Chapters (46)
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-one
- Twenty-two
- Twenty-three
- Twenty-four
- Twenty-five
- Twenty-six
- Twenty-seven
- Twenty-eight
- Twenty-nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-one
- Thirty-two
- Thirty-three
- Thirty-four
- Thirty-five
- Thirty-six
- Thirty-seven
- Thirty-eight
- Thirty-nine
- Forty
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
As Kyra’s captor stared at her face, the world resolved into details—his eyes, wide with shock and recognition, the insignia on his tunic that marked him as a knight, and the circle of guards that killed any remaining hope of escape. A chill wind blew across her forehead, still damp with sweat. Kyra shivered. When was the last time someone had seen her face on a job? She might as well have been naked.
In her mind’s eye, she saw Bella and the girls, eating lunch while the assassins watched. The image fueled her strength and she twisted in the knight’s grasp, freeing a leg and thrusting her knee into his abdomen. He grunted and she scrambled out from under him.
Then the guards closed in. Two sets of hands seized her and hauled her to her feet. Pain shot through her shoulder as someone shackled her wrists behind her. She cried out and kicked her heel into the shin of the guard behind her. He swore and loosened his grip, but didn’t let go. Then another Red Shield drew a dagger and pressed the point to her throat, daring her to move again. She didn’t.
The knight who’d captured her stood and dusted himself off, still breathing hard from the struggle. His jaw was set in anger, but his eyes were uncertain. Kyra stared back at him. Did he recognize that she’d rescued him in the marketplace? Would he be grateful?
He signaled to the guards. “Take her to the interrogation room. Careful, she’s vicious.”
The world went dark as someone threw a hood over her head. Rough hands patted her down and tore away her belt pouch. Someone shoved her from behind, barking a command to move, and Kyra stumbled forward to keep from falling on her face. The hood was stifling and there wasn’t enough air. They marched her down a cobblestone path, then into a building and down a flight of stairs. There they finally pulled the hood from her face and she gulped in a fresh breath.
She had never been inside an interrogation room before. The stone-walled chamber was bare except for a table and four chairs. There were no windows; the only light came from a single flickering oil lamp. Her guards led her past the table and pushed her into a chair. The clank of her shackles echoed through the room as a guard fastened Kyra’s chains to a ring on the floor. Then most of the soldiers left, leaving two to watch her.