Several of the men gasped in surprise. And then cheered.
Aodhan smiled, appearing pleased. His heart beating hard, Coinneach would not want to fight him in real combat. Aodhan swung at Coinneach, but he blocked his sword and leaped away to avoid the full brunt of the attack.
Coinneach jumped back into the fray and quickly thrust his sword at Aodhan. The champion swung his sword to stop thethrust, but he didn’t have the might that he would have had if he’d been more prepared.
Coinneach slashed at his sword again to keep him off guard, but striking the steel was like hitting a stone wall this time. Aodhan’s muscular arms were massive. Again, Coinneach jumped out of the way to avoid another clash with Aodhan’s sword.
And dove right in after Aodhan’s swing missed him. Coinneach poked his sword at Aodhan’s belly.
“I’ll keep you on my side.” Aodhan offered his hand.
Winded and sweating like crazy, Coinneach was glad the fight had ended. He shook Aodhan’s hand in camaraderie. “I feel the same way about you.”
“With you, I never know what to expect.” Aodhan motioned to the other men. “Looks like some others want to try their chances with you.”
Coinneach wondered if Aodhan had been holding back on him when fighting. He hated that he was second-guessing his ability to fight.
Then another man engaged Coinneach, and he gave it his all. Now that Coinneach wasn't fighting the champion, the others started to fight each other in practice. Aodhan was talking to a couple of maids who brought him ale, both smiling and fluttering their eyelashes at him.
The man Coinneach was fighting nearly knocked his sword from his hand, and he realized he had to concentrate!
Coinneach finally knocked his opponent’s sword from his hand and was instantly besieged by a new sparring partner. He wasn’t used to fighting this hard or long, and when he finally managed to knock the man off balance, he fell, and Coinneach was the victor.
Another man came to fight him, and Coinneach did his best to beat him. Farming worked different muscles, thoughswinging the ax to chop up so much firewood before he broke his fast this morning might have been one of the problems. He was ready to take a break.
This time, Coinneach was caught off guard. The man fighting him cut through his shirt and into his skin. Coinneach fell back. Blood stained the cloth.
Coinneach held up his hand to say he was done.
The other man shook his hand. “Are you all right?”
“Just a scratch.”
Aisling rushed forth. “’Tis more than a scratch as much as you are bleeding. Come, we will see my mother and she’ll take care of it.”
Drustan came over to see how he fared. “Were you thinking of the lass when Tristan cut you?” Drustan smirked. “Remove your shirt so I can see how bad it is.”
Her eyes wide, Aisling shook her head at Coinneach almost imperceptibly.
“’Tis naught,” Coinneach said.
But Drustan insisted. “That’s for me to decide since you work for me.”
Coinneach didn’t have a choice. He pulled off his shirt.
Aisling frowned. “I told you it was bad.”
“So sorry, Coinneach,” the man who had cut him said. Tristan was the same size as Coinneach, in terms of muscle and build.
“No problem.” Coinneach would rather have lost his sword than been injured.
“Take him to see Blair.” Drustan motioned to Aisling to take Coinneach with her.
“Aye.” Aisling waited for Coinneach to put his shirt back on, took his hand, and pulled him toward the keep.
“’Tis no’ that bad.”
“If it gets infected, it will be bad.” Aisling glanced at him. “I canna believe they pitted you against Aodhan again.”
