‘Something else is bothering you as well, but I’m not sure what it is.’
Should I tell him that no customer is coming to pick up the last set of armour because it’s for me?I added it to the orders weeks ago.
‘Is it Millie?’Cillian squeezed my shoulders.
The sight of Millie being dragged down the street by those two men flashed through my mind.‘Do you think they will hang her after the tournament?’
Cillian sighed.‘I don’t know.’
I rested my head on his shoulder.
‘Do you regret last night?’Cillian murmured into my hair.
I lifted my head to see his face.
‘I shouldn’t have kissed you last night.We had been drinking …’ He frowned.‘I’d been thinking about kissing you for weeks.You are the most extraordinary woman, and your lips …’ His eyes lowered to my mouth, then he shook his head.‘I was wrong to –’
I cut him off, pressing a finger to his lips.‘It was a perfect first kiss.I would never have imagined a kiss could make me feel so much.’
Cillian’s frown disappeared and his face lit up with a cocky grin.I elbowed him, but he only pulled me closer as we looked out at the narrow street together.
Lord Warwick’s tournament had brought prosperity to the inhabitants of Murus.The deliveries to Warwick Fortress had been non-stop all week, and a great deal of coin was being spent on this event.
Two horses were pulling a man and his cart up the hill towards the fortress gates, and I noticed a couple of the large barrels piled onto the cart were coming loose from their bindings.Before I could shout a warning, both barrels crashed to the street.They rolled downthe hill, picking up speed.Walking up the hill were the mother and daughter who sold honey cakes at the market.The little girl saw us and waved with a bright smile.
There was no time for them to move out of the way.
‘Caris!NO!’Cillian yelled as I broke away to stand in the path of the barrels.
The mother screamed, shielding her child behind her skirts.
I cast my hands in front of me and focused on the barrels, willing the Darkness building inside me to intercept them.
A wind rose, whipping my braid across my face.My fingers tingled, and dark, shadowy ropes seeped from my gloved hands, swirling around the barrels.Everything grew still and quiet as the barrels wrapped in shadows hovered in the air before me.
The Darkness triggered an urge in my trembling arms, and I brought my hands together.With a clap, both barrels disintegrated into ash.Then, I was struggling for air – my arms falling listlessly to my sides as I breathed heavily.
Barrel ash rained down around me.It had all happened so fast that I almost wouldn’t have believed it had it not been for the sting of the ash in my eyes.
Cillian ran over to help the terrified mother and child, who were on their knees, clinging to each other.The wind whipped up, dispersing what was left of the ash.
The man driving the cart jumped down and walked to the back of his wagon, searching for the missing barrels.
‘Go inside, Caris!’Cillian shouted.
The man scratched his head in confusion before returning to his wagon.
A young soldier stood a few feet outside the fortress gates, staring at me with wide eyes.
‘Caris, go inside, please!’Cillian stopped at the forge to take a hammer from the wall, then began to walk towards the young soldier.
‘I’ll take care of it.Just get off the street,’ Cillian murmured out of the corner of his mouth.
I was vibrating from head to toe.I had let the Darkness out again, and now Cillian would have to kill a soldier to keep my secret.
Stumbling into the shop, I felt painful memories claw to the surface, dragging me back to that day.
I stood in the tiny two-room cottage, shaken with all the feelings I could no longer contain.My mother, small and beautiful, lay curled up next to my father, holding his hand, sobbing quietly against his broad shoulder.
