Chapter SixWhen she opened her eyes, Melcorka could see the silver-blue steel of Defender glittering in the cold moonlight. Reaching out, she found she could not quite touch it. “I failed you,” she said as she felt her strength draining away with her blood. “I failed you, Defender.”
“You failed nobody.” Bradan inched closer, bleeding from the wound in his head and stunned at witnessing Melcorka's defeat. “Erik had a sword that matched yours; that's all. He took you by surprise.” He pushed Defender into Melcorka's hand. “Let's see your wounds.”
Both cuts were deep, stretching the full length of Melcorka's thighs, with her blood surging red against the dull grey-green of the grass. Rapidly removing his leine, the linen shirt he wore, Bradan tore a long strip and tied it above the wound on
