If the kingdom of Axian treated women as equals, then she should be able to do as she wished without needing her future husband’s permission. When she’d met Nara, the princess had on leather armor. Reid doubted the warrior woman sat around the palace knitting all day.

“Why are you smiling?” Markis asked. “Am I missing something?”

“I’m going to be able to be a woman in public, dress as I want, and work.” The part about her having to marry—especially a man she didn’t care for—she’d locked in a box to be dealt with at another time. For now, she would focus on the positive.

He leaned back, his hands hitting his bow.

“Can you teach me to shoot?” Her father had taught her years ago. However, she’d never taken to the bow and much preferred swords.

“Once you’re settled in, come find me at the military compound. I’ll take you to the range there to practice.”

“Couldn’t you teach me now?”

“Oh.” He glanced around. “Sure.”

Reid jumped to her feet, pulling Markis up alongside her.

He picked up his bow and quiver. “Let’s move farther away from everyone.” A cluster of boulders stood about fifty yards to the east. They headed that way. “We’ll use the moss on that boulder as our target,” he said, handing Reid the bow.

She observed the mossy mound, about a foot in diameter, which clung to the side of the boulder.

“Here’s an arrow. Do you know how to nock it?”

“Yes.” She took it, placed it in the bow, and aimed.

“Don’t release the arrow,” he warned. “I just want you to get a feel for holding the bow and aiming it correctly.”

The bowstring was tighter than she remembered, and she had difficulty drawing it.

“It’s a little big for you,” Markis said as he adjusted her arm a little higher.

Someone approached them. However, Reid kept her focus on the moss, not caring to talk to anyone besides Markis at the moment.

“The commander wants you two to remain with everyone else,” Gytha called from where she’d stopped about twenty feet away.

“We’ll be right there,” Markis responded.

He put his right hand on Reid’s back, then placed his left hand under her elbow, adjusting the bow slightly. “You want to make sure your dominant eye is aligned with your arrow.”

While it felt as if he’d raised her left arm too high, when she looked down the arrow at the target, she could see it was aimed at the center of the moss. “Got it.”

He let his hands drop to his sides. “When we’re at the palace, you can join me at the archery range to practice.”

“I’d like that.” She lowered the bow, then handed it back to him.