The males in charge desperately wanted all potentially fertile women to be healthy and well-fed. If the girl didn’t show her womb’s first blood soon, then it would be clear she did not have the Goddess’s blessing, and so their extra patronage from the capitol would disappear. Enjoying his company for dinner would soon be a thing of the past.
She hated seeing the boy sad and offered, “I suppose you’ll soon be old enough to win a bride yourself.”
He shot her a disgruntled look. “I’m not strong enough to become the realm’s champion. Nor can I afford the entry fee to register as a regular hunter. It’s more than we’ll earn in a lifetime.”
It sounded like he’d already put some thought into it. “But if it’s what you desire, there’s always a way?—”
“I’d never do that,” he interrupted, his tone sharp with disgust. “A family should be born out of love like yours was. Not… that.” He trailed off, his face reddening further. “Besides, brides are weaklings.”
“Hey!” She scowled. “Take that back.”
“I saidbridesare weak. Not you. Not girls who join the military.”
But she hadn’t joined yet. They might not even accept her. At least, not until she cleared the age of no return. The boy had reached the age of enlistment last year. He’d never make enough for the entry fee if he kept waiting for her.
An awkward silence stretched between them, broken only by the crunch of snow underfoot and the occasional shout from disgruntled merchants as they continued down the market street.
“You should enlist without me,” she mumbled. “I’m holding you back.”
For a brief second, she almost swallowed the words. Hope was dangerous, and dreaming was worse. She’d seen what happened to girls who thought they could be more. They disappeared. Or they bled out in the snow. But the boy’s optimism was contagious. She let herself believe, just for a moment, that she could change her fate.
The boy stopped, his eyes searching hers. She thought he would agree with her, and something painful twisted in herchest. But then he said, “Who will play Shadow Stalker with me?”
She grinned.
“Tag.” She shoved him hard enough to prove she wasn’t fragile.
The boy stumbled back, the bundle of groceries slipping from his hands into the snow. His face broke into surprise, then indignation.
“Not fair!” he shouted. “The Shadow’s not supposed to strike first!”
“Who says?” she taunted, darting beneath a stall’s folding canopy with a giggle.
“You don’t even know your own rules!” he yelled, launching after her.
Their laughter bounced through the street as he pursued her between wagons, her red scarf trailing behind like a banner. She knocked into a vendor and earned a stern rebuke. The delay was costly. A brush of fingers on her wrist made her squeal, and she dashed away with sharp, exhilarating gasps.
She was across the street, only two steps when the boy’s shadow caught up to hers. It stretched longer than last winter. She’d misjudged the distance of No Man’s Land—the street—to the haven on the other side. The boy launched forward, barreling into her. The snowbank tripped them both, and they fell hard.
“Caught you!” he crowed, pinning her wrists above her head.
Bright blue eyes collided with hers, scattering thoughts. His body caged hers in ways that sparked an unfamiliar feeling in her chest—a warning, perhaps, or a promise. They gazed into each other’s eyes for a heart-stopping moment, clouded breaths mingling.
She counted five flecks of brown in the sea of his blue. They were like islands to explore. One day, she would name them, and they would sail away in search of adventure. Maybe hewas thinking the same things because his gaze grew dark and intense.
She squirmed beneath him. “You cheated.”
“How?”
“You changed. You’re stronger. Bigger.”
His lopsided grin stretched wider. “You’re the one who changed the rules.”
“I like changing the rules.” She craned her neck and scowled. “I like making them.”
His lashes lowered as he stared at the girl’s lips. All he could think of was her sweet feminine scent, her soft body. It confused the Gods out of him. The fight left him. His muscles unlocked, and he whispered almost inaudibly, “I like it when you change the rules, too.”
She wasn’t sure what this feeling in her chest was but knew it came from how he looked at her, from how his voice had deepened this summer. He sounded so grown up.
