Page 3 of Warrior of the Wild
I kick his weapon far from his reach, then lower my ax to Havard’s neck so the two blades rest on either side, pinning him to the floor.
“Dead,” I say. And then lower, so only he can hear, “Challenge me again, and the next time we face off, it won’t be with training weapons.”
Havard answers with a disturbing smile. “You won’t live long enough for us to face off again.”
I kick him, send my leg straight down into his stomach. “And you need never rise from this floor. Apologize if you wish me to free you.”
Once he catches his breath, Havard tries to use his hands to thrust my ax away from himself. I kick him again. This time my heel comes down on his nose.
Burkin does nothing. Will never do anything, because I am my father’s daughter. Displeasing me would displease Father.
A little voice scratches at the back of my mind, warning me that incensing Havard is no way to earn his respect and loyalty. I’m abusing my own power.
But a much more prominent voice practically shouts,Make him bend.
Finally, through a blood-soaked face, Havard says, “Apologies.”
I let him up, and training resumes.
TORRIN WALKS ME HOME,as he’s done every day for the last month. Though now it feels as though he’s always been by my side, we only became friends about six weeks ago. Before that, he was part of Havard’s group, just another face in the crowd of my tormentors.
I remember vividly the day everything changed. Havard thought to gang up on me with the help of his best friends, Kol, Siegert, and Torrin. But instead of siding with Havard, Torrin helped me fight them off. Afterward, Torrin begged my forgiveness for playing the part he had the last several years. He said that as our trial had grown closer, he’d given some serious thought to what it means to be a warrior. “It never sat right with me—the way Havardtreats you,” he said, “but rather than face what I believed to be wrong, I did the easy thing. I don’t want to be that kind of man. I know it’s too late to take back what I’ve done, but I’d like to start changing now. I hope you can forgive me for the past.”
I didn’t think I was the forgiving type. I didn’t think I believed people could change. But as I watched Torrin start living his life separate from Havard, I started to become closer to him. For the first time, I had a friend. Someone who didn’t hate me for what I couldn’t control, for being my father’s daughter.
Now Torrin gently touches my cheek where Havard struck me. “We need to get this looked at right away.”
I’m torn. I want to shrug him off because I don’t need him fussing over me. He would never treat a male warrior this way. And yet, I don’t want him to stop touching me.
“Irrenia will do it when she gets home,” I say.
“Even with the cut, you’re still lovely. How do you manage that?”
Lovely.
I have received praise for being brave and strong, for having impressive aim, for holding my ax properly.
But no one has ever praised my looks.
A blossoming warmth spreads inside my chest, traveling upward. It envelops the pulsing sting in my cheek.
I have no idea how I’m supposed to respond to something like that. How do women handle such praise? Sayingthank youdoesn’t seem right. Especially when I don’t agree.
Thankfully, Torrin saves me from having to respond. “I overheard some of the trainees talking about sneaking out tonight to witness the Payment. Do you want to go? Not with them, obviously. With me. Separately.” He takes his hand back, and we continuewalking toward my home. He moves slightly closer to me so that our arms brush as we walk. It’s such a subtle change, but I notice, as if he’d bounded into me headlong.
At this point, I’m convinced I would do anything as long as it means spending more time with him.
“Sure.” I try to sound as though I couldn’t care either way. I hope he doesn’t realize just how good it feels for me to be around him. While I’m almost certain he feels the same way I do, it’s impossible to tell for sure. But why else would he look for reasons to touch me? Why would he try to spend as much time as possible with me outside of training?
But if he does like me, then why hasn’t he kissed me yet? Maybe he is just as nervous as I am. Maybe it’s his first experience with courtship, just as it is mine. I’ve never seen him with another girl.
We pass through the streets of Seravin. Homes made from rock slabs line either side of the street. The gray-black stones have been painted over with deep azures and muted greens—the colors of the sky and sparse grass that breaks through the rocks. To the right, a cart is being heaped with chunks of meat to be presented for the Divine Payment. Two nocerotis, large beasts with sleek hides and two horns jutting out of the tops of their heads, are attached to the front, ready to pull once smacked on their hindquarters. Children, too young to begin training for a specific trade, play a game of pebbles in front of their homes.
And all the while Torrin’s fingers are inching closer toward mine.
“I hope this year’s Payment doesn’t require us to skip meals again,” he says as he watches hunters layer more and more valderinto the cart. Each one is the length of two handspans and has enough meat to fill a small family. “There were several times during training last year that I thought I would pass out.”
My chest tightens at those words. Peruxolo, the low god, demands payment each year. He collects different resources from every village. Ours is responsible for providing him with the best game. Our hunters are the most skilled of all the nearby villages. Even still, there is not always enough meat to go around.
