She could see Til fighting on foot now, his horse down. There was an arrow sticking from his shoulder, but it didnt seem to be slowing him. Erin saw one of the enemy coming up behind him with a dagger, and there was no time to get there. Erin hefted her spear and then threw it, the weapon plunging into the mans chest to bring him down.

It left Erin facing her last foe, a woman armed with an axe, armed with only the staff-like sheath of her weapon. She parried the first swing, catching the head of the weapon on the stave, and then the two of them were pressed in close to one another, striking and pushing, trying to find an angle for the next blow. Erin tried to get to her belt knife, but in the tightness of the battle, it was hard to do even that.

Erin felt her foot catch on something, had a moment to register the corpse of the first opponent shed killed, and then she was tumbling backward to the ground. The woman with the axe was standing over her, her armor shining out now beneath the tears in her peasants garb.

Should have stayed away, girl, she said, in an accent that was clearly from the south. She lifted the axe, and in that moment Erin knew there was no way to dodge it in time, certainly no way to parry it without a weapon. If shed still had her spear, she might have been able to strike back, but like this… she was going to die.

Erin found herself thinking of her family. She missed them in that moment. Missed her sisters, even her brothers. She wished theyd been able to understand that she wasnt like them. She wished… she wished so many things…

Then Fenir stepped in and cut the axe womans head from her shoulders, cutting short all of those thoughts. He looked down at Erin.

Shouldnt throw your weapon, he said, terse as always, before turning back to the rest of the fight.

Except that now, there was no fight, because Til was just finishing the last of their enemies, cutting him down with a wet, sticky sound. Erin forced herself back to her feet, gritting her teeth against the pain of the cut in her leg. She wasnt going to let the others see her weak. She hobbled over to the body with a short spear sticking from it and dragged it out. Cleaning it meant that she had something to do to take her mind from the post-battle shakes that were starting through her, threatening to take over her whole body.

Should bind that wound, Fenir said, nodding toward her leg. Could get infected.

Beside him, Til was less generous. What were you thinking?

What? Erin countered. We won, didnt we?