"Sure,' she said. "That's what you want everyone to think, right? If you don't actually have to fight, then they'll all go on believing those marks are real.'
"They are real!' The insinuation that I'd faked my tattoos sparked my temper, but I refused to get drawn into this ridiculous scuffle.
"Prove it,' she said, coming at me again. "Prove you're who you say you are.'
It was like a dance, keeping away from her. I could have done it all night, and a few dismayed cries from the crowd demanded we "get on with it.'
"I don't have to prove anything,' I told her.
"It's a lie then.' Her breathing was heavy now. She was working a lot harder than me. "Everything you Tainted do is a lie.' "Not true,' I said. Why was Dimitri letting this go on? Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of him, and so help me, he was smiling.
Meanwhile, Angeline was still continuing her tirade as she tried to hit me. "You all lie. You're all weak. Especially your "royals.' They're the worst of all.'
"You don't know them at all. You don't know anything about them.'
She might be able to carry on a conversation, but I could see her growing increasingly frustrated. If not for the fact I was pretty sure she'd hit me in the back, I would have taken the noble approach and simply walked away. "I know enough,' she said. "I know they're selfish and spoiled and don't do anything for themselves. They don't care about anyone else. They're all the same.'
I actually agreed with Angeline about some royals but didn't like the generalization. "Don't talk about things you don't understand,' I snapped. "They're not all like that.'
"They are,' she said, pleased to see me angry. "I wish they were all dead.'
It was hardly enough to push me into offense mode, but the comment did cloud my thoughts enough that I let her get through my guard, just a little. I never would have let that happen with a Strigoi, but I'd underestimated this wild girl. Her leg snaked out just enough to hit my knee, and it was like tossing a spark into gasoline. Everything exploded.
With that hit, I stumbled slightly, and she pushed her advantage. My battle instincts took over, and I had no choice but to strike back before she could hit me. People began cheering now that the fight was "really going.' I was on offense, trying to subdue her, meaning the physical contact had jumped up exponentially. I was still better than her, no doubt, but in trying to get to her, I put myself in her range. She landed a few blows on me, nothing serious, before I was able to tackle her to the ground. I expected that to be the end, but she pushed back against me before I could fully restrain her. We rolled over, and she tried to take the dominant position. I couldn't allow that and managed a punch on the side of her face that was a lot harder than the earlier one.
I thought that would be the end of the fight. My hit had knocked her off me, and I started to stand, but then that little bitch grabbed my hair and jerked me back down. I twisted out of her hold--though I'm pretty sure she took some hair away with her--and this time managed to fully pin her, throwing all my weight and strength into it as I pressed down. I knew it had to be painful but didn't really care. She'd started it. Besides, this skirmish had gone beyond defense. Pulling someone's hair was just playing dirty.
Angeline made a few more attempts to break away, but when it became clear she couldn't, those around us began whistling and cheering. A few moments later, that dark and furious look vanished from Angeline's face, replaced by resignation. I eyed her warily, not about to let down my guard.
"Fine,' she said. "I guess it's okay. Go ahead.'
"Huh? What's okay?' I demanded.
"It's okay if you marry my brother.'
Chapter Thirteen
"IT'S NOT FUNNY!'
"Youre right,' agreed Sydney. "It's not funny. It's hilarious.'
We were back at Raymond's house, in the privacy of our room. It had taken forever for us to get away from the fireside festivities, particularly after learning a terrible fact about a Keeper custom. Well, I thought it was terrible, at least. It turned out that if someone wanted to marry someone else around here,