“I think your father was a cautious man, and he’s dead. We owe him finding the monster that did it.” Nolan’s gruff voice draws a smile from me.
“That, I’ll do.”
“And I’ll help you,” Nolan adds.
I take in the empty streets and shuttered windows, but my gaze catches on the house directly across from us.Isabeau’s house.I can see her there, staring down at us, and a thrill goes through me at the thought of her watching what’s about to happen.
“Would you like one or two squadrons sent to assist you in the wood?” Nolan prompts, pulling my attention to the show of force about to happen.
“Two.” I flash a smile up at Isabeau before I say, “Shall we see who will lead them? Or do you want to pick your people? Maybe they’ll surprise us.”
“There’s always one young buck thinking he’s tough. It wasn’t me when the last Hunter came to meet us, but I was there. You being a woman and all ... It has to happen. I almost feel for them,” Sergeant Nolan says in a low voice before he makes brief eye contact with the soldiers approaching us.
They stop as one directly in front of us.
“The Hunter.” Sergeant Nolan gestures at me as if in introduction.
I nod at them, but I keep my hood up. There are no nobles in the park, but I still value my privacy. I can feel the soldiers’ eyes assessing me, weighing me. Though many of them have met me over theyears, and a few have even seen me nearly behead a faery recently, I still remember my father’s warning: “There’s always one who wants to test your strength before obeying. Let them. Word will spread after, but they can’t understand what it feels like. I cannot imagine you even can imagine how you’ll change.”
The one that volunteers to be my first fight ends up being a man easily my father’s age. He steps forward, and I wait. As he reaches me, the soldier shoots out a fist as if to punch me. The others watch.
I catch the man’s hand, step closer, and bend his elbow uncomfortably until he has to choose between a fractured elbow or landing prone on the ground. The whole process is a matter of a heartbeat. I, unlike every member of the squadron, don’t move at the speed of humans now.
It feels strange, as it’s only a couple of days now that I’ve felt these changes.
The second attack comes from one of the fittest men in the group. He charges forward, and when he is in reach, he lunges. I duck under his grip and grab his knee. I straighten, still holding his knee as I pull it to the side and upward, flipping him two body lengths away from me.
He grunts, but he stands up and bobs his head in deference.
“I am faster than any person here,” I says in a level voice. “Stronger than any of you. If you would like to sustain more injuries, feel free to approach again.”
“You’re a noblewoman. Nobs don’t—”
“Well spotted!” a voice answers, and I am glad I didn’t statewhyI am faster and stronger, though I expect she ought to guess it after what she saw.
I glance to my side to find Isabeau no longer at the window, but here in the park. The way she stares at me has my heart racing far more than the brief show of force with the soldiers did.
“If you have more questions, I will answer them for you. Nolan has assignments.” I look at the few women in the group. One is trying not to smile; another simply laughs. Both are within a few years of my age,with muscle-hewn bodies, straight spines, and attentive gazes. “What is your name?”
“Anders,” the taller of the two women says.
“Lowell.” She has the darker skin of someone born in one of the southerly nations.
“Those two, Nolan. Twenty others. Two squadrons. Twelve-hour shifts. I will draft plans. Keep in mind what I said. Warn them.”
As the soldiers leave, I turn to do the same.
“Truly?” Isabeau speeds up so we are again side by side. She reaches as if to tug my hood back.
I catch her wrist. “Please do not place hands on me without my express permission. As you saw, it rarely goes well.”
“I have already touched far more delicate parts of you, love.” Isabeau stays where she is. “Join me for a meal or conversation or ...”
“You are the most frustrating woman I have ever met.” I turn again to walk away. I am waiting for her to say the words, to overcome the Hunter’s magic that keeps people from figuring out the Hunter’s identity. I walk faster, trying to move us to a more private location.
She keeps pace.
We are several steps away when Isabeau says, “You are beauty in motion when you fight. I thought that the morning I saw you fight that faery. These soldiers were lucky to be allowed to fight you.”
