Page 76 of Enchanted Queen


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I think I’ll bet on Muscles,Malachi stated.

I slapped a hand over my chest. “Wounded.”

“Tournament style,” Miles offered. “Two on two with byes until we have a winner.”

I gave Dex a smile as people began to look around at their opponents. “I’ll take Dex, and we can go first.”

“Oh dammit,” Dex said under his breath. “Right out of the gate.”

The rest of us moved out of the space as we paired up for our matches.

I spun around to Malachi, my back to Dex. “You sure you don’t want to change your guess?”

Malachi’s eyes went a little wide, but I knew Dex far too well. I knew he’d attack with my back turned, and that’s why I’d done it.

At the last moment, I spun around and parried Dex’s advance.

The hilt in my hand and ache in between my shoulders as blade hit blade and we began to dance around one another was a welcome pain, the buzz of adrenaline in my system even more so.

I rolled my neck as we took a step back, circling one another and then we went again. Maybe I was a masochist. I loved this.

It was over within minutes as I knocked Dex’s sword to the ground and made a move at his neck.

“Yield, dammit,” he grunted.

I grinned and spun to Malachi.

Point proven, Your Grace,Malachi said with a bob to his head.

Most of the guards I found had taken off their shirts, so I joined in. Though it was nearing fall, it seemed this season in Dra Skor was going to run quite a bit warmer than Wylan’s. So much so I wondered if they would have any snow at all.

The losing partners of the first round all went next, giving the rest of us a chance to stand back and watch.

By the time that round finished, Whit and a few other shifters landed to watch us. I noted the queen’s cousin, Samori, was one of them.

I grinned as I strode for Miles next.

“Great,” he said under his breath.

“Owen trained you well, you’ll be fine,” I told him.

“Your flattery won’t work on me.”

I let muscle memory take over, moving and ducking and slashing as needed. Miles was an honorable opponent, and soon I felt the sweat dripping down my back. Though my father had not been as trained himself with the sword, from the moment our magic settled, Krew and I were forced to practice for hours upon hours every day.

Some things you just didn’t forget. Like the melody of a song, I instinctively knew this. For a while Krew and I had been so competitive toward one another, the result was that both of us were decent with a sword. It wasn’t until Owen came along and soundly beat us both in training that we realized how silly it was to put our worth in our swords.

Yet a sword had decided the next king of Wylan.

Minutes in, I felt a shadow at my back. I didn’t look up to see what kind of creature it was, just assumed it was another winged shifter also coming to watch. I was focused on Miles as I found that occasionally he shifted his feet, likely a nervous tic he did normally when standing or walking. But when he did so, he didn’t keep his weight distributed on the balls of his feet. So I waited, and waited, toying with him a little, even letting him believe for a brief moment I was tired and he was gaining the upper hand. Then I attacked at his shoulder when I knew he would be off the balls of his feet to distract him, while at the same time, kicking around at his feet, successfully knocking him on his back.

“Ugh,” Miles moaned as the air left him.

I took that moment to pin his sword to the ground and moved my foot to his chest, keeping him there.

“Yield,” he said, none too pleased.

I switched my sword and reached a hand down to him. “Now that was fun.”

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