The Wind Died Down

With no real chance of retreat, Tarmen resigned himself into a counter charge. Roaring against the fatigue, he was able to dig his shoulder into her gut to send the two to the ground.
He could hear her struggling to breathe, though she still kicked at him like a crazed feline. He also heard the whip crack and felt the wind die down, fearing the worst. He couldn’t give any opening to check on her and had to assume the girl had been dealt with.
The assassin’s sword hadn’t been thrown far and as she gradually found her breath, she began reaching for it. This began a struggle between them for its capture, until a deep bite to her forearm and a kick granted it to Tarmen. He moved swiftly to turn it around in his hands, quickly but steadily cutting the bindings. He wasn’t given much time, the assassin’s rage at such a wound fueling a fresh onslaught.
Even without her weapon, she struck hard. He imagined it was similar to fighting Alexis, someone skilled in their strengths and confident in their weaknesses, for as heavy as her blows were she always tried to back out of grappling range.
Dodging what he could actually helped wrestle the bonds free, enough being cut to weaken the rope. All the while the woman tried to get closer to the sword, inching ever closer as she drove Tarmen back. He found his moment here however, a kick not being brought back quick enough allowed him to grab hold, pivoting his weight to swing her through the air, though lost his footing on the loose sand sending them both crashing down.
Not knowing how much time he had earned, he tore at the remaining rope while trying to catch his breath, finally relishing the freedom of movement before scrambling for the sword.
As with everything so far though, that moment was all he got. Before he could touch the weapon, his vision was clouded and he realized the stinging shards in his eyes was sand, quickly followed by the woman kicking him to the ground.
Unable to see and hearing metal against the desert, Tarmen could only curse in agony and try to make her suffer before he was beheaded.