Throne of Hearts (girlxgirl)

Chapter 12

Kett Guard's Training Pit. Silva, Ahigarth

Rhys

My feet slid in the loose dirt, the heavy blow I blocked knocking me backward, grunting with the effort it took to counter the blow. I pulled back and edged away from the large man. Drops of sweat trickled down my face, and I had to blink to clear my vision once or twice. Summer was here, and the heat from the sun was something else today. 

I had to catch my breath, doing everything to keep my breathing even, but after a few hours of men trying to test me—my patience and energy were beginning to thin. I moved into a defensive position, bracing for Jackson's next attack. I just needed him to lose a little bit of steam, and I could take him down. Right now, he was focused on trying to smash me with hard attacks. 

What a fool. Jackson was the last idiot I needed to take down today before I could get out of the training pit. And I was done with this shit. 

I circled to the right, my eyes never leaving Jackson's large form. The leather under my hand felt slick with sweat as I squeezed my sword's hilt, flexing my grip. 

"I'm going to take you down, girl," Jackson growled, eyeing me with disdain. He turned his head and spit somewhere into the training pit. 

Well, that's gross.

He rushed me, swinging rapidly at me. I deflected a few before I landed a hand-tingling block, and halted his heavy blade mid-strike. Jackson took a few steps back and I saw him flex his fingers. 

"Wanna bet, pig?" I said, baiting the bigger man. Three...two...one and—bingo!

Jackson snarled loudly and swung his sword in a tight circle next to him. Between gritted teeth, he muttered, "You're going to regret that." He charged me, swinging his sword up high—too high though. And it was exactly the opening I needed. 

I met his lunge with my own, ducking under his raised arms to slip under his form. I raised my sword and met this armpit with the blunt tip of my blade. The practice swords were dull but it will hurt and definitely bruise. He let out a cry of pain and pulled away from me, clutching his side with the non-injured arm. 

I stabbed the tip of the sword into the earth. "If these were real swords, Jackson...you'd have been killed by a woman," I stressed the ending, emphasizing the word.

Jackson seethed, "Fuck you, girl," and spit at my feet.

I rolled my eyes and moved away from him. That idiot isn't worth the fight— "Ah!" I let out a sound of surprise when something struck me from the side. I landed hard under...under another person. Someone had fucking tackled me. 

I struggled with the other person—a man, of course—and ended up on my back pinned. Jackson straddled my stomach, pinning my arms against my side. Still focused on trying not to be pinned, I missed him cocking back his arm. His thick fist connected hard against my left cheekbone and pain flared around my eye. 

"This will show ya how men fight, girl. Then I'll show you my cock if you're lucky," Jackson laughed obnoxiously, making some of the men around us laugh with him. 

With everything in me, I dug my heels into the packed dirt and though it didn't do much, the sudden jerking motion of my body was enough to throw Jackson off balance. I slipped my arms free when his thighs loosened in the shift. 

I refuse to be overtaken and shown up by a fool, I thought to myself, focusing on the incoming hits. I twisted to the left and dodged the punch, his fist hitting the dirt beside my head. When he raised his arm again, intending to punch me again, I jabbed four fingers into this side, right where a kidney should be. The first jab made him freeze and the second jab made his arm twitch as he brought it toward my face. The third rapid hit made the brute roll off me in pain, curled up in the dirt, groaning in pain.