CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Sturmhond

     Estelle fidgeted with one of her rings as she paced back and forth in the small room they'd given Nikolai to prepare in. He sat silently, staring at the ground on a single table, the only other furniture being a chair pushed up in the corner.

"Why are you pacing?" he asked.

"I'm thinking."

"About?"

"What do you think?"

"I'm not sure."

"I'm trying to convince myself that you will not die tonight, Nikolai, so please. Stop. Talking." Her voice wavered at the end. She could see him looking at her with an expression that showed he wanted to comfort her, but he didn't.

A knock on the door signaled their time was over to prepare. Nikolai hopped down and started toward the door. When he noticed she just stood there, he glanced back at her. "Aren't you coming?"

Estelle shook her head. "I can't. I can't watch. I won't."

Nikolai frowned. "Estelle, you've seen me get into fights before."

"Yeah, with men your size. This man is twice that. Did you see his opponent at the end of the other match? He couldn't walk." All of a sudden, the collected calmness she'd felt going into the plan had unraveled and now the only thing left was a doubtful, shaking mess.

He gave her a look and she avoided his gaze. Nikolai sighed. "Alright, you can stay here. Just...try not to worry too much."

"Easier said than done," she mumbled dryly.

—

Estelle was worrying.

All the possible things that could have gone wrong, went horribly wrong in her mind as she listened to the roaring of the crowd behind the door. First, she tried to force herself to sit, but sitting only made it worse. She opted to pacing, fidgeting with her rings, her clothes, her hair.

She imagined Nikolai's limbs breaking, him getting knocked out, his opponent splitting his chest open with his bare hands. She wasn't sure how the last one would have been able to have been done without a Heartrender in the works, but there were no limits to her imagination.

Every time a cheer went up in the next room, Estelle had to force herself to keep the door closed. She told herself the best thing to do was not watch it at all. Maybe if she didn't see the bad outcomes, they wouldn't happen.

As if.

Brain damage, nerve damage, blood, broken bones, irreversible damage, the list went on. It wasn't that she didn't have any faith in Nikolai. It was that she was being realistic.

Mogoin Khün had been at least twice Nikolai's size, possibly four times his ruthlessness, and experienced in how the proceedings went in the fight club. He was the champion, after all.

Estelle stopped pacing. The room next door hadn't erupted again. It had gone silent. Her breathing stilled, her heart rushing. She reached for the door handle before she even thought about it.

She couldn't see the ring from the back, so she tried pushing towards the front. People were quiet, standing so still it seemed as if time had frozen. Estelle pushed through more desperately, not caring about the indignant shouts that followed. She only cared about one thing.

Nikolai.

As she got closer, she could see someone on the ground. Someone else knelt next to them. The shadows made it hard to tell.

Estelle reached the very front, so close she could put her fingers through the gate. "Nikolai," she said, shaking. "Nikolai, is that you?" She didn't care if the others in the crowd could hear her. They were too drunk to remember, anyway.

Slowly, the person kneeling turned. Nikolai grinned at her.

Estelle let out a relieved breath, slouching and resting her forehead against the gate. Nikolai slid across the ground towards her, He slotted his own hands through the holes in the gate and rested his forehead against hers. "I'm alive," he whispered.

She chuckled. "I can see that."

Then she noticed his numerous cuts and places that would likely form bruises soon. He had a nasty gash in his side. Estelle gasped. "Oh Saints. Are you okay?"

"We're a lot richer and I'll live, so I'd say yes," he breathed, still smiling.

"It appears we have a new champion!" shouted the announcer, breaking the silence of the crowd. He stepped into the ring. "Sturmhond wins!"

A beat passed, then the cheering began. Nikolai's gaze lingered on Estelle before he stood up and held up his arms in triumph. If possible, the roaring of the audience grew louder. Then, a chant. The same word. Sturmhond.

Sturmhond. Sturmhond. Sturmhond.

Eventually, Estelle joined in, keeping eye contact with Nikolai the entire time.

—

"Would you stop moving, I'm trying to clean your wounds."

Nikolai groaned, leaning back against the chair, his head hitting the wall behind it. "It hurts."

"Yes, well, we're a lot richer and you'll live," Estelle quoted, smirking slightly.

He rolled his eyes. "You–"

Before he could finish, she poured a disinfectant on his gash. His eyes went wide and he yelled out, clenching every muscle in his upper body. Breathing heavily, he glared at her. "A little warning next time would be lovely."

"It's actually better if you don't expect it," she said as-a-matter-of-fact-ly, placing the bottle on a side table.

They'd gotten a room in a small inn just by the harbor soon after they'd received the money from the fight and had gotten out of there. Ana found them quickly and she'd immediately taken the money to pay off her debt. Once that was done, to repay her debt, she went off to "deal with'' Estelle's overtaken ship. She didn't specify how long it would take.

Which left only Estelle and Nikolai.

He let out a pained breath, rolling his eyes. "For you. You just like to see me in pain."

"That could not be further from the truth," stated Estelle, beginning to wrap his wound in gauze. "Unless, of course, I'm the cause of such pain."

"My point exactly." Nikolai lifted his hips to make it easier for her to wrap his wound, but he began shaking from the exertion.

"Nikolai, stop," she said. "Stand up."

"No, it's...I'm fine," he stuttered.

Estelle grabbed his shoulder and yanked him up from his chair. "Come on. I'm almost done, then you can relax."

Even though he frowned, his muscles relaxed instantly, other than the ones he used to hold his arms above his head. Estelle worked, wrapping the gauze around his base torso, trying not to focus on his strong sea salt and coconut scent.

Nikolai took in shallow breaths and let out long, shaky ones. Estelle tried to be as gentle as she could, but she needed the gauze tight enough so it wouldn't come undone and get infected.

It felt like a personal, intimate thing, taking their relationship far too quickly. But still, no matter how many alarms rag in her head, Estelle leaned towards him, her touches lingering.

Nikolai gimached, letting out a pained breath. "A warning would have still been nice."

Estelle simply shrugged, then pulled out the gauze.

She finished, tucking the end piece and tying it securely. "All done."

Nikolai placed a hand on her bicep. "Thank you. Truly."

She shrugged. "That's what I'm here for."

"You're here for so much more."

Estelle glanced up to find him already staring at her. A slight smile was evident on his face and he was looking at her like he'd just see her for the first time again. The sparkle in his eyes that couldn't be dulled was different from his mischievous glint.

The door opening interrupted the moment. Estelle jumped away quickly, hiding her reddened face behind her hair. She looked up only to see who it was. Ana had come back.

"Did you do it?" asked Nikolai as he sat back down.

Ana nodded, then held up her pad. "Your ship is yours again."

"What will you do?" Estelle wondered.

She paused, then frowned. "I'm not sure."

"Well, my crew is made up of outcasts and runaways. You'd fit right in," offered Estelle.

Ana smiled hopefully and then, Estelle knew. She'd be a large part of her life.