arrow in the string before the first arrow could clatter to the ground. The bow was a recurve, easier to pull than a longbow and easier to hold back to give her that second to aim better. She drew and released the held breath, watching Nolen charge closer moving slightly right. Leading him, she calculated where he would be in seconds, and let fly. She held her breath as she watched and measured.
Nolen reeled back as the shaft struck him in the shoulder, burying itself to the fletching. He had not been knocked from the saddle, for his horse kept him steady, veering to the side to balance him before racing onward. ‘Then I will kill your beast,’ she thought and drew another arrow, but a gust of wind kicked up off the river. She aimed high and far right to catch the wind, but as she drew, Gabriel let out a choked cry and the world turned white.
Chapter 4
Gabriel knelt on the smooth cobblestones, feeling the gaps between them digging into his legs. He looked at the spot where Robyn had fallen. Her horse lay dead with a hind leg pointed morbidly where the lightning bolt had exited.
Nolen struck his face again, but Gabriel hardly felt it. His vision narrowed in on the pool of blood that had not come from the horse. Robyn’s bow had shattered into a hundred glorious pieces, exploding like a rain of tan shards and scattered around him. It filled the air with smoldering wood and burnt hair.
“Where is she?” Nolen screamed and hit him so hard he fell to his side. The Prince’s voice was like an echo in a cavern. Gabriel blinked as Nolen grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him back up on his knees. “Is she still alive?”
“My Prince,” a soldier behind Nolen said and picked something up from the other side of the horse. He held it up gingerly, but Gabriel could see it through Nolen’s legs. A hand, severed at the wrist.
Gabriel doubled over and retched between Nolen’s boots, making the Prince jump back. His shoulders shook as he leaned on them. If Robyn was still alive, she was crippled, maimed, horribly in pain. He spit the acid from his mouth.
The lightning strike had found the tip of her arrow, passed through her, and exited through the horse, killing the beast instantly. She fell to the ground silently like a sack of grain, everything he lived to protect for years. The blond man grabbed her and hefted her into Calsifer’s lap. “Jaden,” the General had stated. They were gone in a moment, thundering down the cobbles and vanishing between the buildings. That was the last he saw of Robyn.
He spit bile and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Nolen looked smug as he raised his eyes. “She’s dead, isn’t she.”
“I—I don’t know,” Gabriel shuttered, carefully not making eye contact.
“Bring me a body!” Nolen shouted. The soldiers gathering around them returned to their horses. “Captain, give me your rope,” Nolen said far off. Gabriel’s eyes went back to the puddle of splattered blood and hoped to the stars she was still alive. ‘I could do it. I could mend a wound like that. Even as I am. Even if it killed me.’
Nolen jerked Gabriel to his feet and wrapped the rope around his neck. Nolen bound his hands together and tied them off, keeping the remainder coiled around the Prince’s gloved hand. There was a hole through his green coat where the arrow had pierced, but Nolen healed it with Gabriel’s Spirit Element as soon as it was pulled free. He mounted Shibaler and jerked Gabriel along. Gabriel would have not mind being paraded had he succeeded in keeping Robyn safe, but her wound fresh in his mind gnawed at his very being.
“Your father is forfeit.”
“I wasn’t trying to escape,” Gabriel argued.
“Certainly looks otherwise.”
“Why would I flee when you can always find me?”
Nolen looked down. “You will still pay for this.”
The Prince kicked Shibaler into a trot, forcing Gabriel to jog along. Nolen had pulled the energies from Gabriel’s body to make
Nolen reeled back as the shaft struck him in the shoulder, burying itself to the fletching. He had not been knocked from the saddle, for his horse kept him steady, veering to the side to balance him before racing onward. ‘Then I will kill your beast,’ she thought and drew another arrow, but a gust of wind kicked up off the river. She aimed high and far right to catch the wind, but as she drew, Gabriel let out a choked cry and the world turned white.
Chapter 4
Gabriel knelt on the smooth cobblestones, feeling the gaps between them digging into his legs. He looked at the spot where Robyn had fallen. Her horse lay dead with a hind leg pointed morbidly where the lightning bolt had exited.
Nolen struck his face again, but Gabriel hardly felt it. His vision narrowed in on the pool of blood that had not come from the horse. Robyn’s bow had shattered into a hundred glorious pieces, exploding like a rain of tan shards and scattered around him. It filled the air with smoldering wood and burnt hair.
“Where is she?” Nolen screamed and hit him so hard he fell to his side. The Prince’s voice was like an echo in a cavern. Gabriel blinked as Nolen grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him back up on his knees. “Is she still alive?”
“My Prince,” a soldier behind Nolen said and picked something up from the other side of the horse. He held it up gingerly, but Gabriel could see it through Nolen’s legs. A hand, severed at the wrist.
Gabriel doubled over and retched between Nolen’s boots, making the Prince jump back. His shoulders shook as he leaned on them. If Robyn was still alive, she was crippled, maimed, horribly in pain. He spit the acid from his mouth.
The lightning strike had found the tip of her arrow, passed through her, and exited through the horse, killing the beast instantly. She fell to the ground silently like a sack of grain, everything he lived to protect for years. The blond man grabbed her and hefted her into Calsifer’s lap. “Jaden,” the General had stated. They were gone in a moment, thundering down the cobbles and vanishing between the buildings. That was the last he saw of Robyn.
He spit bile and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Nolen looked smug as he raised his eyes. “She’s dead, isn’t she.”
“I—I don’t know,” Gabriel shuttered, carefully not making eye contact.
“Bring me a body!” Nolen shouted. The soldiers gathering around them returned to their horses. “Captain, give me your rope,” Nolen said far off. Gabriel’s eyes went back to the puddle of splattered blood and hoped to the stars she was still alive. ‘I could do it. I could mend a wound like that. Even as I am. Even if it killed me.’
Nolen jerked Gabriel to his feet and wrapped the rope around his neck. Nolen bound his hands together and tied them off, keeping the remainder coiled around the Prince’s gloved hand. There was a hole through his green coat where the arrow had pierced, but Nolen healed it with Gabriel’s Spirit Element as soon as it was pulled free. He mounted Shibaler and jerked Gabriel along. Gabriel would have not mind being paraded had he succeeded in keeping Robyn safe, but her wound fresh in his mind gnawed at his very being.
“Your father is forfeit.”
“I wasn’t trying to escape,” Gabriel argued.
“Certainly looks otherwise.”
“Why would I flee when you can always find me?”
Nolen looked down. “You will still pay for this.”
The Prince kicked Shibaler into a trot, forcing Gabriel to jog along. Nolen had pulled the energies from Gabriel’s body to make
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