“There’s always a choice,” Magni stated dryly.
“I don’t understand.”
“He could have chosennotto surrender.”
“And died for it?” I asked incredulously, receiving nothing more than a shrug from the men.
“Boulder,” I exclaimed and placed a hand on his arm.
He looked down at my hand and back to my eyes. “What?”
“I don’t want you to fight!”
That made all three men turn their full attention on me.
“Why not?” Boulder said, his face hardening.
“You could get hurt, and I don’t want anyone to bleed because of me or worse, get killed. How could I live with myself if you died?”
The men exchanged glances and then Boulder pulled me back inside the manor, where it was easier to talk.
“Look, you don’t understand. It’s really not just about you.”
“It’s not?”
“No, we’ve been trained to fight all our lives and this is our chance to move up in rank. We fight for prestige, for power, and for honor.”
“Then why do I have to be dragged into it?”
“I told you: the highest honor is to protect a woman, and that means you’ve provided us with a grand prize.”
“But this makes no sense. I’m only going to be here for a few months and protecting me would be a boring job. I’m going to be at the digging site from sunrise to sunset. Don’t these people have jobs to go to?”
“Yes, of course.”
I rubbed my face. “Then how are they supposed to protect me? Do they know it’s just a temporary job? I’ve seen the guards at this mansion – why can’t one of them protect me?”
Boulder looked back to the loud roars.
“This is Khan’s plan; you’ll have to ask him.”
I never got the chance because I was distracted when a woman walked in.
She was young and stopped when she saw me, her eyes expanding in surprise.
“May peace surround you,” I greeted her, encouraging her to come closer.
“Magni,” Boulder called and opened the balcony door.
“What?” The large male looked back over his shoulder and was about to turn his attention back to the games when he did a double take. “Oh!” he exclaimed at the sight of the woman and hurried toward her. “Laura, I thought I asked you to stay in your room.”
Her eyes darted between Magni and me. “Who is she?” she asked, telling me that I’d been right. They were trying to keep us apart.
“My name is Christina,” I said and got in front of Magni to take her hand. “I asked to meet you several times.”
“You did?” she asked with a look of confusion.
“Yes, Khan mentioned you, and I’ve been eager to meet you and ask you some questions.”
