Winning the Legend by B. Kristin McMichael Page A

Thomas
replied. They were still working on a few of the men to figure out
who they were. It wouldn’t take long, as the entire house was
bugged. With just a first name to go on, they were still searching
for details.
    “And Rhys?” Arianna added. Rhys’ retainer
had not taken his eyes off of Arianna since he arrived. Something
was off about the man, even if Rhys seemed to be completely
fine.
    “I doubt he was involved,” Andrew replied.
He had seen how Rhys and his retainer watched Arianna. “Those two
just can’t seem to keep their eyes off you no matter what. He was
watching you from the point you entered the room, not just during
the conversation with Patrick.”
    Arianna smiled over at Andrew as he sulked.
He didn’t like having Arianna prance around for all these men.
Arianna reached over and took his hand in hers. Warmth spread up
his arm. She could tell him a hundred times over not to worry, but
it would do no good. Andrew would always worry. Arianna wanted to
take his concern away, but the only way that would happen was if
the competition was done and she could truly be his. Andrew twined
his fingers with hers. That would have to do for now.
    Thomas pointed back to the screens
distracting them from each other. “Now it’s time for the real show.
When the cat is away, the mouse will play.” The men on the screen
all were finally gathering the courage to grab a weapon and
practice.
    Devin walked over to the table with Turner
and Ken beside him. No one in the room made to move toward either
the tables or the targets down the other side of the hallway while
Devin moved. No one wanted to be the first to show their strength
or weakness in front of the other men, but more than that, Devin
was intimidating. The men all knew who he was, as he had already
made a name for himself in the night human world beside Randolph,
but none actually believed a day human could be so powerful. Devin
led the way back to the target next to the north wall. They would
have the best view looking down at the other targets from their
vantage point.
    “Guess I should go first,” Ken said,
shrugging his shoulders. He wasn’t actually the best for
competitions, but he had been training alongside Devin and Turner
all month to make a good run at it. Ken easily tossed the knife
across the distance. It hit the target with a thud and stuck on the
edge of the inner ring near the bull’s-eye.
    “Is that the best you can do?” teased
Turner. Ken could do better, but since he threw off the mark,
Turner decided to play along also and throw his off a little.
Hitting a target was a piece of cake for them now.
    The room silently watched Ken and Turner
take turns until they used up the knives they had grabbed. Soon all
the men stopped standing around and joined in by grabbing various
weapons and choosing targets. Their suspect in the attack on the
Grace lands, Manuel Vasquez, took the target right next to the
trio. Being that there were less targets then men, Rhys joined
Manuel at the target. Manuel did not look pleased to see the sidhe
next to him, but he didn’t move either. He had chosen his spot for
a reason.
    Devin, Turner, and Ken ignored the other
competitors. Turner and Ken were actually making a game of not
hitting the target exactly. When they had no knives left, Devin
walked to the target and retrieved the knives, pulling them out one
at a time. Manuel took his first shot and missed the target wide,
toward Devin who was gathering the knives. Devin didn’t acknowledge
the knife that came fairly close to him as he walked back to Turner
and Ken so that they could throw more.
    “Vasquez,” Molina said from behind the stout
man as he stood to throw a second knife. “If that hits someone,
accidentally or not, you will be removed from the competition.”
    Manuel glared up at Molina, who actually
stood a few inches taller than him in her heeled boots. She looked
down at the angry man, waiting for him to protest. He didn’t as he
turned and