Alex stared at Georgina in surprise, sure that he must have misunderstood.
"She took Xavier from you?" he asked. "What do you mean?"
"Once, the three of us were all friends," Georgina said. "Zora and I both liked Xavier, and Xavier liked both of us. We were all happy, and everything was good." She paused. "But one day, Zora brought a girl to us who had been seriously injured. She asked Xavier to treat her. Then Zora stayed with Xavier day and night, pretending she wanted to learn from him by watching him cure the girl. But what she really wanted was to make a move on Xavier."
"Oh, shut up," Zora said. "That girl was badly injured, and you know that Xavier's medical skills were better than ours. Neither of us knew how to cure her, so I let Xavier do it, and I watched. Besides, I never said you couldn't help take care of her. You chose to stay away."
"Because the sight of you fawning over Xavier made me sick," Georgina said, looking at her with contempt. "Why would I want to watch that?"
"The girl lived with us for a couple of weeks," Georgina said, picking up the story again. "And then her family came for her, and she left with them. But after that, Xavier became distant, and he spent more and more time with her!" She scowled at Zora. "He barely even looked at me, and it broke my heart. But as long as Xavier was happy, I pretended I was fine, and I tried not to hate Zora. But then she started taking lovers and taunting Xavier with them, growing more and more excessive."
"I was angry with him," Zora said. "But did you ever see him angry with me? He didn't even care!"
Georgina ignored her. "Zora disappeared all the time," she said. "So, I took care of Xavier, cooking for him, cleaning his house, and washing his clothes. But he remained indifferent to me. Then, one day, he told me he loved someone else." Her eyes filled with tears. "He left without telling me where he was going, and I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye. She took everything from me! If she hadn't hurt Xavier, then I would still have him in my life."
Alex looked at Zora.
"And you think he loved me?" Zora asked, staring at Georgina.
"Are you making fun of me?" Georgina demanded.
"No," Alex said. "Xavier said the same thing to Zora! She thought he was talking about you. That's why she hates you so much."
Georgina's mouth fell open in shock as she stared at Zora. "So, he wasn't talking about you?"
"At the time, I didn't think so," Zora said, smiling. "But if it's not you, then it must be me!"
Georgina thought about it for a moment. "No, you're wrong," she said. "How could Xavier possibly love a woman like you? I must be the one he loves."
Alex stifled a laugh. Each woman had always believed that Xavier had loved the other, causing this terrible misunderstanding.
"Xavier clearly loves one of us," Georgina said. "Or maybe he loves both of us and doesn't want to choose. Well, I can solve that problem. When I go back, I'll say you're dead, and then Xavier will be happy with me."
"No!" Zora cried, lashing out at Georgina.
Georgina prepared to use the same move Celeste had used to knock the staff unconscious. But Georgina was much more powerful than Celeste. If she made contact with Zora's head, it could kill Zora.
"Alex, number six!" Zora called.
Alex sprang into action. Zora had taught him thirty-six different moves, and now he automatically obeyed her order. He steadied himself, stretched out his left hand, and hit Georgina's wrist, blocking the fatal move. Then he stepped forward to meet her attack. Georgina attempted several moves, but to no effect.
"She taught you well," Georgina said, surprised.
"I don't want anything to happen to either of you," Alex said, pleading with her. "Please let this go."
He felt movement behind him, and then Zora lunged past him, punching Georgina in the stomach, causing her to bend over and vomit. "So, you want a fight to the death," Georgina said, wiping her mouth.
The Moon Maidens rushed forward and helped Georgina up.
"Zora, how can you attack her like that?" Alex asked, angry with her.
"She started it!" Zora said. "I'm just returning the favor. What's wrong with that?"
Alex looked at Zora and Georgina. "Please don't fight," he said. "You're both injured, and if you keep fighting, I'm worried something will happen to you."
Nelly helped Zora up, saying, "Please let it go, your Majesty. Let me see to your injuries, and then I'll go back to Brunei with you."
The Moon Maidens also advised Georgina to stop fighting.
"My lady, you're hurt," Selene said. "Wait until you get your strength back. You can deal with Zora later."
"Yes," Luna agreed. "You need to recover first."
"You'll get another chance to kill her," Selene said.
"No, I'm going to kill her today!" Georgina insisted.
She looked at Alex. "I was good to you in New York," she reminded him. "If you help me kill this bitch, then I will pass on all my skills to you! You can be my heir, and someday, you'll be the Lord of the Moon."
She took off a ring and handed it to Alex.
Alex held it in his hand, looking down at it. "I can't kill Zora," he said.
"What?" Georgina asked. "My skills are much better than hers, and I have hundreds of followers in the Moon cult. Why won't you help me?"
"Because Alex doesn't care about you at all," Zora said. "And who cares about your stupid Moon cult?" She turned to Alex. "Don't listen to her. Yes, she knows martial arts, but so do I. Help me to beat her. Once she's dead, I'll get my husband to reward you. You'll have endless money and beautiful women."
Alex shook his head. "Zora, I can't help you beat Georgina either," he said. "I want both of you to live!"
"What?" Zora asked, gaping at him. "After all that time I spent teaching you, this is how you repay me?"
Georgina laughed. "I met the boy first. He still has some loyalty to me. Never mind, I don't need Alex's help to kill you."
Georgina rushed at Zora.
"Arrogant bitch," Zora yelled. "Who lives and who dies has not yet been decided." She moved forward, clashing with Georgina.
Alex knew at least one of them would end up seriously injured, and he couldn't bear to watch either of them die.
He jumped into the fray, trying to separate them.
Georgina struck at Zora, but Alex moved to block her.
"Why are you helping her?" Georgina asked, furious with his interference.
While she was distracted, Zora took the opportunity to strike at Georgina. Alex was surprised, but he managed to stop her before Georgina got hurt.
"You won't help her, and you won't help me," Zora complained. "So why are you even here? Get lost!"
Alex wasn't as skilled as either woman, but both Georgina and Zora were injured, so Alex could hold his own. But he couldn't speak, not wanting to risk being distracted.
The fight had spun out wildly and now they were in the lake. The water reached Alex's knees, getting deeper by the minute. The two women were getting tired, and the water slowed their movements even further, but they were determined to kill each other.
Georgina knew Alex would block every move she made to attack Zora, so she came up with another idea. "I'll hit her with my internal power", she thought. "That should do some damage."
She summoned the power to fight Zora and lashed out. As expected, Alex stopped the blow, while also blocking Zora's attack on Georgina.
Zora tried to pull back, but she found herself stuck. She felt the power coming from Alex and instinctively struck back with her own, not wanting to allow Georgina to defeat her.
Power flowed from Zora and Georgina, converging in Alex, and there was nothing he could do about it. Each stream of power felt warm, pouring its heat into him continuously.
His body temperature grew higher and higher, and his mind was getting confused.
His legs weakened, and he slowly sank down, dragging Zora and Georgina with him. They both knew what was happening, but they were powerless to prevent it. Neither of them dared to withdraw her hand.
Despite the danger they were in, their greatest wish was still to ensure the other died first. Nothing else mattered.