A Battle Lord’s Heart Read Free Page B

together they
headed for the back of the compound.
     

Chapter
Two
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                The men who were already on the
field readily relinquished it to her when Atty arrived at the range. However,
that didn’t keep them from backing away a respectful distance to watch. After
news of what had happened yesterday, they were more than a little bit curious
to see how she would fare at practice today, and wondering if they would
witness another debacle.
                The first target was a mere thirty
yards away, but it was farther away than the one she’d twice missed the day
before. The day she had finally admitted to herself, to Liam, and to her
husband that she carried their future in her womb. Atty stared at the target, unmoving,
for a full minute.
                Moving over to where his men were
standing, Yulen crossed his arms to watch. He knew she still had her skills.
When the Blood army had almost managed to ambush them, she had been carrying
their child, and it hadn’t interfered with her abilities. No, yesterday was a
fluke, but a fluke she had to be prepared for in case it happened again. Yulen
hoped that it wouldn’t happen when he most desperately needed her bow for their
protection.
                A slight wind gusted over the field.
Atty lowered her head and closed her eyes. Faint noises from the compound and
market wafted over to them, but they weren’t loud enough to break her
concentration. Yulen realized she was centering herself, trying to find that
inner calm from where she drew her unerring eye. Behind him the men also seemed
to notice, and one man whispered, “I wouldn’t doubt if she’s telling the babe
to settle down so she can make the shot.”
                Yulen chuckled. Neither would he.
                There were less than a handful of
people standing at the outer edge of the circle marking the circumference of
the practice field, but more were slowly climbing up the small rise to join
them. Silence sat over the stretch of dead grass.
                Suddenly, Atty lifted her head and
grabbed an arrow out of the little barrel beside her. In one smooth flow she
nocked and fired. As if guided by a wire, the barb buried itself in the direct
center of the red bull’s eye.
                Snatching another arrow from the
barrel, she began to walk toward Yulen and the group of men standing at the edge
of the field.   Yulen instantly knew what
she intended, and he mentally began to tick off the additional yards:
five...ten...twelve.
                She whirled, without even aiming,
and fired the next arrow. The first arrow now became two halves as the second
one split it cleanly apart. Atty was back in full force.  
                Yulen let out a low whistle. She
heard his appreciation and turned around to give him a wink. Returning to the
barrel, she grabbed two more arrows, nocked one, and placed the other in her
teeth. This time she gave the target another good stare before she turned her
back on it and closed her eyes. Slowly, gradually, she raised the bow and
turned it sideways, aiming it behind her. The sub-lieutenant beside Yulen
gasped. “She’s going to attempt to hit it for memory? ”
                The wind gusted again. Atty waited
for it to die down. The bow lowered slightly as she adjusted, remembering how
it felt, the position of her arms and hands, the tension on the string. Her
eyes remained closed.
                Everyone held their breaths. They’d
all seen blindfolded shots before, but those had been nothing more than
trickery. They were never meant to be actual, honest attempts.
                Yulen didn’t know he was holding his
breath as well until she released the arrow. A heartbeat later, she nocked the second
arrow she’d been holding in her teeth and let it fly directly behind the first
one.
                The crowd gasped.