He smirks. “Alright? Name the conditions.”
I look toward the far right of the archery range where there are dummies made of straw and fabric set up to match the human body. Jerking my chin toward that area, I say, “Follow me.”
“You’ve got it, Princess.”
Beside me, Ellynne is grinning like a fool as we make our way closer to the dummies. The wind sweeps through the clearing, whipping my dress around my calves as I gesture toward the nearest dummy, forty paces ahead. “Are you up for the challenge, Prince Odgar?”
A sparkle of amusement settles on his face. “Absolutely.”
Seth presses his lips together as they fight to curve into a smile.
I step away from everyone and nock my arrow, the bloody corset fighting against me. Working through the restriction and adjusting my stance, I draw the fletching back toward my cheek, the bowstring singing as I release the arrow. It zips through the air, finding its home in the center of the dummy’s makeshift heart. A fresh arrow already between my fingers, I march toward the next shooting point, nock, draw, and release. Twice more in rapid succession, I hit the remaining targets, aiming for a different point each time. The fourth and last arrow transpierces the straw body of the dummy and spears into the ground.
I march back toward the others. Ellynne’s uncertainly chewing on her lower lip, Seth is failing to keep a straight face, Callum’s brow is raised, and Odgar focuses on the dummies for a while longer before turning toward me. “Top points for effort and confidence,” he says. “But you missed at least three times.”
I smirk at him. “Heart. Eyeball. Gut. Cock.” I jab my finger toward each of the dummies in the distance as I speak.
Seth whistles a sliding note and Odgar’s raucous laughter follows. It fills me with an unexpected warmth and my cheeks twitch, fighting the wide smile that stretches across my face. “Alright, Princess. You win,” Odgar says through his laughter.
I squint at him. “How are you so certain?”
“Because he’s rubbish with archery,” Seth says. He yowls as Odgar jabs him in the ribs and I flinch. Thathadto hurt.
I stare up at Odgar. “You took on a challenge knowing that you’re rubbish at it?”
“What’s achallengeif it isn’t difficult?” His sunburst eyes settle on me with such intensity that I find myself unable to turn away. The brown of his irises melding into the blue is almost golden in the sunlight.
I blink to hopefully break the charm and force myself to speak. “You have to at leasttry.” I extend my bow to him. “It’s my lucky bow. Maybe it’ll bring you some good fortune.”
He smiles, his white teeth flashing through his neatly trimmed beard. As he takes the bow from me, his fingers brush mine and it sends a jolt straight into the pit of my stomach, warming me to the core. I release my grip so quickly that Odgar tilts his head at me, a question carving a line between his brows. But there’s something knowing, something mischievous, in his stare. I lick my suddenly dry lips, and he chuckles as if we’ve shared some private joke.
“Are you going to shoot or what?”
“Are you going to hand me an arrow or what?” The amusement on his face is undeniable.
“I never said the arrows were lucky, now did I?”
He chortles. “You win again, Princess.” He holds his hand out to Seth who places an arrow in his palm. Odgar takes the same path Idid, each of his arrows hardly coming close to mine. The last that he intentionally aims at the ground, doesn’t even make it across the field. He returns to us and sketches a playful bow.
And Igiggle.Giggle. Like an infatuated maiden.Magdin’s tits …
Beside me, Ellynne’s mouth falls open, and I want to jab her in the ribs just as Odgar did to Seth.
“Well,” I say to Odgar, “like your friend said, you’re rubbish.”
“Dreadfully so.” There is barely any space between us when he holds the bow up. This time, when I take it back from him, I make sure our hands don’t touch. Odgar winks almost imperceptibly as I extend the bow out to Callum. When Callum doesn’t take it, I turn and catch him also staring at Odgar. His knuckles are white on his sword hilt, his jaw tight.
I clear my throat, and Callum jumps before taking the bow with a quiet apology.
“Thank you for entertaining my challenge, Prince Odgar,” I say. “It was… pleasant.”
He grins. “I pride myself on bringing pleasure.” As he winks again, Ellynne makes a choking sound beside me.
I thrust my arm through hers, linking our elbows and tugging her back the way we came as she loses the battle to keep her laughter at bay. The sound of Odgar’s own glee follows us as Callum catches up. I don’t stop walking even as tears of merriment streak down Ellynne’s pink cheeks. “Apologies, Carys. But thatwas a good one.”
I bite my lip to keep from joining in her delight. Callum’s sullenness at my side helps sober me as we make our way back to the castle and the reality of tonight’s Feast ahead of us.
CHAPTER 35
