Excerpt of The Chief by Monica McCarty

As they drew closer the charge in the air intensified. With each step, her heartbeat raced faster. Her sister felt it, too. The quickening of Beatrix’s breath matched her own.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see the men not ten paces from her. She fought the urge to shudder, realizing how much larger and more daunting they were up close.

We have to get out of here.

The causeway wasn’t far now. Twenty paces or so and they’d be safe.

All of a sudden, she heard a man let out a vile oath, followed by the blood-curdling crash of steel on steel. Before she could react, the crowd had tightened around them, cutting off their path.

They were trapped.

At first Christina feared that they would be caught up in the melee, but then she realized only two men were fighting—the same two warriors she’d noticed before.

A swordfight in the middle of the courtyard? Goodness, did these Barbarians fight everywhere?

She and Beatrix watched in horror as they attacked one another with a viciousness that could only mean one thing—a fight to the death. It was horrible. Violent. Their wild, brutal fighting style nothing like the “civilized” practicing she was used to on the lists or the tournaments she’d seen as a child.

Neither man wore mail, only the leine and padded leather cotun studded with metal—seemingly woefully inadequate protection against the penetrating steel blades of their swords. They both wore soft leather boots to just below the knees, leaving a gap of bare leg to the lower thigh.

The golden-haired warrior had his back to her, but she could see the muscles in his back flare as he swung the enormous two-handed longsword in a high arch over his head and brought it down with crushing force. The sword seemed a part of him—as if he’d been born with it in his hand.

The dark-haired warrior blocked it with one of his two short arming swords, resulting in a piercing clatter that shattered the peace of the day, making her ears ring and teeth rattle. He allowed his blade to drop to the ground, pinned beneath the other, but then he spun and whirled the other over his head to return the strike.

The warriors exchanged blow after deadly blow, neither showing signs of tiring, wielding their enormous blades as effortlessly as if they were made of wood and not steel. The ground reverberated with each terrifying stroke.

She should look away. She should attempt to escape. But Christina was as mesmerized as she was horrified by the brutal savageness of the spectacle before her.

Was this what the Romans had felt watching the Gladiators?

If they weren’t so obviously trying to kill each other, there would almost be something beautiful to their movements. Despite their powerful builds, they moved with leonine grace. In the back of her mind it occurred to her that if they weren’t so fearsome looking the men might be considered handsome. Nor could she ignore that there was something blatantly male and attractive about such brute strength. But the thought was fleeting and quickly forgotten in the heat and clamor of the battle. The clang of steel mixed with the grunts of the combatants and the ebbing and flowing murmurs of the crowd.

At first she thought they were well matched, but as the fight drew on she recognized the superior skill of the golden-haired man. His blade fell harder; his reactions were quicker and his movements more precise. He controlled every aspect of the battle.

Her gaze was drawn to him.

When it became clear that she and Beatrix were not in danger, she grew more bold in her observation, noticing the hard lines of his jaw, the wide mouth, and forbidding brow. The noble bearing that permeated the air around him. As the fight had started without warning, he wore no helm or bascinet to protect his head. His hair was actually more brown than blond as she’d first thought, but the sunlight picked up all the golden strands, making it appear much lighter.

She was fascinated by the way his muscles bunched and flexed with each blow of the sword. Looking at him, the idea of Lancelot bending steel bars didn’t seem so far-fetched. Such power would normally terrify her, but detached like this she felt a strange heat shimmering through her.

But she hardly had time to process the strange reaction before the battle shifted and took on a far more ominous tone.