Out of Time

Chapter 17

Dani swung at Lancelot, but he parried with a bone jarring impact.

"Again," he said, readying himself and stepping to the side, circling her.

She kept him to her front, which is why she saw Arleigh storming across the bailey, determination darkening her features.

"Oh shit." Dani dropped the sword, and made a mad dash in the opposite direction.

Lately, Arleigh and Alden had been fussing over her like mother hens. Arleigh had left her alone once she'd put some weight on, but something had her back at it, fussing at her to eat more, even trying to nag her into taking more breaks to eat. And somehow Alden had become a coconspirator to her.

He cast dark looks her way almost every time their eyes met, meaningful looks that needed no translation. Alden disliked her hiding her gender, her not telling anyone about the attack. And knowing she was a woman only seemed to bring out all his protective instincts.

Dani ran right into someone in her attempt to escape Arleigh. Speak of the devil, she thought as she looked up.

Alden glared, looked past her, and grabbed her by her tunic, dragging her back to the keep, as he'd done for the last few meals now.

"I can walk."

"Yes. You demonstrated that quite well, but your sense of direction could use some work."

#

Innes stood in the shadows, cloaked in a natural magic sensed only by Fae. Being surrounded by humans unnerved her, but she took a small comfort in the fact they couldn't see her. In the distance, her savior sparred with a man, much to her surprise. She'd not expected to search out Dani Carpenter, as she'd discovered was the name of her savior, only to find the woman fighting like a man. It was one thing to use a bow, another entirely to use a sword.

Of course, the Fae were not so narrow minded on gender roles. But then, magic had a way of leveling the playing field quite a bit. Physical strength meant little when confronted with magic.

Innes held her breath as Dani froze, then dashed in the opposite direction. She almost followed, intent of coming to her aid, before she realized there was no threat. She smiled, chuckling to herself as Dani ran straight into a man who dragged her back to the keep as a woman caught up and started nattering at her about something or other.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught movement. Turning to look, she watched as a young man watched her savior as well before following Dani inside. Innes' mouth dropped open a little, running dry, as she took him in. Though he looked very young, she could sense the years on him, could feel how they dragged at his psyche.

He turned briefly, and she caught a glimpse of his face. Handsome, and the fact that he clearly fretted over the girl had to be a good sign.

As he turned to follow Dani, she decided she needed to know more about him.

Who was he?

#

Dani sat at the tables between Alden and Arleigh. She played with the pendant around her neck as she pretended to eat, but the duo weren't easily fooled. She ate more than she wanted to because it was hard to distract them both at the same time.

And really, only Alden seemed distractible. Unfortunately, distracting him wasn't the best idea. She kept having to restrain him from trying to hit Mordred. A challenge considering every time he smirked at her, she had to grit her teeth to keep from walking across the room and punching him herself.