‘Not when trying to kill them?’ Fayre was clearly wanting to nail in her point.
‘I was aiming for the artery behind the knee,’ Eda lied. ‘It’s a lethal injury.’
Fayre finally looked at her. ‘Then you missed, because he was still very much alive when Commander Thornton stepped in.’
Eda looked over her shoulder to where Roul trailed behind, listening. ‘Perhaps if someone had taken the time to explain to me that he was a murderer—’
Fayre stopped and turned to her. ‘No one owes you an explanation. Therein lies the difference between a civilian and a soldier. When a defender is given an order, that defender will carry out that order without question. He does not play jury. I would have hoped that was clear at this point. I need to send someone I can trust to follow orders.’
Eda stood with her hands open and eyes pleading. ‘You can trust me. Give me another chance. Let me finish the month. Then you can test me again.’
Fayre resumed walking. ‘I am afraid we are out of time. Now, if you will excuse me, I have some business to tend to in the borough prior to departing. Good day, Eda.’
Not one to be dismissed, Eda continued to follow her. ‘You can’t send your army, so your point is redundant. And your advisors are all ancient, with little fighting experience. If you send them, they won’t even survive the journey there.’
Fayre’s eyes burned in her direction. ‘Once again, you seem to be struggling with the basics. When a queen says, “Good day”, the conversation is over.’
Eda stopped in the middle of the muddy street and watched her walk away. Her disappointment was suffocating her. Taking hold of the leather strap of the quiver she was still wearing, she tugged it over her head and threw it to the ground. It bounced across the street, arrows scattering in all directions. One of them hit the foot of a passer-by.
‘Sorry,’ she said, giving him an apologetic wave.
‘You all right?’ Roul asked behind her.
She rounded on him, anger bubbling inside her. ‘How could you?’ Closing the distance between them, she shoved him with both hands. ‘This is all your fault.’
His feet barely moved. ‘Myfault?’
‘I had the situation under control. I was handling it.’
His face hardened. ‘The target was about to stab you.’
‘I would’ve stopped him.’ Groaning, she marched off, too angry to even finish the conversation. She had been so close, and now it was over.
‘Eda!’
She turned left into one of the dark alleyways that ran between the shopfronts, and he followed.
‘Go away,’ she shouted.
He caught her arm, turning her to him. ‘I saved your goddamn life, and this is what I get in place of a thank you?’
She tried to pull her arm free, but he held tight. ‘Your interference cost me this opportunity. Do you understand that?’
He brought his face close to hers. ‘You don’t get to put your failure on me.’
She pushed up on her toes, trying to match his height. ‘Failure? How exactly did I fail? I did everything she wanted.’
‘You hesitated.’
She punched the hand holding her, but still he did not let go. ‘You know, it wouldn’t hurt your kind to hesitate occasionally. Maybe there would be a few less deaths around this place if you bothered to stop and ask questions first.’ She was hitting him where she knew it hurt. When he did not react the way she wanted, she shoved him again in frustration.
He backed her up against the wall of the shop, pinning her arms above her head and using his body to prevent her from kicking out. ‘Careful. You’re sounding a lot like a sore loser.’
She thrashed, trying to free herself.
‘Calm down before you hurt yourself. You never win in a strength competition, remember?’
He was right, of course, but she still fought for a few more breaths before finally going still. ‘How can I forget when you throw it in my face every five minutes?’ Her head flopped back, resting on the wall. ‘That’s it for me. It’s over. I don’t have other opportunities. Now Uncle marries me off. Now I mean nothing in this world.’
