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He stared back.
“You should have seen Father today. Quite a state. Mother is doing better, though. Her fever finally broke.”
“That is good, dear sister.”
I smiled at him, cheeks crinkling. See? That’s all I needed. A simple “That is good.” Is that so much to ask for, Father? To show an ounce of caring?
I looked away through the clearing and tree limbs blocking my view. They went on forever. My eyes moved from forest floor to canopy. “Seen anything good to hunt in here today? Seems quite peaceful.”
“Enough for you to practice on. You’re too big for that shortbow, however.”
I let out a “pah,” waving a hand at him. “Nonsense. I’m comfortable with her.”
“The longbow is more powerful and damaging. Your arms are stronger than they were years ago.”
“Yet still not big and strong enough to wield a longbow, Robert. I’m not you. I’m not a soldier. I’m not . . . a man.” A scowl twisted my face. I hated when he talked to me like this.
Robert FitzThomas was the only man who gave me hope, and saw the capability inside me. He was my greatest supporter, yet he could be an ass just like the rest of them.
“If you want to continue this farce,” he said, “you can’t use a child’s weapon forever. Learn to use the longbow and you could become the best archer in the land.”
My upper lip peeled back in a snarl. What did he not understand about me not being strong enough to use one? “Don’t you get it, brother? My arms haven’t filled out enough to—”
A loud rustling in nearby bushes shut me up.
I pivoted, scanning the trees around me, and bent my knees while drawing an arrow from the quiver.
The undergrowth continued to shiver. Whatever was in there sounded big.
I lined my arrow between my fingers, pinching lightly, slowly lifting the bow along my sight.
Yes, it was illegal to hunt game in here, with steep penalties for doing so. But is it illegal if no one ever finds out?
Taking a deep breath, just as my brother taught me, I pulled back on the bowstring. Everything around me—the chattering animals, the blowing leaves, the cascading thoughts—drowned away, with only my quarry in my sights and mind.
At the last, I glanced out the corner of my eye to my brother.
It nearly cost me my life.
A great boar burst from the hedge, snuffling and snarling, tusks gleaming in the late-afternoon dapple of sunlight spotting the forest floor.
My breath blew out on a whoosh, eyes bulging.
It moved much too fast to react properly—charging right at me. I had less than a second to abandon my plan of attack in exchange for my safety.
I rolled to my right, all elbows and awkwardness, landing with a crunch in a heap of dried leaves and twigs. My bow tumbled out of my hand as I braced on my palms, skinning them with a wince. The arrow I’d nocked flew out of sight.
The wind of the giant hog streamed behind me, nearly blowing my hood off my head.
I popped up onto my knees, hands shaking, swiveling my neck like a turret to try and locate the beast.
It vanished into a bush on the opposite end of the clearing.
My breath came ragged and short, chest thumping with tingling blood.
With the mere seconds I had, mind whirling, I felt blindly on the ground until my fingers touched the well-worn yew of my bow. I abandoned the arrow on the ground and opted for one at my back.
Shit, there’s only two in here! Other arrows must have fallen out when—
