Page 103 of Bound by Vengeance
Vicky refrained from agreeing; she wasn’tsure she could talk through the lump in her throat. She might bestanding here to watch Nathan die.
“Nathan’s right,” Ronan agreed. “The man,though a traitor, deserves a trial, and Nathan went against hispeople too. This is the way I would handle it; it is the honorableway.”
“Screw honor,” Kadence whispered, mirroringVicky’s thoughts.
“He’ll be okay,” Abby said while twistingher hands in front of her. Brian clasped her hands and held themagainst his stomach.
Ronan rested his hand on Kadence’s shoulderas Nathan and Jordan approached each other from opposite sides ofthe circle. Jordan swung his sword back and forth in a widening arcthat caused the blade to whistle through the air as he stalkedNathan with a leering grin.
Jordan had opted to enter the battleshirtless, while Nathan wore a black, body-hugging shirt. Shorterand stockier, Jordan had the advantage of weight on Nathan, andthat weight was all thick muscles that bulged as he swung the swordback and forth. If this battle were decided by brute strengthalone, Jordan would win.
Vicky gritted her teeth against tearing outthe throat of the man who had attacked her. She wouldn’t getinvolved. However, she wasn’t sure she could stop herself frominterfering if it looked like Nathan might lose.
Behind her, Lucien shifted his stance,alerting Vicky he’d moved to stand over her shoulder. She glancedat him before looking to Ronan who held her gaze. With a sinkingsensation, she realized they would makesureshe stayed outof this.
“I’m not one of your Defenders or trainees,”she hissed at Ronan.
“I’m taking my rightful position as king ofthe vampires back, so that makes you one of mine,” Ronanreplied.
Kadence gazed between the two of them.“Ronan—”
“This battlewillhappen, and no onewill interfere,” he said and turned away from Vicky.
Vicky glowered at him, then Lucien. Theycould try and hold her back, but that didn’t mean they wouldsucceed. Sure, they were old, super-lethal, purebred vampires, butshe’d grown up with nine siblings, she knew how to fight dirty.More than that, she knew how toevadeas that was how sheand Abby dealt with most of their brothers’ and sisters’antics.
Jordan continued to swing his sword, whileNathan stopped moving and pointed his blade at the ground.
Lift it up!Vicky silently screamed,but Nathan leaned on his sword, digging the tip into the sand as hestudied Jordan’s movements.
From one second to the next, Jordan lungedat Nathan. Pulling his sword from the ground, Nathan swung hisblade up. Steel kissed against steel; sparks flew as Nathan blockedJordan’s thrust.
The fighters danced around each other, theirblades clashing as Jordan jabbed and Nathan parried. Vicky rubbedat the scar on her wrist as her foot tapped on the sand. Lungingforward, Jordan swung his sword down. Nathan leapt back, but thesand slowed him, and he couldn’t avoid the tip of the blade slicingthrough his shirt. Blood beaded across his chest from the scratchJordan delivered.
First blood.Vicky pressed her fistagainst her mouth to hold back her scream.I can’t watchthis!She couldn’t look away.
Nathan dodged Jordan’s next lunge, butinstead of dancing back as he had before, Jordan hammered at him ashe seemed to decide to give up on trying to gouge his opponent withsmaller jabs and opted instead to batter Nathan down with physicalstrength.
Nathan analyzed Jordan’s every move as hekept from taking a blade to the gut. He learned more of Jordan’stechnique as sweat beaded and slid down Jordan’s face at a fasterrate. The inability to move smoothly through the sand added toJordan’s growing fatigue, but it also fueled his anger, making himmore aggressive and less careful.
Jordan would wear himself out, but he wouldalso weaken Nathan in the process as each of Jordan’s heavy blowsjarred his bones. Gritting his teeth, Nathan ducked a swing thatwould have had his head bouncing across the beach before he knew heno longer had a body.
Then, that odd sense of time slowing tookhim over.
With Jordan’s next downward arc, Nathan sawthe individual air particles as the sword sliced through them.Rainbows of color filled those particles as they parted to make wayfor the blade. Maybe others would have found it distracting, butwhile time slowed around him, his mind raced ahead, plotting themoves that would lead to Jordan’s demise.
The sword was halfway through its downwardarc when Nathan stepped to the side and brought his elbow down onJordan’s forearm. The man grunted, but the grunt was cut off byNathan lifting his elbow and driving it into Jordan’s face.
Time returned to normal as Jordan’scheekbone caved and some of his teeth broke free. Jordan staggeredback, and when he gripped the sword with both hands, Nathansuspected he’d done more than bruise the bone in Jordan’sforearm.
Jordan edged further back, blood trailingfrom his mouth to drip off his chin. Nathan would love to slice anddice Jordan after what he’d done to Vicky, but he wouldn’t do thatto one of his own, and not in front of Vicky and Kadence. WhenJordan turned, Nathan spotted Vicky over Jordan’s shoulder. Herhand covered her mouth, her red eyes watched his every move, andher terror was palpable on the air.
He had to end this.
Jordan’s eyes were filled with loathing ashe circled Nathan, but a new wariness also filled them. Then,Jordan charged him, and as he swung the blade back and forth sofast it became a blur, Nathan realized Jordan had exaggerated theinjury to his arm.
Nathan’s hair blew back from his face as hedodged every vicious swing at his head. Despite Jordan’s continuedferocity, his movements became increasingly sluggish from exertion.He wasn’t lifting the blade as high or swinging it as fast.
With an angry shout, Jordan lifted the swordover his head, giving Nathan an opening. Lowering his shoulders, hecharged as Jordan swung the blade down to slice him in half.
