Free SurrendersMischief by Alvania Scarborough Page A

well, Bryta. Trust me.” Riana couldn’t take her
eyes off Darias. The man really was a magnificent beast. She smiled thinly.
    Soon he would be a caged beast.
    The small woman put her hand on Riana’s shoulder for a
fleeting moment. “I hope so or I will share your fate.”
    For the first time Riana realized that by standing beside
her, Bryta was declaring her loyalty to her as well as defying those
thrice-damned rules. The muscles in her face tightened. She wouldn’t let her
friend down.
    “Darias, you should punish the woman and forget this
nonsense.” Gaith’s shout rang out over the crowd.
    Darias turned slowly. “Do you question my handling of my
slave?”
    “Of course not,” the warrior dismissed impatiently. “But
you’ve allowed this woman, an offworlder at that, to set a bad precedent. She
doesn’t stand a chance, but by giving weight to her challenge the seeds of
rebellion may be sown.”
    “Do you so fear one woman?”
    Riana started, realizing Darias was using her argument
against his own warrior.
    The warrior flushed. “No. I apologize.”
    Darias turned back to the center of the circle, his gaze
finding and locking with hers. He walked until less than a meter separated
them. When he spoke, his words didn’t carry past her ears.
    “I will make punishment private if you cease this
foolishness and apologize in front of my warriors.”
    She answered him with a backhand across the mouth that split
his lip.
    Darias wiped the smear of blood away then stared at the drop
of bright red glistening on his fingers. He lifted his gaze, utterly impassive.
“I’ll take that as a no.” He lashed out with his forearm.
    Riana blocked the blow, but the force of it nearly broke her
arm. She knew she couldn’t allow this fight on his terms. Physically, he was
much stronger. She was quicker, however. She also possessed another advantage.
Despite having shown some skill at fighting during their first meeting, Darias
wouldn’t see past his preconceptions of her gender. She fully intended to make
his blindness his downfall.
    Inactivity took its toll, however. Within minutes, her
breath labored in her chest. Sweat dripped into her eyes. Impatiently, she
shook her head, clearing her vision. To her disgust, Darias had barely broken a
sweat.
    Her arm ached from his first blow and her right thigh burned
with pain from another. But, she thought in grim satisfaction, he was no longer
smiling. Twice she had taken him down to the mat. She circled him, giving
herself a minute to catch her breath. Suddenly, she dropped to the floor,
sweeping her left leg out in an arc. The maneuver caught Darias right behind
the knee. He landed on his back.
    She was on him in an instant, an arm across his throat,
cutting his supply of oxygen. The electronic signal beeped the count.
“Concede?” she panted.
    “No,” he bit out, and wedged his arm under her throat.
Instead of shoving her onto her back, he smiled. She knew then that he was
playing with her, allowing her to hope she could prevail.
    It was an effective tactic.
    Or would have been if she didn’t have a trick of her own up
her sleeve.
    Her heart beat painfully in her chest and her lungs labored
for air. Would it work? Even if it did, how long would it immobile a man the
size of Darias? She sent a quick prayer to Zethra then leaned in closer until
her mouth was right next to his ear. “You will.” She moved quickly and pressed
a thumb on each side of his neck.
    She saw the quick flare of rage and desperation in Darias’
amber eyes as his muscles froze, the nerves paralyzed by the very specific
application of pressure. She grinned and straddled his massive chest, pushing
his shoulders flat to the floor. She leaned down and took his mouth with hers
in an unmistakable gesture of victory.
    Dead silence filled the Great Hall as the electronic signal
shrilled the final count. Warriors stared, unable to believe their eyes. Their
Chief had been defeated—by a woman. Slowly, gaining