Dawn of the Unconquered Sun (Part 8 of the Ignaius-Saga)

Rough

*** A tiny bit of explicit content, but you will probably not want to miss the whole chapter.***

"So - are you ready for another challenge?" he greeted the young man, as they entered the room. The place and the proceedure was familiar by now. Tanier could feel adrenalin kicking in as soon as they entered the room. The only thing that was slightly surprising was the fact that this actually calmed him down after deep down being nervous for two days. So probably this was the right thing to do.

As expected, Lekal-Kayla was standing patiently in the center of the room to greet them, and he nodded at the question. "I am, and I do hope
you are, as I have my own prize to propose." He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and looked Tanier directly in the eyes. "If I win this
bout, I will keep Variel through this night and deliver him to you at the palace in the morning."

Variel felt his insides knot up, and knew he wore his surprise on his face. Vis's hand, always resting on his shoulder during these meetings,
tightened so fiercely that the his fingers dug in painfully.

Tanier looked over to Vis and Variel, contemplating the challenge. It was pretty much clear that Vis did not approve. Variel was more difficult to read. He saw something like shock, but the moment he saw it, he had made his decision. Had he not announced and decided for himself that he had to go further?

"If you win, he is yours for the night," he declared. He pulled the collar from his pocket and placed it on the side table, just as he had done before.

He was swinging his sword a few times to get ready, then assumed position and Lekal-Kayla did not hesitate to attack. He parried with ease, even if the exchange of blows was unusually quick from the start. The older man retaliated with a lot more energy himself. Pretty soon he was feeling the growing pain in his muscles, yet he didn't slow down. Neither did Lekal-Kayla. His parries got more clumsy and when he eventually pushed away an incoming thrust with little elegance and clear lack of control his opponent could not help to notice. Yet when their eyes locked, he met the triumphant smile of the younger man with unfaltering determination and managed to drive him back with renewed energy. Yet his muscles were fatigued and he reacted too slow, when Lekal-Kayla pulled his blade quickly out of a bind, only to land a blow on Tanier's hand with the pommel of his sword so hard that the king had to let go of his weapon, crying out in pain and anger. With a rattling sound the weapon dropped to the ground and the younger man had his foot on the blade in no time, just to make sure. Instinctively Tanier brought his aching hand to his mouth and glared at the winner of this duel. The glaring did not stop, as he pulled himself together. "My sword," he growled.

Wordlessly, Lekal-Kayla ducked down and picked the blade up from the ground, offering it back to the king hilt-first. "A good fight, but I am afraid I have your number." He smiled, unfazed by the glare he was receiving.

Vis still had a grip on Variel, and now his jaw was tightly clenched. He had predicted the outcome of the fight after watching the last two and
observing how the other Auroran's technique had been altered. This was the prize Lekal-Kayla had been biding his time for, and it took every
ounce of self-control not to simply pick Variel up and leave with him to keep him out of this man's hands.

Variel's heart was racing as he looked between the three men. He was sure he'd have a bruise on his shoulder from Vis, but that would most
assuredly be the least of them.

The king accepted the sword and turned to face Vis and Variel. He kept his eyes on Variel.

"Vis, hand him over," he ordered.

The beginnings of a snarl formed on Vis's lips, but it wasn't meant for the king. He released his grip on Variel's shoulder, but all the while he had his eyes locked with Lekal-Kayla. There was a dire warning in that look, an oath that swore death should the younger man betray their trust.