Why he’d been in such a rush to get here.
Bile stung her throat at the sight of the mangled men who lay bleeding on the ground, moaning and praying for help and relief. Their pain and misery brought tears to her eyes while Valteri lowered her from his saddle. A wash of terror went through her.
Not from fear.
Nay. Not fear. Because this,thiswas familiar. Why? There was something about their dying that felt as freakishly normal as her holding a sword.
What is wrong with me?
Why would this be normal and riding be alien? That cold slap in the face kept her feet fastened to the spot where she stood.
Leaping from his horse, Valteri rushed toward one of the fallen men and knelt beside him. The older man was covered in blood and gasping for breath. His body was in pieces.
She wanted to say that she’d never seen anyone so badly injured and yet…
In her mind, she knew she had.
Where?
How?
Valteri cradled him gently. “Master Dennis, what happened?”
Ariel couldn’t see the man’s face, but his weak voice drifted to her. “Mortar… for the ramparts… the rope broke.”
She glanced over to the section of wall that had collapsed onto the poor workers. Large chunks of stone lay around the field like the broken hearth of some legendary giant.
“Help me.…”
A chill went down her spine at the familiarity of that call.
The frail, agonized voice took her attention from the wall. Ariel scanned the men until she saw a youth of no more than thirteen summers lying on the ground nearby, curled into a ball and crying.
Without a second thought, she rushed to him and knelt by his side. He was just a boy. Blood soaked his pale head from a gash just behind his left ear and a large metal spike protruded from his side.
So much pain in that boyish face. She had seen this before. Had been by someone else’s side.
Just like this. It haunted her.
And her heart ached for him. No child deserved to have something like this happen before he had a chance to live. He should be out playing and laughing with friends in the meadows or woods. Not working like a grown man to earn coin for his family.
His pain-filled gaze met hers. “Have you come for me, milady?”
A chill stole up her spine at the familiarity of those words.
She’d heard them before, too.
On the edge of her mind she glimpsed a familiar image, but it vanished before she could make it form fully.
Forcing herself to fight against her rising panic, she took his hand and comforted him. “I’ve come to help you.”
He smiled, his eyes lighting for just a flicker of a heartbeat, then all the glow of life drained slowly from them until she stared into the dullness of death.
He expelled his last breath.
No! Not this child!
Choking on a sob, Ariel dropped his hand and recoiled in horror as a million different images went through her mind. Her breath caught in her throat. She saw people clinging to her in fear and gratitude, the treetops far below her as she…
