Page 1 of Badmouths & Bards

Chapter 1

Taldesa

Heat.

She could feel it underneath her skin, blood boiling as she forced No-name to the ground. Her batons were already crossed behind the human’s head, fists driving his skull toward her knee with a sharp crack. No-name had no time to react, letting out a broken cry, but none of that mattered. All that mattered was she was going to kick the shit out of—

“—Taldesa, let him go!”

A single blink, and she was out of it. The adrenaline was still pumping as she shoved No-name back. He fell several feet away, pathetically rolling onto his side with a groan. His buddies were quick to haul him away, which knowing No-name’s luck, was probably for the best.

Especially if he wants to fix that broken nose.

“Tala!”

She didn’t need to turn to know it was Cercel. His shadow loomed over her in the afternoon light. Still, Taldesa Valay knew this song and dance like the back of her hand. She twirled her batons, and quickly shoved them back into the iridescent sash around her waist before doing an about face.

Standing at six feet and seven inches—Tala had done the math, annoyed that he had a whole foot on her—was Cercel. The drakonis man’s form gleamed in the late afternoon sunshine. Two horn-like scales protruded from his head—Tala refused to count those as part of his actual height—and his thin mane of black hair was tied back into a low hanging ponytail.

It wasn’t his intimidating size but the disappointment in his ice blue eyes that made Tala feel…weird. Which was impressive considering how much she did not give a flying fuck what most people thought about her.

Most people.

“Taldesa…what was that?”

“What was what?”

“Tala,” Cercel sighed, nostrils flaring at the end of his snout. “The impromptu fight. What was that about?”

Tala shrugged.

Cercel’s tail whipped behind him, a sign of his wavering patience. Tala supposed it was tough being teacher’s pet, surely the perfection that the High Conservator demanded was exhausting.

Maybe if Cercel wasn’t such a suck-up—

Whatever.

“He ran his mouth. I shut it for him.”

There. Honesty. Cercel appreciated honesty, that would earn her a few points before dinner. Maybe whatever altruistic nonsense lecture he was going to feed her about justice and fairness would be over before the kitchen ran out of bananas.

“What did he say that warranted your attack?”

Tala rolled her eyes, despite knowing better. Talking back rarely got her anywhere, but when had it ever?

That’s why you’re here in the first place.

“He made a comment I didn’t like,” she said. At his long stare, Tala continued, though reluctantly. “He saw me in the training yard. Said my stance was pretty good for a girl who got kicked out of the Maidens.”

The words were still echoing in Tala’s mind. A barb that shouldn’t have had any thorns, but it still hit its mark. It took a lot to get kicked out of the Sanctuary of the Moon Maidens. The goddess of dreams, inspiration, water, and hidden depths was relatively easy going in comparison to the other gods. Deciphering dreams and creating water jugs out of clay was more common than not. Yet, despite the domesticity of the sanctuary, Tala had taken to the defensive fighting style the sisters had taught.

Defensive being the keyword. The Moon Maidens fighting style wasn’t meant to be utilized for offense, but Tala had excelled at it. Had learned how to implement defensive maneuvers into deadly encounters if she so wished. Combined with her rough edges and short fuse, it had only been a matter of time before the High Priestess had sent her to another monastery.

You’re too much… that’s why they sent you away the first time—

“Mikol shouldn’t have said that,” Cercel said. “I’m sorry, Taldesa”

“Who the fuck is—” Tala blinked. “Oh, you mean No-name.”