Page 51 of Defy the Highlander

It was Lilia’s greatest fear realized.

“He… he must be new, m’lady,” she said carefully. “I’ve not seen him here before, either.”

It was the truth. Lady Currie’s gaze followed Brody as he moved, a lascivious cast in her eyes.

“Oh, he’s quite tasty,” she said. “What is his name? Did they say?”

Lilia shook her head. She also wanted to wring Lady Currie’s neck. “Nay, m’lady,” she said, feeling the powerful strains of jealousy herself. “They’ve not announced him. Look at his opponent; he is very nice, too.”

Lady Currie looked to the man Lilia was indicating. He was short but very muscular, built spectacularly. In spite of the icy weather, he was wearing little more than breeches and boots, making his build all the more obvious.

“He is nice,” she agreed. “Both of them are. I want to know their names, Lilia. Listen closely.”

Before Lilia could respond, the big Saxon who usually announced the fights came forth, shouting above the buzz of the crowd and announcing men known as The Eagle and the Highland Protector.

The crowd roared.

As soon as the Saxon stepped away, the fight began.

The shorter, muscular man went on the attack right away and it was all Lilia could do not to cover her eyes. Swords were flying faster than she could imagine, the dull thud of metal against the shields as Brody and the man known as The Eagle went after one another with a vengeance.

It was brutal from the beginning.

Though Lilia wanted to look away, she couldn’t. Morbid fascination had her watching every move Brody made. She could see in an instant that his history as a warrior was true; he knew exactly what he was doing. His moves were intuitive. He was fast, he was strong, and he was sure-footed, even in the mud that the light snow had created.

Once, he slid as he went on the attack and ended up on his knees, but it was enough to undercut his opponent, who took a shield to the jaw that sent him reeling. Lilia almost cheered but caught herself before she could expose her excitement.

But watching the fight, she’d never been prouder or more excited about anything.

Brody was truly a warrior to watch.

“Look at him, Lilia,” Lady Currie said, breaking into her thoughts. “The big warrior, I mean. Look at the way he moves. Such power.”

Lilia found herself struggling again. “Aye, m’lady.”

“I must know his name.”

“Shall I go and ask, m’lady?”

Lady Currie shook her head. “Not yet,” she said. “I suppose the other warrior is very fine, too, but something about the taller one…”

She trailed off and Lilia dared to look at her. It was a mistake; the woman was virtually licking her lips with glee. Lilia looked away quickly before she said something she would regret.

The fight lasted longer than most fights did, even the professional bouts. Brody and his opponent slashed away at each other for quite some time until his opponent lost his shield, or more correctly, threw his shield. It flew up at Brody’s face and as he ducked to miss being hit, his opponent slashed him with his sword. The blade cut along the left side of Brody’s torso, immediately drawing blood.

The crowd screamed with glee.

Brody didn’t let the blow go unanswered. Using his shield, he managed to hit his opponent in the head, causing the man to falter. As he went down, Brody came down on him, but his opponent managed to get his sword up, pointing it right at Brody’s throat. Had Brody not stopped when he had, he would have impaled himself on the upturned blade. Realizing he was in a precarious position, he had no choice but to drop his weapon and lift his hands.

The crowd roared.

Clearly surrendering, Brody backed off, but as he did, his opponent suddenly leapt to his feet and threw a knee into the side of Brody’s head. The blow sent him face-first into the mud.

The crowd erupted in a chorus, making sure their disgust with the illegal move was known. At this point, men rushed the field, pulling Brody out of the mud so he wouldn’t suffocate as the big Saxon grabbed Brody’s opponent by the back of the neck and forcibly removed him from the arena. Lilia watched in horror as Brody, half-conscious, was dragged from the arena. Beside her, Lady Currie bolted to her feet.

“Hurry,” she said, pushing at Lilia. “Find an official and ask him about the one who was injured. And the blond from the first bout, too.”

Lilia was sick to her stomach, but she complied. With Lady Currie behind her, pushing her, they climbed the steps to the top of the arena and headed over to the iron fence that overlooked the staging ground.