He ran his hands through his hair. “This is what I mean. We have to stop bickering.”

Reid hesitated. Ackley had told his siblings about being a Knight. She could probably tell Dexter. At least he knew how to keep a secret. “I agree. But one of us has to go first, and we are both too stubborn.”

“Of all the women my parents could pick from, they chose you!” He stalked back to camp, shaking his head and mumbling the entire time.

“Trust me,” she called, “the feeling is mutual.”

The next day, neither Reid nor Dexter spoke as they made their way east toward the palace. Reid yawned, exhausted from not having slept well. Not only was the leather armor vest uncomfortable to sleep in, but so was the particularly rocky ground Dexter had chosen to make camp on for the night.

“There’s something blocking the road up ahead,” a soldier in front said. “Looks like a wagon.”

“The two of you in back, go see what it is,” Dexter ordered.

They immediately veered off, then headed toward the wagon.

“Looks like the wheel came off,” Reid said, halting her horse. “Strange it’s angled across the road, not pushed to the side instead.”

“Agreed,” Dexter mumbled, scanning the trees on either side of the road. “Let’s backtrack and go around just to be safe.”

Reid nudged her horse to turn it around just as a whistle rang through the air. A dozen men burst from the back of the wagon, bows and arrows in hand. The two soldiers who went to investigate withdrew their swords. The men raised their loaded bows, arrows striking the soldiers before Reid could even blink.

“Ride low,” Dexter commanded as he positioned his body alongside his horse’s neck.

Reid did the same, urging her horse faster to keep up. The two remaining soldiers rode close behind them. A hiss cut through the air, followed by two sickening thuds. One of the soldiers cried out. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw arrows protruding from both soldiers’ backs. One fell from his horse while the other slumped forward, barely hanging on. More arrows sailed through the air, aimed at Reid and Dexter.

Terror filled her. They wouldn’t be out of range for another twenty seconds—more than enough time for another round of arrows to find them. Something hit her back, the force almost knocking her from the saddle. She clung to her horse, realizing an arrow must have struck her. Her mother’s armor had saved her life.

Dexter wasn’t quite as lucky. An arrow protruded from his left arm. He broke the arrow off, tossing it on the ground. Blood soaked his sleeve.