When she was within range, she drew a dagger and threw it, striking his calf. He could not run with a knife in his leg. He fell to the ground, clutching above the wound.
‘Don’t kill me, please,’ he begged as she approached. ‘I have a family who needs me.’
Eda came to a stop four feet from him, eyes moving over the man’s clothes. He was a merchant man. Now she understood what Roul had meant when he told her the test was unique to her. The queen wanted to know if she would kill one of her own if ordered to, without question, without hesitation. And she was hesitating.
She fought the urge to be sick.
‘Please,’ he said again, tears squeezing from his eyes as he trembled on the ground.
Eda stared at him as she reloaded her bow. ‘Why did they choose you?’
‘I don’t know.’ He shook his head, pleading.
‘What did you do?’
‘Nothing! I swear before Belenus.’
Eda pointed her weapon at the man, still not sure if she could actually let go of the string. Surely Queen Fayre would not pluck an innocent merchant for her to kill. And Harlan would not stand by while an innocent man was used as bait in one of her games.
‘You’re lying.’ Her words lacked conviction. She studied the marks on his wrists left from the shackles. They were not fresh. He had been imprisoned for some time.
‘They say I killed him,’ he said, eyes as wide as plates. ‘All lies. I killed no one.’
The string slackened beneath her fingers, and she stepped closer. ‘Who did you not kill?’
Instead of replying, the man yanked the knife from his leg and lurched at her. An arrow struck his neck before he had a chance to use the weapon, sending him flying backwards.
It was not Eda’s arrow but someone else’s.
She flinched as his body hit the ground, and the bow slipped from her fingers. She watched it land, then looked over her shoulder, searching for the shooter.
Roul stood at the edge of the tree line, a second arrow pointed at the man as though expecting him to rise again. But the man was already dead.
It was over.
She had failed.
When she looked in Queen Fayre’s direction, all she saw was the tail of her blue velvet cloak disappear between the shops.
CHAPTER13
‘You are not ready,’ Queen Fayre said as they walked down the main street of the village towards her waiting carriage.
‘Iamready,’ Eda replied, slightly breathless from running after her. A warning glance from the guard had her moving away. ‘I missed nothing in that forest.’
The merchants had all moved to either side of the street, bowing before the queen.
Queen Fayre waved and nodded as she passed them. ‘This is not about your skills but your ability to follow orders.’
Eda quickened her pace. ‘When did I not follow orders?’
‘Commander,’ Fayre said to Harlan, who was walking on the other side of her. ‘When a defender means to kill a target, do they shoot said target in the foot?’
Harlan glanced sideways at her. ‘No.’
‘Under what circumstances would one throw a knife at someone’s leg?’
‘When trying to prevent them from fleeing’ was Harlan’s very unhelpful reply.
