“You! Kill him!” The order came from the dais at the head of the arena. Stacia stood strong, one long black fingernail pointed at Tressa.
“He’s dead.” Leo yelled it for her, saving Tressa from revealing herself again. “I had to,” he whispered to Tressa out the side of his mouth, “or he would have revealed your secret.”
“No.” Stacia laughed, a sound more unpleasant than the blood spurting from the lion’s throat on the ground in front of them. “Him.” Her fingernail moved to Leo. “You, boy, kill him.”
Tressa gaped at her. Kill Leo?
“The men of the Black Guard do not kill each other. He has broken the law. The man next to you is a traitor. Run him through.”
Leo raised his sword to Tressa. “You have to do it. If you don’t, she’ll order you killed too.”
“I can’t.” Tressa fought to stay steady. She’d only just made her first kill without another thought. She didn’t feel any pride, just shame. That man hadn’t hurt Connor. He’d only been an obstacle in her way to Stacia. Somewhere he might have a wife and children. People who loved him.
She couldn’t even contemplate killing Leo to avenge Connor.
Tressa dropped her sword on the ground at Leo’s feet. She shook her head. With her arms crossed across her chest, she stood in defiance of Stacia’s order.
Murmurs rose from the crowds that were quickly gathering. Word must have spread that the end was near. Despite the heat of the afternoon, a thin veil of sweat dripped over Tressa’s face.
“I won’t fight an unarmed solider,” Leo yelled to Stacia. “It’s dishonorable.”
“It was dishonorable when you struck down a solider after the twelve had been reached.” Stacia yelled. “You will die and you will die by his hand.” She pointed again at Tressa.
“She’ll have us both killed,” Leo said. “You have to save yourself.”
“No.” Tressa spoke through gritted teeth. “I won’t.”
Leo lunged at her and Tressa jumped to the side.
“Only one of you will join my guard. Decide it between the two of you. If the boy is too much of a coward to kill the man, then I’ll take the man. You have until the sun hits the top of the building behind me. If one of you isn’t dead by then, I’ll have both of you run through.”
“Pick up your sword.” Leo swung at Tressa, missing her by only a hair’s breadth. He missed on purpose. They both knew it.
Tressa circled him, her hands in the air. “No. Find another way for us to get out of this. You’re clever like that.”
“There isn’t another way. This is your path, Tressa. Time to walk it.”
“No.”
He slashed at her again, this time leaving a bloody line on her face. Her hand covered the wound. It was all part of the game. He’d done this to her before. Pushed her. Challenged her.
That day she failed.
Today she would fail as well.
She wouldn’t kill him.
Leo slipped his toes under the hilt of Tressa’s sword and flipped it into the air. Tressa refused to reach out for it. But Leo didn’t let it hit dirt again. He caught it in his left hand.
He sprang forward. Leo stood close to her now. So close she could feel his breath on her cheek.
“Fight or we both die. I won’t kill you.”
“Nor I you.”
“We cannot defeat all of them at once. This is the end of the show, Tressa.” Leo dropped his sword, only holding hers in his left hand. His right disappeared into his doublet.
Leo turned his back to the dais. The crowd roared with bloodlust, urging them to kill each other. There wasn’t a favorite. They didn’t care. All that mattered was completing the Black Guard.
Tressa pushed against him, but Leo was too strong. He always was. No matter what maneuver he taught her, she’d never been able to defeat him.
Leo always got exactly what he wanted.
Warmth spread over Tressa’s hands. She looked down. Blood trailed down the shaft of a dagger, the hilt resting against her stomach. She followed it to its tip, then gasped.
Leo smiled, blood pooling at the corners of his lips.
“You were my greatest student. Don’t take any of this for granted. Avenge me.”
Leo staggered backward, the dagger protruding from his stomach.
Tressa stood, shaking so hard and so fast no one could see the extent of her shock. Her sword lay on the ground at her feet.
Another of Stacia’s wicked laughs poured over the arena. The final horn sounded again. “We have only ten, but ten of the most brave and cunning men to ever compete! Congratulations to the new members of the Black Guard!”
Riotous applause rippled through the crowd. Mugs of beer clanged against one another. Swords rattled. Men cheered. Women catcalled, offering to cap their day off with a romp.