Page 73 of Heart of the Cursed
Chapter 29
Selene couldn’t bear to watch the fight, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away, either.
Arun was amazing. He was unstoppable with a sword in his hand. His movements fluid and graceful. Out of the two of them, he was far superior when it came to sword fighting. She had only caught a glimpse of his hand-to-hand combat, but she had a feeling he was better than Agnarr at that, as well.
Blow after blow, Agnarr attacked while Arun defended. Anybody watching could see that Arun was holding back. She didn’t know why he wasn’t attacking, but he could have taken Agnarr out within seconds.
After her failed attempt at trying to fight Agnarr with her magic, she had begun to worry that not even his brother could defeat him. Especially since her own magic, which had thrown Arun across the room, had absolutely no effect on Agnarr. But so far, Arun was holding his own.
Unfortunately, it didn’t stay that way for long. As usual, Agnarr turned to cheating in order to get the upper hand. Turning to magic was the only way he stood any chance in winning, and he knew it.
When she saw Arun take the first hit from a ball of magic, Selene hadn’t been able to stop the scream from bubbling up in her throat and escaping. She knew full well that she wouldn’t be able to break through the shield, but it hadn’t stopped her from wanting to try, anyway.
If it hadn’t been for the guards holding her back, she would have pounded at the shield, trying to get in. She fought to break free, but their grip on her was as tight as the chains around her wrists.
Agnarr had ordered them to hold her in place, and they weren’t letting go for love nor money. Not that she offered them either option. She would rather stab herself in the heart than let either of the males near her in that way, and even if she had the money, she wouldn’t give it to them.
Selene spotted movement out of the corner of her eye. At first, she thought it was more guards come to watch the fight, so she ignored it and kept her attention on Arun and Agnarr.
Agnarr wasn’t holding back. He threw ball after ball at Arun, not giving him a second to get his bearings. She could see it was starting to wear Arun down. He tried to hide the pain, but she could see the strain on his face. His once pristine clothes were now covered in blood with gaping holes in them.
As he moved about, she caught glimpses of raw and burnt skin beneath the tattered fabric. But through it all, Arun continued fighting with his sword. Blocking or moving out of the way when he could, and taking the hits when he couldn’t.
Selene’s heart leapt into her throat when she saw Arun drop to one knee. She held her breath and prayed for him to get up, willing all of her strength and magic into him. Whether it worked or not, she didn’t know, but she had to try.
***
Arun tried his best to ignore the pain in his side from the last ball of magic that hit him, but it wasn’t easy. If Agnarr was going to fight dirty, then so was he.
Two can play that game.
As he regained his feet, he dropped his sword on the ground and created his own ball of magic. His brother squealed like a girl and ran away when he launched it at him. Arun would have laughed if they hadn’t been fighting to the death.
“Not such a pushover anymore, am I?” Arun grinned.
His comment had the desired effect. Agnarr was even more pissed off than he had been, which made him even more reckless. Unfortunately, it also meant he doubled his effort in attacking Arun.
Agnarr threw ball after ball of magic at Arun. He tried to avoid them, but more and more hit him. His entire body throbbed in pain from getting hit so many times, but he refused to give in. He would not die at the hands of his deranged brother.
The thought of what would happen to Selene if he didn’t win gave him the boost he needed. Agnarr was weakening. He just needed to hold out a little longer and then he would get his chance to end it all.
It was only a matter of time before Agnarr would start to feel the fatigue set in from using up too much magic in one go. Arun could already see the signs, as his brother started to slow down.
Pure adrenaline from the anger and hatred alone was not enough to defeat Arun. Especially when he was fighting for so much more than a mere female to add to his harem. He was fighting for Selene’s freedom, for her life. He was fighting for the life of his one true mate.
As much as he wanted to look her way to make sure she was safe, he couldn’t. It was just the type of distraction Agnarr would be waiting for, which was probably his reason for dragging her outside completely naked. He had to trust that Taredd would keep her safe.
Arun wished he knew if she was with Taredd. It would put his mind at ease if she was and then he would be able to concentrate on ending things with his brother.
Agnarr threw four balls in quick succession. Arun was able to avoid two of them, but the other two hit their mark. One hit him on the front of his shoulder, which spun him just enough for the second one to hit him on the lower back.
Arun roared in pain as he was brought to his knees once more. He barely caught himself as he fell forward onto the scorched grass.
Agnarr strolled over as if he’d won the battle. He may have managed to get Arun on his knees for a second time, but Arun was far from finished.
“Do you give in?” Agnarr smirked
Arun kept his head down and waited for Agnarr to get closer.
