Chapter A Soul of Ash and Blood: YOU’RE AN ABSOLUTELY STUNNING, MURDEROUS LITTLE CREATURE

“You must be the goddess Bele or Lailah given mortal form,” I murmured, thinking I had to be wrong.

There was no way it was her.

The figure spun on one knee, the cloak and flowing out around them as they aimed an arrow right at my head.

Holy shit.

I couldn’t see her features beneath the hood, but I knew it was her. It was the Maiden, out here on the Rise—not in her quarters where she should be—with a godsdamn arrow aimed at my head.

I didn’t know if I should laugh.

Or shout.

Her inhale was audible, but she said nothing as she remained kneeling, and fuck, those fingers holding the arrow didn’t tremble.

“You are…” I sheathed my sword and found myself somewhat speechless, but not for long. “You’re absolutely magnificent. Beautiful.”

I saw a slight reaction from her. Her hooded head turned a fraction of an inch, but that was all.

My mind raced as I eyed her. Clearly, she recognized me, but she likely believed her identity remained unknown, and that was understandable. She had no idea that I could pick out her scent.

My heart was still pumping from adrenaline, but that wasn’t all that had my blood pulsing. I briefly glanced down the Rise. No one was near us, nor would anyone pay attention. Not with the barely controlled chaos on the ground.

I made a quick decision then, deciding to humor her. To see how far she would take this. How far would take this.

And I already knew I often took things way too far.

“The last thing I expected was to find a hooded lady with a talent for archery manning one of the battlements,” I said, a grin tugging at my lips as she remained silent. I extended my hand. “May I be of assistance?”

She didn’t take my hand. Of course, not. But she lowered the bow, switching it to one hand. She said nothing as she motioned for me to back up.

My gods, she really wasn’t going to speak.

I raised a brow as I folded the hand I offered over my chest and moved back. Then, fighting a laugh, I bowed.

She made a soft sound I couldn’t quite decipher as she placed the bow on the ledge below her. I felt her stare as she made her way to the ladder and climbed down.

She hadn’t taken her eyes off me.

And she’d picked up that bow again.

Smart girl.

“You’re a…” I fell silent once more. My eyes narrowed as she slipped the bow her cloak, hooking it to her back.

It was her bow?

What the fuck did she have a bow for?

To kill Craven with, obviously, but that led to my next query. How the fuck did she know how to use a bow to kill a Craven?

Oh, I had so many questions.

The Maiden stepped to the right, making a move to exit the battlement.

I blocked it. “What are you doing up here?”

There was no answer.

Instead, she strode past me with all the haughtiness of a…of a . My lips curled. I’d forgotten I’d called her that at the Red Pearl.

I spun, catching her arm. “I think—”

The Maiden whirled, twisting under my arm. My mouth dropped open. Shock froze me. I didn’t even move as she dipped low behind me and kicked out, sweeping my legs out from under me.

swept legs out from under .

“Fuck,” I gasped, catching myself on the wall to stop my fall. Shock kept rolling through me. I couldn’t believe it.

The Maiden had almost taken my ass down.

who was currently running away from me.

Oh, hell no.

Pushing off the wall, I reached down, unhooking the dagger at my hip. I threw it with precision, catching the back of her cloak. It spun her around and jerked her against the wall. Her hooded head dipped.

I smirked as I prowled toward her. “That wasn’t very nice.”

She gripped the handle of my blade, wrenching it free. To my utter disbelief…and rapidly growing , she flipped the godsdamn dagger like a pro, catching it by the blade.

I halted. “Don’t.”

She threw it right at my face, but I moved fast, catching it by the handle. Half-irritated and half, well, enthralled by her utter audacity, I started walking toward her as I tsked beneath my breath.

She took off once more, running down the narrow, dangerously high Rise while wearing…slippers. She was .

Swallowing a laugh, I launched myself onto the ledge, picking up speed. I was nothing more than a shadow as I passed her from above. I jumped off the ledge, landing in a crouch before her.

She jerked, her feet sliding out from under her. She went down on her hip, and I almost felt bad.

Except she’d thrown a dagger at my .

“Now that really wasn’t nice at all.” I rose as her head jerked to the ledge. “I’m aware that my hair is in need of a trim, but your aim is off. You should really work on that since I’m quite partial to my face.”

I walked up to her and saw she’d gone completely still, and I should’ve known better. I really should have. But a part of my mind hadn’t caught up to what I was seeing yet. What I was learning. And the other half was still enthralled by her actions—by the fire in her.

She kicked out, hitting my lower leg. I grunted at the dull flare of pain as she jumped to her feet, whirling to her right. I went to block her, but the damn vixen darted to the left, playing me like a novice.

And I felt like one just then.

I cut off that path, too.

She wasn’t happy about it. Clearly. Because she spun, kicking out from the folds of her cloak—

Catching her ankle, I held on as the sides of the cloak parted, revealing her bare leg from the knee down. I raised a brow at her. “Scandalous.”

She growled.

The Maiden actually at me.

A laugh burst free—one I couldn’t even hope to stop. “And such dainty little slippers. Satin and silk?” I said. “They’re as finely tailored as your leg. The kind of slipper no guard of the Rise would wear.”

She pulled at my hold.

“Unless they are being outfitted differently than I am.” I dropped her ankle, but I was a quick learner. I caught her arm, yanking her against my chest, leaving no room for her to kick. That was my plan.

Except her scent, all that sweetness, surrounded me, and I felt her body against every part of mine that wasn’t covered by leather and iron. There wasn’t an inch separating us, and the last time I had been this close to such a soft body was…

Damn, it was when I was with her.

A pulse of arousal throbbed through me as I stared at her hooded face, so sudden and intense that I dragged in a breath—

Her scent thickened around me, turning even sweeter, which was really, intriguing.

My head dipped as I lifted my other arm. “You know what I think—?” The warm press of a blade against my throat stopped me.

The Maiden had a knife at my throat.

That damn wolven-bone dagger.

I’d forgotten she had that.

Anger sparked because this was taking things a bit too far, in my honest opinion. It was all fun and games until a blade was at—

A prick of pain stunned me. Not so much because it hurt. It barely did. And not because it silenced my mind. The pain did nothing this time. It was the shock.

She’d drawn blood.

My blood.

Anger faded with the shock as I stared, amusement rising in their places, along with something else. Something far stronger. Lust. Pure, hard, and hot lust. And good gods, I knew that said some fucked-up shit about me. But it wasn’t the pain that got me rock-hard in an instant. Pain never did that for me.

It was her boldness.

Her bravery.

Her skill.

Her utter recklessness and the fire that burned so bright in her.

And I never wanted someone more than I wanted her. Right here.

Dear gods, if she were anyone else, I would act on the arousal I’d picked up from her. I’d have her against the wall and my cock in her so fast, so hard, both our heads would spin. But she wasn’t anyone else.

“Correction,” I said, another laugh leaving me as the blood trickled down my neck. “You’re an absolutely stunning murderous little creature.” I glanced down at the dagger, no longer humoring her by allowing her to think I didn’t recognize her. “Nice weapon. Bloodstone and wolven bone. Very interesting…” I paused. “

.”

Shock went through her like a wave. She jerked the blade back.

I caught her wrist. “You and I have so much to talk about.”

“We have nothing to talk about,” she snapped.

A surge of savage satisfaction went through me. “She speaks! I thought you liked to talk, Princess. Or is that only when you’re at the Red Pearl?”

She went quiet once more.

“You’re not going to pretend that you have no idea what I’m talking about, are you? That you’re not her?”

She pulled at my arm. “Let me go.”

“Oh, I don’t think so.” I turned sharply, pinning her against the wall before she decided to use her free arm against me. I leaned in, all up in her space. “After all we shared? You throw a dagger at my face?”

“All we shared? It was a handful of minutes and a few kisses,” she said, jerking slightly.

“It was more than a few kisses,” I reminded her, glancing at where her breasts rose and fell with her deep breaths. “If you’ve forgotten, I’m more than willing to remind you,” I offered.

The scent of her arousal increased, and my dick answered with an almost painful throb.

Her head lifted. “There was nothing worth remembering.”

Such a little liar. “Now you insult me after throwing a dagger at my face? You’ve wounded my tender feelings.”

“Tender feelings?” She snorted. “Don’t be overdramatic.”

“Hard not to be when you threw a dagger at my and then cut my neck,” I shot back.

“I knew you’d move out of the way.”

“Did you? Is that why you tried to slice open my throat?”

“I your skin,” she countered. “Because you had a hold of me and wouldn’t let go. Obviously, you haven’t learned anything from it.”

“I’ve actually learned a lot, Princess. That’s why your hands and your dagger aren’t getting anywhere near my neck.” I slid my thumb across the inside of her wrist. “But if you let go of the dagger, there’s a whole lot of me I’ll let your hands get close to.”

And I would, too.

In that moment, I’d let her do just about anything.

Except go silent on me.

“How generous of you,” she retorted.

Liquid heat hit my blood, and fuck, there was nothing teasing about how that felt. “Once you get to know me, you’ll find that I can be benevolent.”

Her breath caught. “I have no intention of getting to know you.”

“So, you just make a habit of sneaking into the rooms of young men and seducing them before running off?”

“What?” she gasped. “Seducing men?”

“Isn’t that what you did to me, Princess?” I moved my thumb back and forth over her wrist.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“What I am is .” And I truly was.

She groaned, pulling at my hold. “Why do you insist on holding me like this?”

“Well, besides what we went over already, which is the whole being partial to my face my neck thing, you’re also somewhere you’re not supposed to be. I’m doing my job by detaining and questioning you.”

“Do you typically question those on the Rise who you don’t recognize like this?” she asked. “What an odd method of interrogation.”

“Only pretty ladies with shapely, bare legs.” I leaned into her, amused that she thought I didn’t connect her and the Red Pearl with her being the Maiden. “What are you doing up here during a Craven attack?”

“Enjoying a relaxing evening stroll.”

I grinned. “What were you doing up here, Princess?”

“What did it look like I was doing?”

“It looked like you were being incredibly foolish and reckless,” I said.

“Excuse me?” Disbelief filled her voice. “How reckless was I being when I killed Craven and—”

“Am I unaware of a new recruitment policy where half-dressed ladies in cloaks are now needed on the Rise?” I asked. “Are we that desperately in need of protection?”

“Desperate?” The disbelief was gone in that one word. Now, there was anger. “Why would my presence on the Rise signal desperation when, as you’ve seen, I know how to use a bow? Oh, wait. Is it because I happen to have breasts?”

My brows shot up. “I’ve known women with far less beautiful breasts that could cut a man down without so much as blinking an eye, but none of those women are here in Masadonia. And you are incredibly skilled. Not just with an arrow. Who taught you how to fight and use a dagger?”

Silence.

“I’m willing to bet it was the same person who gave you that blade,” I wagered. “Too bad whoever they are didn’t teach you how to evade capture. Well, too bad for , that is.”

That got a reaction from her.

She brought up her knee, aiming for a rather cherished part of my body.

I blocked the blow before she had me talking several octaves higher. “You’re so incredibly violent.” I paused. “I think I like it.”

“Let me go!” she demanded.

“And be kicked or stabbed?” Sensing she was about to do the former again, I thrust my leg between hers, preventing just that. “We’ve already covered that, Princess. More than once.”

She lifted her hips off the wall, and I thought she was attempting to throw me back. No, I what she was trying to do. It was a smart move, actually.

But that wasn’t what she got.

She ended up basically my thigh, and I wasn’t complaining. Not at all. Except the arousal thundering through me left me a little off-kilter. It was too damn intense. Too quick. Like if she kept it up, I may do something I hadn’t done since I was a young man and find release in my pants without even being touched.

And, damn, that was…

I didn’t know what that was.

It made the floor of the Rise feel like it was shifting as I lowered my cheek to her hooded head. Rattled by my response and her—everything, I said, “I came back for you that night. Just like I told you I would. I came back for you, and you weren’t there. You promised me, Princess.”

Her inhale was soft. A faint tremor went through her. “I…I couldn’t.”

“Couldn’t?” I let my eyes close for a moment, and that was foolish. She’d likely headbutt me, but I liked that soft breath and those quiet words. “I have a feeling that if there’s something you want badly enough, nothing will stop you.”

She laughed, and it was cold and hard. My eyes opened. “You know nothing,” she said.

I thought she was right about that.

“Maybe.” I let go, but before she moved, I slipped my hand inside her hood and cupped her right cheek. She gasped as I let myself soak in the feel of her warm skin against mine, just for a moment. “Maybe I know more than you realize.”

She was still.

She didn’t pull away.

That pleased me. Immensely. Except she likely didn’t realize that I knew the two versions of her. The curious, responsive young woman with a surprising knack for fighting, and the quiet, submissive Maiden in white. Or she was going to pretend that I didn’t know she was one and the same.

I wouldn’t allow that.

I pressed my cheek to the left side of her hood. “Do you really think I have no idea who you are?”

She tensed against me.

Yep. I was right.

I smiled. “You have nothing to say to that?” I dropped my voice to a whisper. “

?”

She exhaled loudly. A moment passed, one she used to sharpen that tongue of hers. “Are you just now figuring that out? If so, I’m concerned about you being one of my personal guards.”

I chuckled. “I knew the moment you removed the veil.” I’d known before then, but she couldn’t know that.

“Why…why didn’t you say something then?”

“To you?” I asked. “Or to the Duke?”

“Either,” she whispered.

“I wanted to see if you’d bring it up. Apparently, you were just going to pretend that you’re not the same girl who frequents the Red Pearl.”

“I don’t frequent the Red Pearl,” she said. “But I hear you do.”

“Have you been asking about me? I’m flattered.”

“I haven’t.”

“I’m not sure if I can believe you. You tell a lot of lies, Princess.”

“Don’t call me that,” she snapped.

“I like it better than what I’m supposed to call you.

.” Fuck if that wasn’t the truth. “You have a name. It’s not that.”

“I didn’t ask for what you liked,” she told me.

“But you did ask why I didn’t tell the Duke about your little explorations,” I countered. “Why would I do that? I’m your guard. If I were to betray you, then you wouldn’t trust me, and that would definitely make my job of keeping you safe much harder.”

Her head tilted slightly. A few more moments passed. “As you can see, I can keep myself safe.”

“I see that.” I drew back, brows furrowed, and then I remembered what Vikter had said.

“Hawke!” Pence called, causing me to stiffen. “Everything okay up there?”

My gaze flicked down, making sure the hood was still in place before I yelled back, “Everything is fine.”

“You need to let me go,” she whispered. “Someone is bound to come up here—”

“And catch you? Force you to reveal your identity?” I said. “Maybe that would be a good thing.”

She sucked in a sharp breath. “You said you wouldn’t betray me—”

“I said I betray you, but that was before I knew you would do something like this. My job would be so much easier if I didn’t have to worry about you sneaking out to fight the Craven…or meet random men in places like the Red Pearl,” I reasoned, mostly to myself. “And who knows what else you do when all believe you’re safely ensconced in your chambers.”

“I—”

“I imagine that once I brought it to the Duke’s and Duchess’s attention, your penchant for arming yourself with a bow and climbing to the Rise would be one less thing I had to worry about.”

“You have no idea what he’d do if you went to him. He’d—” She went silent.

I locked up. “He’d what?”

She lifted her chin. “It doesn’t matter. Do what you feel you need to do.”

I had no intention of telling the Duke anything. I’d only been messing with her. Mostly. “You better hurry back to your chambers, Princess.” I stepped back. I had more questions, but they’d have to wait. “We’ll have to finish this conversation later.”