Alliance Forged (12 page)

Blood drained from her face. “Are the children here?” she asked. “After all they’ve been through, they don’t need to see this.”

“Shella and Rahni took them away a few moments ago.”

Lady’s Breath
, she felt sick. Kymora swallowed against the nausea rolling in her stomach. How could she stand by and listen to the two men fight to the death?

VARIAN locked his gaze on Rystin, waiting for the scout to decide the next move. His tense stance and the grip on the hilt of his blade declared his defiance. His expression was set, harder than he’d ever seen it before, the lines bracketing his mouth etched and determined.

“The
Na’Chi
need a stronger leader. With these people as witnesses, I challenge you.” Rystin’s statement was loud and clear.

In the air between them, the spicy odor of righteous anger strengthened. Varian took a slow deep breath, hoping to detect any hint of hesitancy or wavering resolution, determined to use any advantage to get the warrior to back down.

While he and Rystin had never really seen eye to eye on various issues, a shared love for their people had always united them. Of all the scouts, he was the one who’d tested him the most, during training and at meetings, but that tenacity and drive was what made him such an excellent warrior.

Varian inhaled again. Rystin’s scent hadn’t altered one iota. The
Na’Chi
needed every scout they had, especially with the alliance with the humans still in its infancy. But Rystin already believed his leadership was weak; arguing further would reinforce that impression with everyone else. He just wished the timing could have been different.

“So be it.” His sharp nod served two purposes: to accept Rystin’s decision and to shake the memories of growing up with someone he
viewed as family. He had to if he wanted any chance of winning this fight. “Challenge accepted.”

The crowd murmured and shifted back, giving them plenty of room. From the corner of his eye, Lisella moved toward Arek and the other Light Blades, and in a terse whisper, explained what was about to happen.

Varian didn’t dare look Kymora’s way. Couldn’t. He’d have preferred any other outcome rather than her observing this fight. If he survived, she’d discover firsthand what he was, what his past had made him into.

For the fraction of a heartbeat he considered letting Rystin prevail.

“Varian, it’s too dangerous to stay here. The
Na’Chi
need to leave
Na’Reish
territory. But they need a leader, one strong enough to guide them away from here. You’re the eldest, they’ll follow you.”

Words from the woman he loved like a mother. Imparted on the day the
Na’Reish
warrior had followed her to their camp and he’d saved them all from him. From the moment she’d found him scavenging for food on a waste pile outside Savyr’s fortress, Hesia had treated him like her own child, helping him learn the skills he needed to survive outside the fortress, teaching him the meaning of words like
love
,
tolerance
,
responsibility
,
duty
, and
loyalty
, all in preparation for the day he took on the mantle of leadership. Her dream of helping the
Na’Chi
survive became his.

“The time has come for the
Na’Chi
to leave, Varian.”
He’d never heard Hesia sound so excited yet look so sad.
“There’s a Light Blade warrior within Savyr’s dungeon. Once I take Annika to see him, we’re going to help him escape. The
Na’Chi
must be ready to move and follow them.”

Varian scanned the faces of those she’d charged him with protecting so many years ago. They’d trusted her and now they trusted him. Letting Rystin defeat him in the challenge would damn them all, and that was something his conscience could never abide.

Whatever the result, the fight would resolve one problem. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about Kymora being attracted to or wanting any sort of relationship with him. It might even end their friendship.

He pushed away the ache writhing in his gut. If terminating his friendship with Kymora proved the price of this challenge, then he’d pay it to see his people safe. They had to come first.

“No weapons.” Varian pulled his blade from its sheath and threw it to the edge of the circle, watching to make sure Rystin complied before stripping his shirt from his body. “Hand to hand only.”

He’d barely flung it aside when Rystin launched himself across the distance separating them. The scout’s arms closed around his waist. Varian went with the momentum, falling backward. His back slammed into the ground. Dirt and debris dug into him as Rystin swung his fist.

Varian blocked the first blow but others made it through. Two to his chest, a couple to his ribs, even one to his jaw. All bruising but his adrenaline-charged system eliminated the pain. For now.

He wound a leg around Rystin’s waist, twisted, and threw the younger man onto his back. More blows were exchanged as he tried to pin him. A fist hit close to Varian’s kidney. A spike of agony lanced through his lower back. He grunted and jerked back. Releasing Rystin, he rolled to his feet.

The scout did the same, mirroring his wide-legged stance, circling with him. “You’re holding back, Varian. I wonder why?” His lips twisted, more of a sneer than a smile. “We’re not in training now.”

No, they weren’t.

Rystin’s eyes turned the color of congealed blood, the only warning given before he charged. Opening his arms wide, Varian barely braced himself in time. Skin met skin in a sharp slap. Fueled by his
full
Na’Chi
strength, Rystin locked his arms in the small of his back and squeezed.

“You’re going to have to let go if you want to defeat me.” Rystin’s growled taunt was close to his ear, so low and distorted it was barely human. “But if you do, the humans will see what we’re really capable of, won’t they?”

A leg wrapped around his and swept his feet out from under him. With no way to roll or lessen the impact of the fall, Varian took the full force of it. His ribs flared in agony and he fought to breathe.

“Not allowing your
Na’Reish
half to rise is a weakness!”

Half a dozen bone-cracking punches pummeled his face. The iron scent of blood filled Varian’s nostrils; the metallic taste of it coated his tongue.

“When I kill you, our people will have a leader capable of making the right decisions.”

Another strike caught Varian’s jaw. His vision blurred. Rystin was right. He was going to have to let his
Na’Reish
half consume him. Everything inside him railed at the idea, but what other choice did he have? They were too equally matched.

Varian heaved, all his frustration, all his anger, all his fear for what he had to do pouring through him as his body arched. Reaching deep, he tapped the dark half of his soul, the part of him he wished didn’t exist, and gave it permission to rise.

Like a predator sensing freedom, it surged, and the darkness that came with it erupted into his veins, charging him with more adrenaline, greater strength, and cold intent.

Rystin’s gaze widened as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing a moment before his hold loosened. With a throat-shredding roar, Varian grasped handfuls of Rystin’s shirt and threw his whole weight to one side, forcing the warrior off balance, sending them both into a dizzying roll across the ground in a bid for dominance.

At the edge of his vision, he was aware of people scrambling to get out of their way. Unwilling to hurt a bystander, he flung himself clear. Rystin scrambled as quickly to his feet as he did, and they resumed grappling with one another.

A fast block allowed him to catch Rystin’s arms. The hot scent of sweat and faltering resolve filled his nostrils. The predator inside him savored the weakness. Between one blink and the next, redness tinged his vision. After so many years, he knew Rystin’s every move, every skill, every strength and flaw.

His heart pounded in his chest. Hauling Rystin around, he slid an arm around the scout’s neck. Muscles bunching, bulging, he applied pressure to his throat, stopping only when Rystin’s breath wheezed in through his mouth.

“No!” Rystin’s choked cry was furious. Adrenaline spiked with the hoarse sound.

Varian grunted as Rystin’s fingernails raked deep bloody furrows along his arm. Ignoring the stinging pain, he jabbed the back of Rystin’s thigh hard with his and took the warrior to his knees. Rystin grunted, his labored gasps rapid, frantic. He swung an elbow once, twice into his ribs. The force behind the blows was weaker.

The sour odor of fear filled Varian’s lungs, stroked his senses in a sinister caress. He leaned back farther, felt every muscle in Rystin’s body strain and stretch, heard the hitch in his breathing as the extra pressure tormented already overwhelmed nerves.

How easy would it be to break Rystin’s neck now and listen to the satisfying crunch of bone shattering? His blood rushed hard and hot through his veins. The redness in his vision brightened.

Varian blinked, a small part of him realizing just how close the beast within was to taking Rystin’s life. He struggled against the urge, searching his thoughts for a memory, one to remind him Rystin was a friend not prey. He found one, of a time when he’d taught
the younger man how to track, but it was like wading through sucking mud to access it.

He wasn’t an animal.

Varian pressed his mouth close to Rystin’s ear. “Withdraw your challenge,” he hissed. “I’ll spare your life.”

Rystin issued a strangled denial, the fiery spiciness of his anger heavy in Varian’s nostrils. Blood pounded harder in his ears, and he viewed everything through a veil of red.

He challenged you! He knew the consequences! Kill him and be done with it!

Varian’s muscles ached as he controlled the deadly impulse.

“The
Na’Chi
need you,” he growled. Sweat dripped from his brow into his eyes. He ignored the sting. “They need us both!”

“End it now…. Execute me….” Rystin sucked in a rasping breath. “Or give up… the leadership!”

His fingers pried at Varian’s forearm, continuing his bid for freedom.
Stubborn fool!
Couldn’t he see past his fear? The futility of returning to live in
Na’Reish
territory?

Bitterness rising in his throat, Varian shifted his weight onto his back leg and grasped Rystin’s head. Several warriors’ braids caught among his fingers. The beaded ends bit into the palm of his hand. He’d threaded many of them into Rystin’s hair himself. All tokens of events in his life as a scout.

Protector of their people.

“You’re my brother, Rystin.” The tightness in his throat distorted his voice so much the words were barely more than hoarse syllables. “You always will be.”

He jerked the scout’s head at an angle.

Hard.

Neck bones snapped.

Loud.

Even as part of him howled in exultation, each sharp crack stabbed like a knife into his body. Rystin twitched once, and then collapsed in his arms, ominously lax.

The sound of shuddering breaths rasped in Varian’s ears. Harsh, rough, broken.

His.

He closed his eyes, swamped by the sickening high of victory as it rushed through him. The iron tang of blood coated his tongue. The warm weight of Rystin in his arms made him shudder.

He’d killed his brother.

Grief clawed at his heart and sucked the air from his lungs.

Rystin knew the consequences!

Ignoring the voice coming from the darkest corner of his mind, Varian replayed his every word and action, searching for something he could have done differently.

Rystin had deserved to die at the point of an enemy’s blade, his duty as a protector justified. Honored.

Not like this.

“Varian?” Lisella’s voice was soft, full of empathy, accompanied by a gentle hand on his bare shoulder.

He shrugged her off, her compassion grating on nerves too raw to cope. He opened his eyes, relieved to see the world in color again instead of hues of red.

“Varian, there was nothing else you could do.” She came around in front of him; her violet gaze met his. Tears glistened on her lashes. She didn’t try to touch him again. “Rystin gave you no choice.”

He flinched. “Don’t…” He barely recognized the gravelly voice as his own. “Rystin is dead.” He swallowed hard, leashing his anger before sweeping the crowd with his gaze. “Does anyone else wish to challenge me?”

The
Na’Chi
who’d stood with Rystin averted their gazes. He disregarded the shocked and horrified expressions of the humans, unable
to deal with the impression on them just yet. He’d deal with the consequences when he had better control of himself.

No one moved or spoke up.

“Then I remain leader. The alliance with the humans stands.” Releasing one arm from around Rystin’s body, he stabbed a finger in the direction of Arek. “The Light Blades protect the rebels within that house as they await judgment by the
Chosen
and his Blade Council.” No emotion except cold intent carried in his voice. “My word is law. Break it and I will kill you.”

Around the circle,
Na’Chi
heads bowed in assent, acknowledging his declaration.

“Rystin needs to be buried,” Lisella said, quietly.

Varian clenched his jaw until his teeth ached. “I killed him.” He gathered the body in his arms and pushed to his feet. His
Na’Chi
strength made lifting a full-grown warrior little problem. In the silence, the beads in Rystin’s hair chinked softly against one another. “I’ll do it.”

She opened her mouth like she was going to protest.

“See to the humans,” he growled. “They need your consolation and comfort. Not me.”

She flinched at his tone. Invisible bands wrapped around his chest and squeezed, making it hard for him to breathe. Why was he destined to hurt everyone he cared about?

People parted as he neared the edge of the circle. Two dozen gazes created a burn between his shoulder blades as he walked past, his boot steps heavy in the hush that surrounded them. Ignoring them, he headed for the open field beyond the village, toward the two fresh mounds of dirt on a small rise.