By the Sword - By Sara Flower Page 0,58
said the boy.
He has the nerve to insult me now, but he won’t be so brave when he runs out of arrows tomorrow.
Naeshi turned and made his way back to his new Pegasus steed – the very same one that had once been in Talya’s possession. Jalarn had wanted it, but Ittonifer had given it to Naeshi instead. Things had been going so well until Chrissa decided to flee like a daft pigeon.
Besides reclaiming Chrissa, he would make sure that he killed that weakling archer on the battlefield. Him and his general.
*****
The passing moments seemed like an eternity as Talya’s throbbing head was held under the icy water over and over again. She clenched her fists. Her Savior had undergone far worse torment than she. She would bear it to the end. She had to.
Her lungs burned as she took in a painful breath of water. She yelled into her liquid prison before choking.
The soldier let go of her, and she fell onto her side as she coughed and gasped for air. Her torturer walked away at last.
Talya backed into the corner of her cell and wiped her face. She was shivering from the cold that had permeated her entire body. Her head and chest ached. She could still hardly breathe.
“Headstrong wench!” Ittonifer shouted.
What she had not noticed before was that the other soldier had started a fire. As her vision cleared, she was horrified to see that he was heating up a branding iron.
It angered her how violent these men were. They used pain and fear to get whatever they wanted out of people. Today, they would see that not everyone would give in to such methods.
The soldier that held the red-hot iron lifted Talya’s tattered left sleeve. She closed her eyes and clenched her jaw, not bothering to fight.
It could be worse. It’s just temporary pain. This will all be over soon.
“There’s still time to denounce Him, Talya. Unless you want even worse things to happen to you,” taunted Ittonifer.
“No!” she cried.
“Then you shall bear the mark of a Malinorian slave.”
As far back as Talya could remember, she had never cried from pain, but as the hot iron seared her skin for much longer than needed, she wailed.
*****
Chrissa waited outside of the surgeon’s tent with Tanel. She hoped as much as he did that the general would be all right. He was the first grown man to treat her with kindness and respect.
Tanel was also kind. It amazed her how gentle and well-mannered he was. He made all of the Malinorians seem like dogs.
They are dogs. Every single one of them.
Chrissa clenched her jaw. For the first time in her life, she was free. She relaxed when she reminded herself that she was safe with the people of Sanctus – safe to be herself.
A sword near the tent glistened in the moonlight, catching her attention. She walked over to it, admiring the well-crafted metal handle.
“It’s the general’s,” said Tanel as he came to her side. “I have full confidence that he will be using it in battle tomorrow.”
“I still can’t believe that the Malinorian soldier would come all this way to challenge Edandir. He must have known him well.”
“It was a guard, actually.”
Chrissa gasped.
“Naeshi!” she cried.
“I was not going to tell you. I didn’t want you to be upset. He wanted to get you back, but that is not going to happen.”
Chrissa studied the sword again.
“You’re right. It won’t.”
It angered Chrissa that Naeshi had nearly killed General Edandir. He probably would never rest until he found her.
“I promise you that I won’t let that brute take you back there. You are no one’s property.”
Chrissa smiled at his genuine, youthful passion for her well-being. Besides Jalarn, she had never associated with anyone close to her age back home. There had always been a patronizing man nearby that made her feel insignificant or worthless.
An idea formed in her mind, and she looked hopefully at Tanel.
“Do you think the general would let me fight with you tomorrow?”
Tanel’s eyebrows arched in surprise.
“I am well-learned in sword fighting. Ittonifer wanted me to know how, in case the castle was ever attacked and there was no one there to defend me. Or maybe he just did it to pass the time. I don’t know.”
Why he cared enough to show her how to defend herself, Chrissa never knew.
“I don’t know about this,” said Tanel.
Chrissa crossed her arms.
“You must see my skill in action before passing judgment!”
“I trust your capabilities fully, Chrissa, but are you sure