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Despite the large hood, Kallie could see the woman slide her tongue across her teeth as she ran the tip of her finger across the blade of her dagger. Tight curls protruded from the edge of her hood.
"You know, I've spent a lot of time thinking . . ." the woman continued while she took a side step to the left.
Kallie tracked her movements, waiting to see how this would play out, but her opponent did not continue. Apparently, the woman wanted an actual response. Annoyed, Kallie said, "So it seems."
The woman sighed. "Let me have this moment. It's been a while since I've talked to a person who might understand."
Another step to the left and they began tracing a circle in the dirt, their dance only beginning.
"The men I've been around have always sought out tools to do their bidding." Another step, this one closer. "Whether that be a weapon, a blade," a pause and a step, "or a woman. But I don't need to point that out to you. Do I, Princess?"
Kallie's fingers twitched at the shift in the woman's tone. Kallie had seen her father's men lean on their weapons to aid them in their fights. Her father had leaned on her from time to time to accomplish some tasks as well. But that,thatwas different. He did not have a gift from the gods. He wasn't using her. He needed her.
They needed each other.
While Kallie aided his pursuits, King Domitius promised her power. And for this woman to question that need, to question Kallie's purpose and worth in a game the woman knew nothing about enraged her.
"Perhaps you should surround yourself with better men then,” Kallie countered.
“Perhaps.” The hooded woman sucked on her teeth. "But perhaps we should prove to them we do not need any weapon besides ourselves." Smirking, she waved her dagger in the air.
Kallie tilted her head to the side as she weighed her options. Her dagger was under the carriage. The only weapon she possessed was her previous opponent's heavy sword. She could manage it if she had to, but the woman's proposal was too tempting to dismiss. The woman had the aura of someone who knew her own strengths, her weaknesses and knew how to exploit the weaknesses of others.
The sword slid from Kallie's hand.
The moment the sword hit the ground the woman sheathed her dagger and slid across the dirt aiming for Kallie's ankles. Kallie was able to shift her weight in time and somersaulted over the woman's outstretched arm.
Turning around to face the woman, Kallie blew a loose strand out of her face as a maniacal laugh left the woman's lips.
"About damn time," the woman said. Her laughter faded as she stood up and brushed the dirt off her hands. "I've been waiting for a challenge all day."
Then the woman shifted, angling her body. And Kallie made her move, kicking high and aiming for the woman's face. But her opponent blocked the attack and Kallie's leg bounced back to the ground.
Kallie adjusted her weight and swung, but the woman's reflexes were quick and her palm instantly found Kallie's forearm, stopping the momentum and flicking it away.The woman jabbed with her other hand, but Kallie easily ducked under the attack.
In the same motion, Kallie swiveled and rammed her knee into the woman's gut.
Once.
Twice.
With each strike, the woman grunted in pain.
But on the third, the woman pushed Kallie back, her knee hitting nothing but air. Kallie lost her balance.A rush of air hit her face, then the woman's black boot swung at her head.
With the carriage a step behind her, Kallie had nowhere else to go. She crouched low and the boot skated above the top of her head, missing her by an inch. And before Kallie could readjust herself, the woman's knee was coming straight for her face.
The woman's knee smacked into Kallie's outstretched palms and jolted Kallie back a step. But her opponent was off balance too, and Kallie did not waste the opportunity to jam her shin into the woman's side.
Kallie would not lose this fight. She needed to end it. She needed to find Myra.
She pulled her elbow back and struck the woman's jaw. Kallie's punches came in rapid succession. One after another, pushing the woman back with each crash of her fist.
The woman took a large step backward, putting distance between herself and Kallie's fist. "At least Domitius taught you how to fight."
The absence of her father's title did not go unnoticed, and Kallie would not allow him to be disrespected. He had earned that title like she would earn hers one day.
Kallie's breaths came faster. Loose strands of hair stuck to her face, slick with sweat. Kallie noticed a shift in her opponent's stature and adjusted herself for the oncoming punch.
