35. Xax

Chapter 35

Xax

M y fellow villagers backed away, Gerain taking Amanda with them. This left an open circle where we'd fight with them as our witnesses.

"Whoever wins will be traedor and Amanda's mate," my mother intoned. "Begin."

The instant Tribon lunged, I lifted my arms, countering reflexively. Our bodies collided, our grunts ringing out. I fastened onto his forearms, fingers digging into his flesh.

Planting my feet on the dusty ground, I pivoted to the side, using his momentum against him to hurtle him past me in a move I'd seen Amanda do. She was right. She could well protect herself. Why had I thought I needed to do it for her?

Tribon stumbled but regained his balance quicker than I wanted. But he hadn't risen to this position without defeating other challengers, though it had been years since he'd last done so. He was older than me, and I could see it in the lines on his face and the way his movements had slowed. Not much, he was still in his prime and a formidable opponent, but age could never be defeated.

Tribon's face twisted as he rounded on me, and he released a low snarl.

We circled once more, our arms splayed wide, our bodies poised to leap or deflect depending on what the other person did. This wasn't a fight to the death. One of us only had to defeat the other and show in some way that it was over. That meant I needed to pin him to the ground and make him relent or knock him out.

Tension strangled the air, and we crashed together again, fists hunting for purchase while dodging bone-crushing blows designed to incapacitate the other swiftly and definitively.

Over the past years, I'd watched him fight. As one of our largest males, he won by using brute force and grim determination. He'd wear his opponent out and then lunge, taking them to the ground. If bones broke, he didn't care. Winning was the only way he could maintain control of our clan.

Tribon's teal eyes locked into mine, and I read pride there. He didn't plan on losing, not to a younger warrior, not to anyone. I could see him gathering himself for a charge, his muscles coiling beneath his blue skin, his feet finding purchase in the grassy surface.

I steadied my breathing, ready to match his strength with my agility, a skill honed through countless sparring sessions with creatures much quicker than Tribon. Speed was often the deciding factor. I'd hunted more times than I could count, which meant I understood the woods and the beasts I'd find there. If I hadn't been savvy, I wouldn't have lived long enough to face him today.

He lunged forward in a powerful burst, his arms reaching out to seize me in a crushing grip. I ducked under his extended limbs, pivoting to my left and catching his wrist, directing his momentum to drive him off balance. He stumbled and dropped to his knees. Righting himself, he leaped to his feet and pivoted, releasing a low growl.

Roaring, he rushed at me again. I sidestepped the wild swing of his fist, and with a fluid motion, I swiped out with three quick blows to his side. I added a shove to the third, sending him to the ground on his chest.

Tribon grunted, dirt billowing around him. He quickly pushed himself up, his powerful limbs propelling his frame with speed. There was no time for hesitation on either side; the stakes were too high.

He backed away, and I could see his strategy shifting, adapting. He realized raw strength wouldn't easily overwhelm my agility. This time, he approached more cautiously, his eyes narrowing, studying me, seeking a vulnerability. My every sense was heightened. My every nerve was attuned to his movements.

Remembering how Amanda used her smaller build and quickness, plus her ability to anticipate an opponent, I waited for him to make the first move—a feint, I was sure. When it came, I dodged to the right, but I miscalculated. It was a ruse within a ruse, and he caught me with a glancing blow to the jaw that set my nerves on fire. Amanda cried out, but she remained with the others.

Agony exploded across my face, the sharp blaze driving me to my senses. I needed to end this before I was seriously hurt.

Staggering from the impact, I focused through the surge of pain. My vision had narrowed, but I could still clearly see Tribon—his chest heaving, his stance unyielding. He was preparing to press the advantage, believing that he'd finally cracked my defense. But pain could fuel determination, and my resolve to protect what I care about hardened into an unbreakable ball in my chest.

Tribon charged again, his frame a blur of movement. This time, I was ready. As he reached me, I dropped low, using the inertia of his body against him, my arms snaring his waist. Using every ounce of leverage, I heaved upward, my legs driving into the earth. I twisted my hips. With a grunt, I flipped Tribon over and onto his back with a ground-shaking thud.

The wind rushed from his lungs, and I didn't waste a second. I launched myself onto him and rolled him onto his chest, pinning his arms behind his back with an iron grip. I pressed my knee into his spine, making it impossible for him to rise. His heavy lungs heaved, but he couldn't draw in more than a shallow breath.

"Yield," I bellowed. "Yield!"

"No." He struggled in my grip.

I pressed all my weight against him, driving his body into the dirt. "Yield. "

When his body sagged, I knew it was over.

The villagers saw this as well and crowded around us, their silence showing their shock. Trivon had been traedor for as long as most of us could remember.

"Xax has won," Digaray said. " Traedor Xax has won. This doesn't discount what the gods have said about your possible mating." Her gaze traveled to Amanda. "However, I heard your words, Amanda, and it would be wrong to force you to mate with anyone, even our new traedor, Xax. If you want, we'll help you plant a spore and nurture it into a home you can live in by yourself. I'll explain this to the gods. I'll tell them . . ." She gulped but nodded slowly. "I'll tell them that in this, they're wrong."

Someone gasped, but I didn't look to see who it was.

"Or you can choose a mate from among our clan—or others we can travel to—and settle with that person in our clan or theirs," Digaray said.

"I've already chosen." Amanda's voice rang out. "Xax is my mate. I won't accept another."

My heart surged, aching with love. I couldn't draw in air.

Digaray nodded, her lips lifting in a tusky smile. "You've chosen well."

I released Tribon and levered myself up and off him, backing away.

He groaned and rolled onto his back, rising slowly to his feet. He shot me a glare, but he didn't attack. "I won't remain here if I'm not traedor and not if my former second has a mate when I don't," he growled. His gaze scanned the group. "Who will leave with me? "

"You're not banished," Digaray was quick to point out. "We need your cunning, your strength, and your determination, Tribon. Please don't leave."

"I will not remain here," he said again. "Who else feels this way?"

Two males joined him, shooting glares at me. Our clan was tiny already. I hated to think of anyone leaving, but I would never force them to stay. Let them travel to a place where they felt welcome or where they could create a new life for themselves.

"We leave now." Tribon turned and pushed through our fellow villagers, plodding toward his shroom.

"I'll give them spores," Gerain said. She hurried toward the woods to collect them.

The rest of us gathered food and supplies, placing them in a pile in the center of the village.

I took Amanda's hand, and we walked to my shroom and went inside.

In our living area, I gently took Maverick from her shoulder and placed him on his bed.

I returned to my mate who watched me quietly and cupped her face in my big hands. "I love you. I will cherish you always."

"I love you too. And I will cherish you always."

A searing blaze etched across the back of my right hand, and I lifted it, staring at it in wonder.

"What . . ." Amanda held out her own hand, and we admired the matching symbols bestowed upon our flesh by the very fates themselves.

"We're mates," I said. "The gods were wrong to say you must mate with Tribon, but I believe they listened to the words of our elder and now agree that the heart chooses who it mates with, no one else."

Her laughter bubbled up, though it came out shrill. "They took long enough to make this clear."

I kissed her, savoring how she clung to my shoulders and the way her legs wrapped around me.

A new life waited for us.

I'd lead our clan, and she'd open her tea shop.

I couldn't wait to see what might happen next.