Keira's Fire

Chapter 10

Three weeks passed since our guests arrived and we were all still alive, but I wasn't any more optimistic than I'd been before. I still didn't trust Owen and his men. I could admit that I had no real reason not to trust them. They all seemed like decent people and they had assisted on several other raids without hesitation. Listening to Jeremy rave about them, they were invaluable and more than trustworthy. But for some reason I wasn't any more comfortable than I had been that first day.

The fact that Owen seemed to have a penchant for trying to get me to flirt, wasn't exactly endearing him to me. Between him and William, I barely had room to breathe.

At the moment, some of the men were practicing their swordplay and they'd turned it into a tournament. Seeing that Owen really seemed to know what he was doing, wasn't make me feel any easier about him or his men. He'd already beaten a good number of them including Stephen.

Jeremy and William were going at it now and, as they were evenly matched, it was anyone's guess who would win. I watched from my place on the ground, riveted as their swords clashed and neither seemed to gain the advantage over the other.

"And what are you here for? Decoration?" Owen stood above me.

I looked up. "Isn't that what women are for?" I asked sarcastically, drawing murmurs and chuckles from the men around us.

"I wouldn't have thought so of this one," he said. "I heard you were supposed to be the best. Come on she-devil, let's see what you've got."

Not having picked up weapon of any kind since my huge mistake, I wasn't jumping at the chance to start now in front of everyone. Besides, I wasn't desperate to prove myself to this man.

"That's okay."

"Why? Afraid after you've seen me in action?"

"Not quite." I half smiled.

"Come on, Keira." Michael plopped beside me. "Do it."

"Yeah, since when do you turn down a challenge?" Aaron stood next to Owen.

I looked around to note that more people were watching me than the actual fight. Owen's men clearly thought my abilities were exaggerated from the way they laughed and joked without bothering to keep their voices down.

"I wouldn't want to embarrass you in front of your men," I tried again.

Owen smirked, undeterred. "Well, if you think you can do it, I'd like to see you try."

I was irritated, realizing that I missed the end of the fight when I saw Jeremy and William making their way over to join the crowd that was building.

"What's going on?" William asked.

"Oh, Keira's afraid she'll embarrass me, so she's refusing to fight," Owen taunted.

"Since when?" Jeremy looked perplexed, making Owen laugh.

Everyone watched me expectantly and I knew I couldn't refuse anymore. Now it would just look cowardly not to accept the challenge. And it would be nice to beat the smirk off Owen's face.

"Fine," I grumbled and our spectators cheered.

Pushing myself off the ground, I took the sword from Jeremy's hand. Having watched Owen beat everyone who ranked well except the two of us and William, he looked just as interested as everyone else. But he also looked confident in me and winked.

I walked to the center, taking a minute to get familiar with the weight of the sword. It had been a while since I used one, but I wasn't worried.

Owen joined me, looking cocky and I smiled tightly. This would be fun.