Chapter 17
It was the final day of the contest, and Kathryn shivered slightly as she raised her red-rimmed eyes to the stunning sunrise above the city. She’d spent the night wishing the morning would never come, but it had, and there was no holding back her fear now. She might be on the brink of losing Ren.
Could she trust him to make the right choices? Kathryn trusted her own tactical capabilities for the most part, but when it came to Xian, things weren’t so simple. Her plan had relied on him being an honorable man who would be angered by subterfuge and dirty fighting. But there was also Chance’s rumor that Xian had once been a Viper, and although she’d tried to push it aside, she couldn’t help but think that it might be true. If it was, Xian was a very good actor, and he wouldn’t be easily swayed by emotional manipulation. Perhaps she’d been in the wrong; perhaps she would have doomed Ren, and perhaps it was better that he was choosing a different path.
Or maybe not. The “maybe not” was what haunted her and kept her from sleeping, and the cold wind that swept over the desert at night didn’t help, now that they were exposed to the elements. Brenin bought a couple of cloaks at Kathryn’s request, and Kathryn and Ren shared the shelter of one as they “slept” that night. But Kathryn spent the time looking at Ren with worried eyes, and Ren spent the time trying to pretend to sleep and wishing the next day would come faster.
It was here. There was nothing to do now but ease the stiffness out of their muscles from sleeping in the street and make their way to the arena. Chance had even stopped joking and looked grim, and Brenin’s face was dark. He told Ren, “You’d better come out of this alive, boy.”
“I will,” Ren said quietly. He didn’t smile, and for some reason, his quiet confidence made the old man feel a little better.
Others were moving towards the arena as well, even though the gates that lead to the auditorium hadn’t been opened yet. As the little group reached the edge of the crowd, suddenly, a young boy approached them and held out a piece of paper to Ren.
Frowning, Ren took it. Chance grabbed his arm. “Don’t read that,” he said sharply, and turned to the boy. “Where did you get this?”
The child darted away through the crowd without a word. Chance grit his teeth as Ren frowned at him. “Why shouldn’t I read it?” he demanded. “Do you know something I don’t?”
“Think about it. Why would someone pass you a note right before you fight Xian? They’re trying to throw you off and confuse you.”
“And you don’t think I’m smart enough to see through that kind of thing?” Ren demanded, pulling his arm away.
“Wait!” Kathryn started to say, but he already opened the note, and his face whitened.
Kathryn fidgeted as he just stood there, staring at the paper in silence for a moment. Then she said, “What is it?”
“It’s nothing.” Ren crumpled the note and tossed it under the feet of the crowd. Before the others could speak, a horn sounded and the massive wooden gates began to fall open. Ren pushed through the crowd, and when the other three tried to follow, they found themselves being crushed by the crowd that struggled to get through the gates in one packed mass.
Chance grabbed Kathryn’s arm to prevent them from being separated, but Brenin was pulled away from them as Kathryn called worriedly, “Ren! Wait!”
“He’s not going to wait,” Chance said grimly. “Whatever was in that note, it sure spooked him.”
“What do you think it was?” Kathryn asked, wishing she was taller so she could see Ren through the crowd.
“I’m not sure, but I have a suspicion. Kat, if someone found out about Xian, maybe they told Ren to rattle him.”
“Xian being a Viper wouldn’t upset Ren that much,” Kathryn protested as Chance grit his teeth and tried to shove through the crowd with her in tow.
“It’s not just that. There was something else; a vague rumor that I didn’t tell you because I didn’t think it would be a good idea for you to know. Xian was much more than just your average Viper,” Chance called over the noise.
Kathryn could barely hear him, but her mind spun. Who would have written the note? Surely Ren wouldn’t let it bother him, no matter what it said. But there was no more time to think about it as the fights between the winners of the previous day and Tarik’s champions began and the crowd began to roar deafeningly all around her.
Only Helga and the man with the one-sided sword defeated the champions. The other contender died in a pool of blood as his opponent, a man named Lysander, held his sword over his head with a smug expression.
Kathryn watched Lysander, filing his name away for future reference. There was always a chance Ren would end up needing to fight him for whatever reason, and it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared. She’d have to do some research.
Then her mind again went to the more immediate problem as Ren took up his place in the arena to fight Xian. The announcer shouted, “Here are two of the greatest warriors in the known world! The former General Ren Patrick of Iridalys, sponsored by Lady Zafiyah Nour, will face Navinor’s champion, General Xian in single combat. Let them choose their weapons!”
Kathryn leaned forward, praying that Ren would choose the staff. It was integral to their strategies, and Xian wouldn’t be expecting it. She cursed under her breath when she saw him reach for a sword instead. Chance saw her face and patted her shoulder. “He’ll be fine,” he shouted over the noise.
Kathryn didn’t speak. Her eyes were fixed on Ren’s face. He looked dazed. Clearly, whatever he’d received in the note had broken his focus badly at the worst possible time, meaning the person or persons who had sent it had achieved their goals. “He can’t die.” The words pounded over and over in her brain. “He can’t.”
“Trust him, Kathryn. He can do this. Ren can beat Xian.”
Chance’s voice seemed to come from far away, but when it registered in her brain, she seized on it with all her might. She could trust him.
Ren stood across from Xian, staring at him and trying to decide if what he’d seen in the note could possibly be true. “Xian killed Kathryn’s mother.” The handwriting was unfamiliar, and he couldn’t imagine who might have sent it. For a split second, he thought it might have been Chance. After all, Chance’s interests lay with helping Illian. He might want to influence the outcome of the fight.
But somehow, Ren didn’t really believe that. In the short time he’d known Chance, he already felt that the man didn’t want to do them any harm. Perhaps Valen had sent it, but Ren had seen his handwriting before. More importantly, it couldn’t be true. A filthy Viper had murdered the queen, not Xian. Vipers stabbed people in the back, whereas Xian had always refused to fight unless it was one-on-one with a comparable enemy. It couldn’t have been him.
Ren tried to push the distracting thoughts out of his mind. He also tried to forget the fact that, according to Valen, Xian had saved Cal’s life.
Then Ren saw Xian reach for weapons and he flinched. Xian reached for a sword and a dagger. Ren had never seen him use a dagger before, but he knew Vipers used them to great effect. Ren’s grip tightened on his own sword. Xian killed Kathryn’s mother.
Suddenly, Ren waved at the crier who was about to shout the start of the match. Everyone watched in confusion as he then sheathed his sword and walked towards XIan with his hands held up in a pacifying gesture.
Xian said, “What are you doing?”
“I just want to talk,” Ren said.
“Why?” Xian frowned, a brief expression of irritation crossing his face. “There is nothing for us to speak about.”
“I think there is. Valen told me you saved Calix. Is that true?”
Xian looked truly confused.
Ren pressed him, “He was the kid Hal tried to kill.”
“Oh. Yes, I saved him.”
“Why?”
“I do not understand why you are asking me these questions,” Xian said impatiently, struggling a bit with his words, as the scar on his mouth made speaking difficult.
“Are you a Viper, Xian?” Ren saw the look of shock on Xian’s face as the words passed his lips, and he knew instantly that it wasn’t the shock of someone who had been falsely accused. His heart sank.
Xian said, “My past is not important. Let us fight.”
He waved at the crier, then tucked the dagger into his belt and held his sword with both hands, and Ren had no choice but to return to the other end of the arena and draw his sword.
As soon as the crier shouted, “Begin,” Xian leapt forward, raising his sword for a devastating downward strike.
Ren blocked him, grunting with effort as his knees buckled slightly under him. Then he twisted his sword slightly so the two blades were locked together and pushed hard, forcing Xian to step back. Xian tried to disengage, but Ren kept pressing, pushing forward one step at a time.
“Did you kill Kathryn’s mother?” he hissed.
“Stop talking!” Xian struggled to plant his feet in the soft sand against the attack, but Ren seemed stronger than before for some reason.
His eyes narrowing, Xian used all of his strength to shove Ren’s blade aside. Then, faster than anyone would have believed possible, he transferred his sword to his left hand and drew the dagger with his right, striking out violently towards Ren’s exposed side.
Ren used the hilt of his sword to block the dagger, then retreated several steps as Xian moved forward again, slashing upwards towards his face. Naturally, Ren blinked as the blade flashed past his face, and then Xian used his sword for a backhanded strike aimed at Ren’s neck.
Ren barely dodged. He was on the defensive now, desperately blocking attack after attack, wondering how a man of Xian’s size could move so fast. His breath came in short, harsh gasps.
He killed her mother. Ren grit his teeth. When he blocked the sword this time, he threw it aside so violently that Xian stumbled. Ren followed up with a short, vicious thrust. This time, it was his blade that went deep into Xian’s shoulder instead of the other way around. He heard Xian’s howl of mingled rage and pain and felt a flicker of satisfaction, just before Xian’s dagger slashed across his forearm. He jumped back again, but not far enough to escape the tip of Xian’s sword cutting across his face just above his eye. He felt a chill. Just a little lower, and he would have been blinded in that eye. At least he wasn’t the only one bleeding. Xian’s robe was soaked with blood, and his left arm was all but out of commission, though he still clutched the sword.
Xian growled ominously, “Mistake.”
That was when Ren knew for sure. So many years ago, as he’d fought that Viper in the hallway of the palace, seeing the fire opal that had been stolen from the queen’s scepter upon her death, he’d heard that same voice say that same word. It was a low rumble that came from deep rage and hatred.
A roar of fury escaped Ren’s throat as he violently tackled Xian into the sand. The two rolled over and over as Xian dropped the sword but defended himself desperately with his dagger. Ren planted one knee in the sand and the other on Xian’s chest as he slammed his sword against the dagger, driving it towards Xian’s throat.
The man struggled with all his strength, but he’d already lost a lot of blood, and there was murder in Ren’s eyes. The crowds cheered, watching the sword creep closer to Xian’s throat and expecting him to be dead any moment.
With the last strength in his left arm, he drove the hilt of his sword against Ren’s temple. Ren faltered. Xian slipped the dagger free and stabbed Ren.
Ren felt the burning pain in his gut, but adrenaline kept him from faltering as he pinned Xian’s wrist with one hand and slammed the hilt of his sword into Xian’s face. He felt Xian’s struggles weaken, and he hit him again.
Some part of Ren was back in the mind of a 15-year-old boy desperately trying to protect the young girl under his charge from an unbending, terrifying force, grasping for vengeance for the death of the only mother he’d ever really known, and he snapped. Dropping the sword, he punched Xian with his bare hand as hard as he could, over and over.
Ren wasn’t quite sure when he stopped, but all at once, a sense of horror and disgust froze him with his fist upraised. He realized he was looking down at a face that had become totally unrecognizable with blood, and as he looked down, he saw that his hands were covered in it. He staggered to his feet, but only managed to stumble a single step before collapsing to his knees in the sand once again. His hands hung limply at his side.
The crowd roared all around him, and he didn’t even hear it. His mind was completely blank, and a couple feet away, Xian lay unconscious, with dark red blood soaking the sand beneath him.
Kathryn had watched the fight with fear in her heart until the moment she saw Xian fall. Then she watched in horror and disbelief as the man she loved came within an inch of killing a man with his bare hands. When she saw him stumble and fall to his knees, she pushed her way through the crowd, worry giving her strength.
The guards at the edge of the arena reached to stop her, but without hesitation she used the last blinding opal and they all staggered back, bewildered as she vaulted over the low fence that separated them and rushed to Ren’s side. Chance watched admiringly and muttered, “What a pair.”
Kathryn put her arms around Ren and cradled his head against her, whispering, “It’s over now, Ren. You won. You won.” He didn’t even seem to understand the words. His eyes were glassy.
Brenin joined them and quickly pulled Ren’s arm over his shoulder to help him to his feet, saying, “It’s all right, son. We’ll get you a healer.”
The crowd continued to cheer as Kathryn and Brenin helped him to his feet and they walked out of the arena together, with him leaning heavily on them every step of the way.
Outside the arena, some of Tarik’s men stepped forward to stop them. Lysander, the champion who won his earlier bout, said, “We’ll take him from here, Miss-or I suppose I should say my lady now. The champion will be cared for. We have the best healers in the world.”
Kathryn hesitated, glancing at Ren and realizing the seriousness of the wound in his stomach, which had left a dark stain on his clothes. But she wasn’t sure she could trust him to strangers.
“Let him go,” Chance said softly from her other side. “They really can work miracles here. He’ll be fine.”
“I’ll watch after him myself, my lady. He’s one of Tarik’s champions now,” Lysander told her. He glanced back at the field with a contemptuous gaze. “The other one can just die there.”
“No.” Ren spoke for the first time, surprising them all. “Take him too.”
Lysander raised an eyebrow. “You know, you nearly killed him with your bare hands in an obvious grudge match. Why should he stay alive?”
“Please.”
Kathryn and Chance glanced at each other uncertainly, but then Kathryn nodded. “Please, General Lysander, just do as he asks,” she said.
“Fine. But I doubt we can save that arm of his,” Lysander grumbled. “Oh, and I’m not a General, Lady Kathryn. I’m a champion. Here, there’s a pretty significant difference.” He smirked slightly, and Kathryn felt a chill at his cold, dark eyes. “But you’ll find that out on your own.”
Kathryn could hardly believe it herself when she later saw Ren’s “wound.” It had completely healed, and even the scar was barely visible. Oddly enough, though, the wounds on his face and arm were still there, meaning whatever healing process the Tephrayan’s used had to be very specific or limited in scope.
But the important thing was, he was alive. She felt a sense of relief and joy she hadn’t experienced since the terrible events of her wedding night. She caressed his hair and gave him a soft kiss on the forehead, but he barely responded to her touch.
Kathryn realized he still looked dazed and strangely worried. She gripped his hand, whispering, “Ren. We made it through together.”
“Kat.” He looked at her with a tortured expression on his face. “Kat, I’m sorry. I think I did something I shouldn’t have.”
“What?” Kathryn was bewildered. “Ren, you’ve done everything for me. What are you talking about?”
“I…couldn’t kill him, even though I knew I should. It’s just…he saved Cal.”
“That’s all right. You won. It turned out you didn’t need to kill him,” she tried to comfort him.
“You don’t understand. Kat, he killed…” Ren could barely get the words out as he looked into her trusting eyes.
Kathryn felt that he was terrified of whatever he was about to say, and she took both of his hands in hers and looked at him firmly. “Tell me. I won’t be angry,” she said.
Ren averted his eyes and squeezed her hands before allowing the words to fall reluctantly from his lips. “Kat, he was the Viper who killed your mother.”
Subscribe to the blog to get notified when the next chapter goes live.
Loyalty Fallen Hub 