Free The Silver Siren by Chanda Hahn Page B

didn’t care. I really just wanted to close my
eyes and wish away the annoying woman.
    Then I caught the motion of her black
boot as it pulled back to kick me in the side. Now that I wouldn’t
allow. Her boot came forward, and I lunged forward and clenched it.
I hit her behind the knee, twisted her foot, and pinned it under my
arm, forcing her to fall backwards and roll to her stomach. I had
full control of her, a great pressure lock on her foot, and I
smiled.
    “ Don’t kick me,” I warned
her. “Don’t you ever kick me.”
    Her eyes widened in shock, but I
didn’t see awe. I saw determination. Gwen screamed against the pain
and pushed herself off the ground into me, forcing her leg to bend
horribly. She gained enough footing to grasp my braid. She yanked
and I saw white blinding stars.
    I kicked out with my feet and wrapped
them around her neck and squeezed.
    Her hand snaked up and gave me a palm
strike under the jaw. I lost the upper hand as we rolled again in
the dirt.
    Kicking and using every trick that I
knew, I fought her.
    Voices called down to us, but I
couldn’t hear them over the beating of my frantic heart. All I knew
was the fight. I pummeled the woman and took my own punishment.
This wasn’t about killing or injuring her; this was a fight about
honor, and somehow we both understood that. It lasted another five
minutes.
    We were equally matched.
    Gwen stood up and wiped at her
bleeding lip. She was covered in dirt and scratches, and her cheek
was already starting to swell.
    My head was pounding and something
warm slid down my cheek. And my eye was hurting. However Gwen
looked, I probably looked worse.
    “ Are you done wallowing?”
she said, leaning down and resting her weight on her
heels.
    “ I’m not
wallowing.”
    “ I wouldn’t blame you for
wallowing; you almost killed Kael. You probably should have been
left down here for days not hours.”
    “ Wait…what?” Kael wasn’t
dead? My befuddled brain instantly cleared and recalled the words
she’d been yelling at me.
    “ Get up. Kael’s still
alive.”
    She stared at me, shook her head, and
then whistled. A few seconds later, the large rope dropped down
into the pit, followed by a second one that landed next to me. Gwen
reached for one and wrapped it around her arm and foot. I walked
over to the second and watched.
    She smirked. “Pull!” she called. One
second she was there; the next, Gwen disappeared, pulled
upward.
    Taking a deep breath, I mirrored her
actions with the rope. My stomach dropped as I too was hauled
upward. The sun hit my face, and I had to blink to adjust to the
brightness. I pulled myself over the ledge and dusted off my hands.
The two SwordBrothers that had pulled me up were winding the
rope.
    Alek was there, watching us come out
of the pit. He reached over and gently touched Gwen’s swollen lip,
and he looked at me not with disdain, but respect.
    “ Where’s Kael?” I
demanded.
    “ In the infirmary,” he
answered and turned to walk away.
    I ran forward and followed behind him.
Apparently, Kael’s abrupt attitude and lack of small talk was a
family trait.
    Every part of my being wanted to ask
annoying questions, just to see if he was as calm as his brother. I
followed Alek into a plain building that was similar in
architecture to the rest of the village. Curtains closed off a
wing. Alek pulled the white material to the side, and we ran into
Alba just as she was leaving. She leaned over and whispered
something to Alek who nodded his head in understanding.
    Alba’s piercing gaze caught mine, but
I was unable to read her expression as the small woman left us
alone.
    The room wasn’t fancy. It was filled
with brown cots and a small table with a pitcher of water, a bowl,
and a lone stool. There were no others in the wing that we were in,
and for that I was grateful.
    Kael was sleeping on the cot. A white
blanket covered him, and he looked so helpless and young. I was
taken aback and stared at him for a few minutes