to defend her, lord?’ I asked in astonishment. ‘Why should it be me?’
‘Oh, it need not be you, Leif. There will be many volunteers, each eager for a chance to prove himself brave, skilful and fast, but if you wish to grasp this opportunity, it is my gift to you. The orphan girl will be tied tothe stake on the third night – you will have plenty of time to see werewights in action and decide how to achieve victory. You have the speed, but do you have the tactical ability to win and save the child? Do you havethe guts to do what is necessary? I watched you fight the tassel, but you did not slay it as a true warrior would. This time you would have to use your blade to slay the werewight. You will need to kill all four of itsselves.’
‘My blade, lord? I have taken an oath not to use blades outside Arena 13.’
Konnit sighed. ‘That oath is taken by city people to meet the needs of the city. Here we are in the forest, in the Genthai domain, and different rules apply. Do not make excuses, Leif!’
Then he nodded to me curtly and walked away through the whirling snowflakes, his eyes cold.
I returned to my tree and picked up my axe, contradictory thoughts spinning inside my head. I did not want to lose my place in Tyron’s combat stable; I wanted to fight in Arena 13. Despite what Konnit said, if anyonein Gindeen found out that I had broken that oath, I would be dismissed and never allowed to fight in the arena again.
Had Konnit told me that I was the only one who could
Elizabeth Amelia Barrington