Page 93

Kenji darted in, tapped Blaidd's ribs.

"Slow," he mocked

Blaidd countered with a sweeping strike that would have flattened a lesser man.

Kenji barely cleared it.

"Predictable."

A second exchange, harder.

Kenji aimed for joints—wrist, knee, neck.

Then Blaidd stopped playing. The wood cracked under the force of his counter.

A collective murmur rippled through the onlookers.

"You sure you can keep up, Northerner?" Kenji taunted, circling. "Maybe just sit on me if you can catch me."

"At least I do not attack from behind," Blaidd replied. "Some of us fight face to face."

Kenji's smile was not pleasant. "Oh, I am right here."

He lunged. He struck three times in the span of a breath. Blaidd blocked two, but the third grazed his shoulder.

Blaidd answered with raw force, driving Kenji back, step by step, each strike reverberating up the arm. The difference in strength was undeniable. If Kenji misjudged even once, he would be crushed.

"Is that how you treat everyone who stands near her?" Kenji snapped, ducking low.

"Only the ones who don't know their place," Blaidd growled. "Fae is mine, and I am hers."

Kenji came up fast, his blade skimming Blaidd's jaw. "You know, for a man who ignored his lifemate for eight years, you suddenly have a lot of opinions about who stands near her."

Blaidd's eyes darkened. "Careful."

Kenji lunged. Their blades shrieked together.

"You betrayed your bond. She felt like she was nothing for eight years," Kenji snapped, twisting away from a crushing strike.

Blaidd shoved forward, forcing him back. "And what about you?"

Kenji blinked mid-parry. "What?"

"You hid what you were," Blaidd growled. "Were you spying on her when she had her guard down?"

Kenji's ears went red. "At least I did not ignore her for years," Kenji shot back, ducking under a swing that would have taken his head off if it were a real sword.

"At least I am not feigning friendship while waiting for my chance," Blaidd snapped.

Kenji's grin sharpened. "You're jealous."

"And you're delusional if you think you have a chance against her lifemate."

Kenji darted in fast, his blade grazing Blaidd's shoulder.

"That is what jealousy smells like," Kenji said sweetly. "She is going to leave you because you are not worth a hair on her head."

Blaidd dropped his sword.