The Fallieni woman was quick and skilled, for a mortal. To Breaker, she may as well have been moving in slow motion. He appreciated the beauty of her battle dance, enjoying the slender curves of her legs even as she sailed through the air to kick him. At the last possible moment he flicked his right arm up. He had seen the arcane potential charged within the woman’s foot, and figured the adamantine bracer beneath his sleeve would protect him.

Clang!

It did. Beneath the metallic reverberation Breaker heard the small bones in the woman’s foot shatter. With a scream of surprise and pain she plunged into the water.

Breaker shook his head. He had to admire her pluck. She had rolled the dice with her whole body on a one in one hundred chance. He waited for her to surface, and frowned when she did not. Most Fallieni did not know how to swim. Without hesitation he leaped in after her and activated one of the enchantments in his boots, making them each weigh a hundred pounds so he sank effortlessly. He caught the dancer around her midsection and reversed the enchantment, making the boots all but weightless. He kicked powerfully and fought the current until the both breached the surface.

The side of the nearest ice flow molded downward into a ramp, and Josh flipped the woman to safety before rolling after her. She moaned and clutched at her foot, shivering violently.

“You’re alright,” Josh said, his hands hovering over her. The frigid water soaking her clothing and hair warmed and then evaporated entirely, flowing into an orb that floated beneath his palm. He poured his own brand of healing magic into the water and then pressed his hand to her chest, allowing the imbued liquid to seep through her clothing into her skin. She cried out as the broken bones in her foot reset and healed. Blood still seeped slowly from her soles, but the worst of her injuries was healed, and she would not freeze.

“Thank you,” the woman whispered, lifting a hand to cup the back of his head. Her other hand darted to her belt and unsheathed her little knife. She stabbed for his throat like a striking viper. Josh barely had time to get a hand in front of the blade. The simple metal of the knife did not even pierce his skin.

“It is you…” the young woman said, her dark eyes glimmering into his hazel ones. “The stories were true…” for a moment she seemed about to fall under the spell his charms had cast on so many others. And then she kicked away from him and sprang to her feet, dagger in hand. “But this is still a fight to the death, if I understand the Citadel well. You must attack me.”

“That’s not strictly true,” Josh said. “I’ve used this arena before. Eventually, we will run out of river. Then we could call it a draw.”

“A draw?” She hissed like a scalded serpent. “I would despise such an end to this contest. If you wish to earn my trust, Breaker, then give me a fair fight?”

She began to dance anew, swaying to and fro like an adder. Josh could see the energy building up inside her again. He could see no other option. He dove forward and tackled the tiny dancer.