Chloe almost wanted to laugh. She had her for a split second holding still. It was perfect for letting the temperatures drop as far below freezing as she could manage, the water freezing there, any sweat she had starting to crystallize, especially in her clothes. Alkaid wasn't attacking for a second, and it was perfect.

She was starting to advance, albeit slowly. A hand reached up to brush the spittle from where she'd been cracked on her lip and she grinned at Alkaid in a knowing sort of way. "I watched as her head left her shoulders and toppled to the ground, her body broken, beaten and bloodied in one last fight to the death with her last living enemy. One last duel, they'd agreed. A fight to the death, to see who would win, if everything was fair. She almost won too."

And in her mind, she couldn't help but be amazed that Alkaid wasn't putting two and two together, wasn't wondering if she'd been the one who killed her.