Even if I somehow got past them both, even if he couldn’t catch me…he’d take his revenge on John.
Neridia took a deep breath. Squaring her shoulders, she reached up to hold her pearl pendant tight in her hand.
I’m sorry, Dad. You sacrificed so much to try to prevent this. I’m sorry.
But I can’t abandon my mate.
She met the Knight-Commander’s triumphant eyes. “All right,” she said, dully. “You win. I’ll come back. I’ll be your Empress.”
The Knight-Commander let out a long-suffering sigh. “Well, finally.” Striding forward, he reached for her arm. “Come, Empress-in-Waiting. I will take you back where you-“
He stopped dead.
“With the greatest respect, sir.” John’s outstretched sword barred the Knight-Commander’s way. “I cannot allow you to do that.”
Chapter 32
The Knight-Commander stared at him, shock and outrage clear even though his face was hidden behind his helm. “Have you gone utterly mad?”
“Brother, no,” John’s sister called weakly, so exhausted she could not even rise from the ice. “Do not throw your life away.”
“Stand down, John!” Neridia tugged at his arm. “As your Empress, I order you to stand down!”
John’s sword never wavered. “My mate, I told you that the one thing you could not command me to do was to leave you in pain.”
“It’s okay, really,” Neridia insisted, though the mate bond put the lie to her words. “I’m choosing to go back willingly. You don’t have to do this.”
John shook his head gently, never taking his eyes off his seething opponent. “I do not know why, but the thought of returning to Atlantis makes your soul cry out in anguish. I will not allow you to be dragged back there.”
The Knight-Commander tried to press forward, but John angled his hand slightly, making the razor-sharp edge of his blade glint in warning. His superior was forced to stop, his eyes flashing as angrily as the steel.
“I will have you executed for this,” the Knight-Commander spat. “This is treason!”
“No, sir.” John shifted to a two-handed grip, setting his feet. “This is a challenge.”
Well, finally! His inner human cheered. Skewer the fucker!
“Knight-Commander, you would force the Empress-in-Waiting back to her Throne, in the name of honor and duty.” John carefully picked the most respectful harmonies he could manage in human form. “I contest that the Throne is the Empress-in-Waiting’s, to do with as she pleases. That includes the right to relinquish it. In all honor, we cannot stand in her way.”
“She must return! I have already forced the Sea Council to accept her!” The Knight-Commander’s gauntleted fists clenched. “Would you have me made a laughingstock? Already the other lords grow arrogant, seeking to challenge sea dragon rule. The politics-”
“Are irrelevant,” John interrupted, his tone hardening. “This is a matter of honor. I accuse you of acting dishonorably, sir. Will you answer the challenge…or yield?”
The Knight-Commander answered with a wordless snarl of rage. In a single fluid movement, he drew his own swords.
“No!” Neridia grabbed a strap of John’s armor, trying to haul him back. “Don’t, John! He’ll cut you to pieces!”
Catching the Knight-Commander’s eye, John lowered the tip of his sword. “A moment, sir. Then we may begin.”
“By all means,” the Knight-Commander sneered. “Make sure to kiss your mate goodbye.”
John pulled off his helmet, casting it aside. By tradition a formal duel was fought bare-headed, face to face with one’s opponent without concealment. The Knight-Commander made no move to follow suit. Instead, he flicked his blades through a complex sequence of dizzying, flashing figures, loosening his wrists and shoulders.
He made that look easy, his inner human muttered. You sure we can’t just stab him now, while his back is turned?
From Neridia’s expression, she was having much the same thought. “Please, John, don’t go through with this. I’d rather live with you in Atlantis than see you die here.”
John cupped her cheek in his gauntleted hand. Without speaking, he bent down, gently pressing his mouth to hers. Her lips were cold, but they still ignited a fire in his blood. He closed his eyes, feeling that warmth fill him with strength.