CHAPTER1
Aflash of silver in the creek made Eda still. She watched the water down her arrow, the string of her bow pressing into her fingers.
‘Come on,’ she whispered as she waited for the trout to reappear.
Birds took flight behind her. She whipped her head around to look. Nothing moved, but the small hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She waited, gaze darting from tree to tree. Someone was watching her.
Lowering her bow, Eda stepped back from the water’s edge and moved up the muddy bank, taking cover behind the thick trunk of an oak tree. She stood with her back pressed to it, holding her weapon in front of her.
Snap.
The sound of debris breaking underfoot had Eda holding her breath. Emerging from her hiding place, she swung her bow left and right, searching.
A defender swooped into her vision. She barely had time to register the face before her bow was torn from her hands and the tip of a sword was pointed at her neck.
Oh, he’s good.
She ducked, reaching for the knife at her hip in the same motion. The sword came for her, and she fell backwards out of its way. She kicked out, forcing him back. That was her opportunity to get back on her feet. She shot up, knife pointed at Roul Thornton. His copper eyes locked on hers as they circled one another.
‘Are you aware that you’re fishing on private property?’
The corners of her mouth lifted. ‘Oh, that’s what this is about?’
‘I’ve received complaints.’
‘Complaints from whom, may I ask?’
‘The commander who owns this land.’
Eda pressed her lips together to stop from smiling. ‘I’ve no idea why Commander Wright would be complaining since the fish I’m catching is for his dinner.’ Spinning her knife, she added, ‘And what is the punishment for illegal fishing nowadays?’
‘A finger.’
‘But I didn’t catch anything.’
‘Then two fingers.’
Her eyebrows rose. ‘Why two?’
‘One for the crime and one for your terrible aim.’
Eda whistled, noting the amusement in his eyes. ‘I guess I’m just going to have to make a run for it, then.’ She sheathed her knife and took off, arms pumping.
Roul’s feet pounded the earth behind her, less than six feet between them. She was fast, but his strides were long.
Through the trees she fled, until Wright House finally came into view. ‘If I make it to the door, you have to catch the fish for dinner,’ she called to him without turning her head.
‘You won’t make it to the door.’
He was just a few feet behind her now. She could hear his breath.
Leaping over a fallen log, she prayed he might trip. But defenders were not allowed to fall. She heard his feet land right behind her, within reach of her, so she pivoted.
When she reached the soggy lawn, she realised she was not going to make it to the door. She reached for her knife and turned, swinging it at him as she ran backwards. But he was ready for her dirty moves. His sword was already drawn, and he stopped her knife in its tracks, then pushed her back. Eda’s heel caught on the uneven ground. A moment later, her back slammed into the grass, but even in her slightly winded state, she managed to keep a hold of the knife. She fought him as she lay on the ground until he finally lost patience and disarmed her. She reached for the other dagger hidden beneath her skirt at the same time the tip of Roul’s sword went to her neck.
‘Yes,’ he said, panting, ‘I know all about the dangerous things you keep hidden beneath your skirts.’
She slowly raised her hands, breathing hard as she waited to see what he would do next.
