QUOTE : His light blue shuma and silver torque did nothing to hide the mass of cuts, scrapes, and purple bruises that covered his body and made his iridescent tattoos practically glow by contrast. He had a dark bruise under one eye that ran all the way down to the ulumi-lia tattoo on his cheekbone, and another on his jaw.<br /><br />“This?” He gestured to his battered frame. “Ono, moa halea.I was invited to partake in a wrestling match yesterday afternoon.”<br /><br />“A wrestling match with whom? Kukuna the Stone God?”<br /><br />His grin flashed, then faltered as the gesture tugged at his split lip. “It was a very intense match. And you have been reading the legends of my people. You are curious about Calberna. This is good.”<br /><br />She grimaced. “Don’t jump to conclusions. I read most of those legends before I met you so I could teach the children at the school about Calberna.” Then, because curiosity got the best of her, she asked, “So which one of Wynter’s men beat you to a pulp?”<br /><br />His brows rose. “I am unpulped.”<br /><br />“Not from where I’m standing. Or are you saying the other fellow looks worse?”<br /><br />He cocked his head to one side, as if considering, then gave that charming half grin again and said, “About the same. We declared it equal contest.”<br /><br />“Who did you leave unpulped then?”<br /><br />“It is of no concern. We had our match. We tested each other’s skill and resolve, and came away with a new understanding of each other.”