"You have one hell of a nerve showing up here, Zora!" Jovan shouted as he walked out of the hut, without bothering to pretend they weren't aware of Zora's arrival. He spoke in a raised tone of voice, yet a controlled one to the very end of the very last letter. Zora may have been above him because of her lineage, but he far outranked her in experience when dealing with situations that seemed beyond salvation.
"Jovan the Valiant," Zora spoke slowly in a way that would have raised the hair on a dead horse's back. "You have one hell of a nerve proposing to a woman then leaving her for her weakling of a sister."
"Jagoda is stronger than You will ever be," he hissed out to make it seem he was losing his temper.
"That is a weak assumption made by a weak man," Zora replied in an amused tone of voice.
"My hand is not weak, nor is my sword!" Jovan shouted, still unable to figure out where Zora was hiding because of the echo given off by the trees of the surrounding forest.
"I would say that some men are stronger with their sword than their hand, but that would imply You knew how to use Your... hands," Zora laughed wickedly.
"You have no idea how I use my hands!" Jovan shouted at her.
"But I do when it comes to Your lips!" Zora said stoically and loud enough to be sure that Jagoda and Bojana heard her inside the hut. "Not so Valiant now, are You?"
"Some sacrifices are worth the price," Jovan replied with sarcasm.
"Some prices are worth the sacrifice," Zora bellowed out a wicked laugh.
"You will not win, Zora!" Jagoda appeared in the doorway of the hut and caused Jovan to rush back to her.
"Go back inside," Jovan pleaded with his beloved, even more so because he saw a sword in her hand. "You are in no condition to face her."
"He's right, You know," Zora laughed sarcastically and appeared from behind the hut, with a sword in her hand.
"What did You do to Kinga?!?" Jagoda stepped out of the hut.
"Oh, You mean Your blindly trusting confidante?" Zora replied with a heinous smirk. "She finally figured out who I was, so I took her out."
"Liar!" Jagoda shouted at her sister, yet could not dismiss the undeniably painful sight of Kinga's sword in Zora's hand.
"Maybe," Zora moved her shoulders up and down. "Maybe not. It won't matter soon."
"And why is that?" Jovan hissed out as he stood between the sisters, shielding Jagoda with his body.
"Not so Valiant, and apparently not too bright either?" Zora chuckled and leaned to the side to look Jagoda in the eyes. "At least he's a good kisser."
"You won't win this time, Zora," Jovan stepped closer toward her.
"I think I will," she smiled wickedly. "As a matter of fact, I know I will. You see, there isn't a person that was born on this soil that can defeat me."
"You got that right," Jovan tipped his head to the side in a sarcastic gesture.
"I am glad we agree on something," Zora sent him a mischievous look. "You can still join me. Since You asked me to marry You, I am willing to... overlook Your recent misbehavior."
"Not in a million years," Jovan shook his head but lowered his sword. "You cannot win Your people's hearts or their respect by paving Your path with dead bodies. Especially, Your family's."
"You glamorize the race to power, my dear Valiant," Zora shook her head, but lowered the sword for a moment. "Power begs for sacrifices that common people know nothing of."
YOU ARE READING
THE TIDES OF TIME
Romance⚔️ "Being born and raised to respect life and its rules, Jovan Galanis made something of himself. He was ambitious, outgoing, disciplined, and righteous to his very core. His parents died when he was a young boy, and having been raised by his Macedo...
