Jac thought, as she looked at the buckled legs and cracked top of the table before her, as well as Tobei’s sprawled figure, cradling his clawed right arm, a stunned smile on his face, that she might have gotten carried away. But it wasn't her fault—Daivad had refused her challenge, and Jac didn't like being blue-balled.
“I break you?” Jac asked.
“Just the table,” he replied.
He made no immediate attempt to get up. At first Jac thought maybe he was hurt, but then their eyes met. A shock of intimacy ran through her, and she wasn’t sure which was more uncomfortable, the seeing or the being seen. She tore her eyes from his, instead enjoying the sight of a beautiful man sprawled on the floor before her.
“You know, Jac…” Slowly, his clawed hand popped and cracked, and he flexed his fingers as the claws retreated and his skin smoothed back to normal. “My life has cut a path all over this continent, a path that crossed with those of practitioners who are Mother’s-honest legends. I even fought a few of ‘em.” Tobei propped himself on his left elbow, still giving his right arm a tentative stretch. “In raw power, you’d top every one.”
Jac was careful to keep all evidence of pleasure (or accursed fucking bashfulness) off her face. She just sat back on the cot and crossed one leg over the other. Tobei looked her over, more analytical than appreciative. Her belly flipped, and she cursed herself because she knew it didn't matter how collected she looked on the outside. Those claws weren’t the only monstrous things about this man—with his senses, he could hear the beating of her heart, smell any change in her scent. Mother Light, it was almost as bad as being around Belle, whose skill at reading magic sometimes seemed to Jac pretty fucking close to reading minds.
“How’s someone so young get to practice magic so powerful?” he asked, his eyes landing on hers again.
“I said I’d fill your questions if you won,” she said. “You didn’t win.”
His crooked grin returned, as did her traitorous belly flip. “No, I sure as hell didn’t. Alright. I’ll guess, then.” He tipped his head to one side and narrowed his eyes, giving a thoughtful “Hmm…” that came out laced with a purr.
Her face warmed. Mother Light, he was so beautiful. And the way he looked at her, utterly confident even though she’d overpowered him twice now, no hint of bruise to his ego. It made her feel, even though he lay before her, defeated, that he was the one in control. And she hated how much she loved that.
“All those legends I met gave echoing answers when I asked them about their practices,” Tobei said. “From the time they learned about magic, one reason drove them to practice, and that reason never let them free. I wonder what reason a young girl would have to be the strongest person in any room she enters.”
Jac couldn’t help it—she stiffened, and there was no doubt his glittering, green-gold eyes caught it.
His tone was light as he continued, but Jac was sure he knew what he was doing. “I know someone like that. A real tough guy. Needs to be untouchable. His reason was that he needed to protect what was important to him.”
Another Hmm, and then he amended, “Doesn’t seem like that’s exactly it for you, though. Sure, you’re protective of your friend out there. But if that was all it was, you wouldn’t need to challenge everyone you meet to a contest of strength.”
Jac sucked her teeth and said to herself, “Why does every pretty face ruin itself by splitting open to talk?”
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He grinned, but didn’t pause his analysis. “Seems like someone who doesn’t just need to be the strongest in the room, but someone who needs everyone to know it.”
“Boy,” Jac laughed, “your lyin’ eyes are seeing a canyon where there’s just a ditch. It’s fun, and that’s all there is to it.”
“Nah,” he said. “Like I said, my path has crossed all over Lushale and beyond. I know a canyon when I see one.”
“Whatever you say, pretty boy.”
His next words bubbled out of him, a purr in the shape of words. “My next question would’ve been where you and Belle came from, but I guess I’ll have to find that answer on my own too. That’d be easier to do if you weren’t covered in a night running through the forest, but even so… You’re well-fed. So is Belle. Simple clothing, but clean and cared for.” His gaze fell on the grass and dirt stains on her clothes, the tears from where she had snagged on bushes before she had thought to cut a path through the forest with her hammer. “Well, Belle’s are anyway. No battle scars that I can see, though I suppose that could just be from winning all your battles before your enemy got too close. And that hammer … a magical weapon like that has gotta be more valuable than anything I’ve ever owned. Not that that’s heavy with much meaning. I could guess you stole it, ‘cept it almost seems like it was made for you. The way you wield it, I’ll guess you and that weapon are well acquainted—and that engraving on its head sure looked like a family crest. An oak tree, right? Backed by the sun and plated with gold? Now, one might guess your family hails from the Sunlit Forest. Actually,” he said thoughtfully. “Correct my path if I misstep, but isn’t there a canyon around those parts?”
Jac feigned boredom, picking at one of her fingernails. She’d been wrong—he was worse than Belle. At least Belle never tried weaponizing her powers of observation, at least not against Jac.
He continued, “But a young woman from a family respectable enough to have their crest on powerful magical weapons wouldn’t be rolling up a rebel camp with a monster in tow. At the very least, she’d bring a beast she could actually ride, or more likely a full escort. Unless maybe her family fell from grace.”
His eyes searched her face for a second, before he said, “No, that’s not it… Maybe she’s even more like Daivad than I thought, and she resents her family and left them behind.” Whatever he’d been searching for, he seemed to find it. “Ah, that’s closer, huh? Alright, so she left her family, but kept her status in society that allows her the clothes and the food and… No? But if she shrugged off her status, how’d she do it without shrugging off the luxuries that come with it?”
Silence obviously wasn’t helping her, so she shoved it aside. “You think I can’t catch my own luxuries?”
Tobei took his time constructing his response. “Then why not catch a ride here?”
“Your leader kidnapped my friend, thereby kidnapping the time I’d need to fetch my ride as well.”
“Sweet shit,” he said. “Taking the time to find a ride would have gotten you through the forest faster than your own feet.”
Jac searched for another excuse. “Not many mounts can carry my hammer, they have to pull it on a wagon, and no wagon’s getting through this forest.”
“Nah,” he said. “Those words still stink.” He pushed off his elbow and sat up, leaning forward. “I think you had no ride to fetch, because the luxuries that keep your belly full and your skin unmarked aren’t yours.”
It wasn’t until his eyes flicked down to Jac’s arm that she realized that at the word “unmarked” she had retracted the arm into her cloak.
“Ah,” was all he said.
“I’m done with this.” Jac stood, making sure her left arm stayed hidden inside her cloak. The glamor she’d used to cover her bicep should still be intact, but she wasn’t going to risk it.
“I didn’t notice a mark on either of you,” Tobei said.
Jac took a step forward, planted one filthy sandal on Tobei’s chest and pinned him back to the dirt floor.
He gave a soft “Oh,” but made no attempt to get out from under her sandal.
“I told you two things tonight that seem to have slipped your mind.” Jac held up one finger. “I belong to no one.” A second finger. “I’m done with this.”
Then, she stepped forward, her weight drawing a “Oof!” from him, and crossed to the door.
As it was closing behind her, she heard him call, “I think I’m in love with you.”