The shot was perfect—a clear line aimed at a still target.He drew back the bowstring, exhaled slowly, and prepared to release.
But something was wrong.
He couldn't place it at first.It was just a feeling prickling at the back of his neck that meant he was being watched.But he was the watcher.He was the hunter.His eyes had left his target, so he looked down once more.
A sudden pain spread through his spine.
A piece of wood protruded from his gut.
Driven up through his torso with enough force to pierce lung and heart and spine.He opened his mouth to scream, but only blood came out.
Below, the stream was empty.
The man was gone.
The assailant's body toppled from the branch, crashing through leaves and branches before landing on the bank.He stared up at the sky, unseeing, as a figure emerged from the shadows behind him.
The man from the stream stood there, naked, water still dripping from his tanned skin.He pushed his long black hair out of his face, revealing eyes that could only mean one thing—Death.
The man looked at the body, then the bloodied branch in his hand."Amateurs," he muttered.Then he turned and walked back towards his camp.
Nyraxa’s tent flap opened; she looked up from her letters as the man entered—naked except for a cloth wrapped around his waist, water still beading on his skin.His long black hair was pushed back, revealing the sharp lines of his face and the extensive scars that marked his body.
She tsked, shaking her head in disapproval."Bathing at this hour, Great Khan?"she asked mildly."Risky."
He crossed to a trunk in the corner of the tent, opening it to reveal clothing."How many?"
"One, outside my tent."
"Three in the trees.One by the stream.One by the horse lines."He began to dress, pulling on his robes."Kasimir is handling the rest."
Nyraxa set down her letter."Sisi's people?"
"Who else?"His voice was flat."She doesn't give up easily."
"I would be a little disappointed if she did."
If Sisi was anything, she was persistent; for the last five years, she had made it a mission to kill the Great Khan, finding him a thorn in her flesh, one she could not allow to exist.From the young age of thirteen, she had understood that the man who stood in her path was not her brother—the Crowned Prince of the Kuraltai—but her father's successor, the rising warlord to the north.
Ragnar fastened his sash, then reached for the black mask that lay waiting in the trunk, two horns curving back from its temples.He fastened it over his face, hiding everything but his dark eyes.
When he turned back to Nyraxa, he was no longer a man bathing in a stream.He was the Great Khan of the Valthorne tribe.The Warlord.The Punishment of Ukhel made flesh.
Ragnar Valthorne.
A man so badly cursed that his curse extended to his bride; anyone who dared marry him would die on their wedding night.So far, five women had lost their lives, each tale more gruesome than the next, all on the night they were to wed.
"Poison.Assassination.A 'tragic accident' with a horse.Two that no one could explain."Nyraxa leaned back on her cushions."I wonder how this one will die."
Ragnar pulled on his boots, declining to answer.
“Sisi might not be able to reach you here, or she might already have planned the next woman’s death.There is truly no way to tell.”
Ragnar stood, fully dressed."The Borjigin offered a bride.Why would I not take it?They know of the fate that befell the others.If they want to throw away their daughter, who am I to stop them?"He paused; they both understood they were being offered something he needed most in exchange for political leverage and permission to use his name for their own protection.Ragnar didn't mind; a Khatun was necessary for a growing tribe—that much was clear."The reports say she's reasonably beautiful."
Nyraxa's lips curved."I suppose every man wants a beautiful woman to warm their bed.You know you don’t have to wait for a wife?I can always send you one of my girls."
“No need," Ragnar grunted.He did not need a bed warmer, nor did he want an assassin in his bed that could gut him in an instant if her mistress were displeased."She doesn't need to be educated or smart.She can learn.As long as she can be loyal to the Valthorne, that's enough."
