Back then, understandably, the girl had been terrified of her own shadow.

The first time she’d officially met Hauk, Thia had burst into tears and run off to a closet to hide. It’d been a good three months before she’d finally stopped trembling in his presence. Almost a year before he could hug her.

And he’d sworn to her that he would die for her protection.

He held his hand out toward her to reassure her that his anger was under control, and would never be directed at her. “You know I’d never hurt you, baby.”

She moved to hug him. “I know.” She gave him a fierce squeeze. “Love you, Uncle Hauk.”

“Love you, too, precious.” He kissed her cheek. “Why don’t you go oversee Darice while he attempts to poison us?”

She laughed. “I’ve never seen anyone more inept at food preparation. It’s really quite impressive… in a very sad sort of way.”

“Yes, it is.” He watched as she left him alone with his hostage.

And while he would never say or do anything to hurt or scare Thia, this assassin didn’t fall under his protection. Wounded or not, she would answer his questions or feel the full wrath of the warrior who wouldn’t hesitate to make her bleed until she spilled her guts to him, or he spilled them at her feet.

CHAPTER 5

Sumi came awake to the sound of female laughter. For a mere instant, she was again a girl at home with her sister, lying on her bed while they traded stories of hopes and dreams.

But as her gaze focused on a tan cloth wall, she realized that she wasn’t at home. She was in a strange tent. And that wasn’t the sound of her older sister’s voice.

Omira was long dead, and she…

Her eyes widened as the pain in her body hit her and she remembered what she’d been ordered to do. Why she was here.

She’d been assigned a target, and had been attacked by something huge.

The laughter outside ended in a fierce curse. “I swear, Darice, if you don’t learn to pick up your dirty underwear and stow it properly, I’m going to choke you with it! I mean it! You’re so disgusting! Ugh!”

What in the Nine Worlds?

Sumi ground her teeth against the pain and rolled over. But as soon as she realized she wasn’t alone in the tent and her gaze focused on the other occupant, she froze in stark terror.

Holy gods. He was absolutely huge! While she’d seen that on the monitors, seeing it and being close enough to be dwarfed by him was an entirely different experience. He practically took up the entire tent.

No male should ever have shoulders so broad. Nor a scowl so fierce. For that matter, one of those beefy biceps had to be bigger around than her entire waist… and she wasn’t skinny. Dressed in the black and brown leather of an Andarion desert nomad, he made a ferocious sight with his braids pulled back from his face and secured by a leather tie at the nape of his neck. From the short leather epaulettes of his shirt, thick leather straps were wound around both arms and held more weapons than she’d ever seen on a dozen soldiers, never mind one male. His large hands were covered with black leather fingerless gloves, and an ancient Andarion battle sword was sheathed and strapped across his back.