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Dipping my hand in the cold water, I splash it on my face. Then, cupping my hands, I drink deeply. The Elderman did attempt to give me his waterskin, but I refused it, though I know that depriving myself of water, like tossing myself from his horse, will do little good if I’m to get back to Cettina.

Surely Whitley will have been captured by now. My sister’s men were everywhere and appeared to have been prepared for the attack somehow. Though no thanks to me. If so, they will know of my husband’s involvement. But what if he is able to convince them of his innocence? I must get back to her, to tell Cettina all that I know. Edingham is no friend to Meria, but neither would the queen ever attack innocent villagers. Nay, Whitley attempted to provoke a war between our kingdoms, and Cettina must be told all that I’ve learned.

Standing, I look toward the small fire. Even summer nights are not immune to cool temperatures, and as the sun begins to set, the warmth of that fire calls to me. Turning toward it, knowing I’d not make it far alone, without a horse, in woods I do not know, I walk back to the makeshift camp.

The smell of roasted rabbit hits me as I approach.

It seems unlikely I shall be raped, or killed, by this Elderman. No Shadow Warrior would contemplate such a thing, if the stories are to be believed. They are the church’s warriors. Highly skilled, thanks to the best training on the Isle. No tales of their cruelty, thankfully, have reached my ears.

On the other hand, he took me against my will. And is a man who could easily overpower me, more so than most. Even so, running now will yield me little.

“How did you know I’d not run away?” I ask, approaching the fire. Still hooded, the Elderman sits with his back to me. Unsurprisingly, he does not answer.

Although I do not wish to be near him, I find myself moving toward the log he’s clearly positioned as a makeshift seat for me.

“What kind of man takes a woman against her will,” I ask, sitting, “and then fetches a seat for her near the fire?”

No answer. Damn the man.

“Do you ever take that thing down?” I ask, darkness descending quickly, making him appear even more ominous than usual.

I could not be more astonished when he reaches for his hood. Without comment, of course. At times I wonder if he hears me. But clearly he does now, and when the Elderman lowers the cowl, I lean forward, not trusting my own vision.

Firelight flickers across his features, a square jaw set as I’d imagined given his lack of speech. His lips pursed. His eyes, though I cannot discern their color, light and piercing. His hair tied back at the nape of his neck.

Cold. Emotionless.

Exceedingly handsome, and not at all what I’d expect an Elderman to look like. Certainly, he is no elder. Perhaps just a handful of years older than I? He’s not seen more than thirty and five summers, if that many.

He turns from me, returning his attention to the rabbit roasting at the end of his stick. Is his efficiency any surprise? While I managed to get a drink and wash my face, the Elderman caught dinner and started a fire.

“Why did you take me?” I try again, not expecting an answer, somehow more unsettled now that his face has been revealed.

“Why were you in Craighcebor this morn?”

“Why were you?” I counter. If ever I wished I were my sister, now is that time. She is the only woman I know with the ability to intimidate a Shadow Warrior. But I am not Cettina.

Tis why she is queen, and I am the wife of a man such as Whitley.

“You snatch me from—”

“Precisely what did I snatch you from? What were you doing cowering in that blacksmith’s shop?”

This is a man accustomed to getting answers. I owe him nothing, and yet . . . a prickling of fear that had been mostly absent these past few hours returns.

He is a Shadow Warrior, Hilla. No man on this isle is deadlier than he. Do not let him lull you into believing you are safe.

“The battle,” I say as if my answer is so obvious that he should not have had to ask it. I will give him no more than that.

“Why were you there?” He twists the rabbit around, and my mouth begins to water. I’ve had nothing to eat this day.

I summon the courage that Cettina would surely have if she were sitting on this log. Raising my chin, I tense, prepared to accept the consequences of my words.

“I will answer no more of your questions, Elderman. Not until you tell me why I am here.”

He looks at me for so long, my hands begin to shake. I tuck them under the folds of my riding gown to hide them, but he no doubt notices.

The man sees everything.