the surface.