Free Warlord's Mercy: 4 (Barbarian Claims) by Cynthia Sax Page B

growled.
    “No.” Ellie narrowed her eyes. “You seek a fight.” The
Chamele’s lips flattened. He didn’t deny her statement.
    “Assure my female’s safety.” Tolui stepped around Lea. “And
I’ll give you the fight you want.” He extended his claws.
    “It’ll be fair?” Berke asked. “No tricks?”
    Tolui nodded. “It’ll be as fair as a fight between a Chamele
and a genetically superior clone can be.”
    Berke’s lips flattened. “Hold these.” He handed his guns to
Ellie. “We’ll soon find out who is genetically superior.” He dropped his sword
and daggers to the ground.
    Tolui grinned, his scars flashing silver in his tanned face.
    I can’t stop this confrontation. All I can do is ensure
he lives through it. “If you kill Tolui, I’ll kill your female,” Lea warned
the Chamele Warlord.
    Berke’s gaze shifted from Tolui’s face to the daggers in Lea’s
hands. He frowned.
    “Berke might have assured your gerel ’s safety, Tolui,
but I haven’t,” Ellie countered. “If he dies, she dies.” She waved one of her
guns at Lea, her expression cold and hard.
    “No one will die.” Berke spread his claws.
    Tolui bent his knees, lowering his torso, his muscles
coiling. “Agreed.” He sprang. Berke rushed to meet him and the two males
colliding, chest smacking against chest, claws catching claws.
    Lea gasped. Ellie winced. Their males pushed at each other,
grunting with effort. Muscles delineated their fit forms, their long black hair
draped over their shoulders. Tolui slowly pushed Berke backward, his biceps
bulging, veins lifting on his tanned skin.
    Berke twisted to the right, swiping his claws over skin,
leaving a trail of red on Tolui’s stomach. Tolui hissed.
    “Tolui.” Lea tightened her fingers around the hilts of her
blades, her world spinning slightly. She wouldn’t survive his death, not with
her soul intact. She knew this.
    “He heals,” Ellie assured her quietly.
    She was right. Tolui’s bleeding had already stopped, the
blood beading on his skin. The males circled each other, their faces hard,
their gazes intent on each other.
    “Savor your last moments of freedom, clone.” Berke waved his
bloody claws. “When I defeat you, you and your gerel will be transferred
to the prisons on Gehenna 5.”
    “And his people? What will you do with them?” Lea asked.
“Will you punish them for seeking a homeland? For choosing Chamele 4, a planet
no other Chamele wants?”
    “They want the entire system.” Berke’s black eyes flashed.
“His clones think they can rule us.”
    “We can rule you.” Tolui flew forward. Berke raised
his hands, bracing for impact. Tolui pierced the Berke’s flesh with his claws,
pushed off the Chamele’s broad shoulders, flipped his body in the air, and
landed behind Berke.
    “Stars, he’s fast.” Ellie’s eyes widened. Berke spun on his
heels and glared at Tolui. Blood trickled down the Chamele’s chest.
    “Yes, they could rule you.” Lea tilted her chin upward, her
heart filled with pride. “Yet they don’t want to.” She stepped toward them.
“All they want is Chamele 4, a planet you use only for hunting, a planet
squatters around the universe know is easy to land upon.”
    Ellie snorted softly and Berke’s face darkened. “Again,
clone.” The Chamele lowered his head and barreled toward Tolui. Tolui leaped
into the air. Claws raked skin. The males bellowed, landing on their knees,
their bodies striped with deep gashes.
    Tolui’s pain cut through Lea. “That’s enough.” She couldn’t
watch more. “Your fight is over. You’re both fierce warriors.” She sheathed her
daggers and touched Tolui’s right shoulder, needing to touch him, to assure
herself he lived.
    “They’re both something. That I agree,” Ellie added dryly.
“Chamele 4 is not that different from Gehenna 5, Berke.” She holstered her
guns. “We could monitor their activities closely if they resided here.” She
brushed a strand of hair away from