Valkyrie Rising ✓

Chapter Seventeen

The door opens and I suck in a shaky breath, hiding my face in my arms. Eveia was still fighting, but Wick or Kaz may have come to check on me.

When I lift my face, I'm not expecting Briar to be the one kneeling in front of me. He gently takes my chin between his thumb and forefinger and turns my face to examine the bruise on my cheekbone.

"Well done out there," he murmurs, then shines a tiny light in my eyes.

I squint at the brightness and try to pull my head back.

Briar presses his lips together. "You've got a mild concussion." He holds an ice bag to my cheek. I reach to hold it there with my right hand and grunt in disgust at the deep red-violet bruise covering my elbow, forearm, and bicep.

"Nice block, by the way." Briar transfers the ice from my face to my arm. "Aren't you glad you didn't give up?"

I glare at him. My cheek is swollen and it hurts with the effort. I take the ice from my arm and put it back on my face.

"You automatically get ranked at the bottom if you tap out," he explains. "I know about the arrangement; you shouldn't be sentenced to death just because you were matched with that giant. Plus, now you know you can defeat a giant."

I nod my thanks. Briar pats my knee and stands.

"Wait," I say, "does everyone know about Iskren's arrangement?"

Briar swallows hard, then shakes his head. "No, I just asked Ritter about Iskren's visit that day. No one else knows."

This makes me feel better; I don't want to succeed just because everyone feels sorry for me.

"Come find me before you go to bed tonight," he says. "I'll need to check that concussion before I let you fall asleep."

He turns at the door. "People like us do a lot better in the ring with a weapon in hand. Next time, it won't be so bad."

I smile a little with the right side of my face and nod again.

Next time. The thought both sickens and thrills me. Now that the shock and anxiety have worn away, I can think back over the match with a clearer head. I did have some pretty decent moves.

The splitting ache in my head stops me from pondering too hard, but it's with a stronger sense of self that I emerge from the restroom.

I scan the thinned crowd for my friends. Wick is in the ring; Eveia and Kaz must be at dinner, because I don't see them anywhere. Wick takes a solid hit to the gut from a small girl; it looks like Karri.

I turn away, having had enough of fighting for one day. Slowly, I climb the steps to D-Hall. The clamoring in the room is so loud, my head protests and I almost decide to skip dinner when Eveia yells for me.

"You're alive!"

I can't help but grin as I join them at the table. "Guess we all survived, huh?"

Eveia shrugs. "So far."

She has a cut lip and a bruise just under the right side of her chin. Kaz appears unharmed. He smiles as if reading my thoughts.

"Really?" I say. "Is there anything you don't do well?"

"You mean besides looking this sexy?" Wick gestures to his face as he joins us.

He has a cut over his left eyebrow that's still bleeding in a red trail down his temple.

"Please, ladies." He sits and holds up his hands, palms out. "Don't all rush me at once."

My face is sufficiently numb, so I move the ice pack to my arm.