Page 68 of A House of Fangs & Deceit

“No.” I shook my head. “You’re drawing across your chest and if you do that, it’s going to mess with your motion and impact your aim. Everything about the draw and release should be smooth.”

With a quick, practiced motion, I fired the bow without breaking eye contact with him. Alaric’s eyes flicked toward the target, and he let out a sharp exhale.

The rangers who were still watching us from the sidelines let out loud whoops and clapped their hands. I dipped into a dramatic curtsy in their direction while holding the bow out to the side.

“How did you get so good at this?” Alaric murmured. I handed the bow over to him, and he accepted it gingerly.

“Practice. Lots and lots of practice.” I grinned. “I’ve always had good hand-eye coordination. My preference will always bethrowing daggers, but bows are more practical. They shoot farther and do more damage. Rynn is an excellent shot, better than me. We had a bit of a competition going while we were at Drudonia.”

Alaric grunted. “You? Competitive? Shocking.”

“Right?” I took a few steps back and gestured for him to take my spot, so he was aligned with the target. “Whatisshocking is that Cali is an absolutely terrible shot. Her best chance of hitting anything is to just throw the bow, and even then, she’d probably miss.”

He let out a low, deep laugh that made my toes curl. Fuck, had I never heard him laugh before?

What the hell was wrong with me? I reminded myself firmly that Alaric and I were adversaries, and I was just helping him out because he had looked so pathetic.

I watched as he took up the neutral stance exactly as I’d shown him and raised the bow.

“Not too tight,” I reminded him. He nodded curtly and flexed his fingers before letting them rest on the bow with a much gentler grip. “Good,” I said in approval.

He started to raise the bow, and I ducked behind him, gently guiding his elbow. “Elbow up a little higher. Remember, you should be using your back muscles, not your arms. Don’t fire yet. Let’s practice drawing a couple of times.”

I moved around him, correcting his positioning, and made him go through the motions a few times.

“This time, when you draw, brush your knuckles against your jawline and then hold just beneath your earlobe. Having anchor points is important to have a reliable aim. Those are the ones I use, but you might find you like something else.”

Alaric was looking at me oddly as he held his stance and posture.

The turquoise fractures in his eyes had widened slightly, and I glanced down, realizing that I was resting my hand on his arm and standing intimately close.

Warmth rushed to my cheeks, and I let him go as I took a step back. I’d gotten so used to touching him over the past ten minutes that I didn’t even think about it.

“Right,” I said quickly. “Try it now and remember your breathing.”

For a few seconds, he just stared at me with the same heated expression he’d held when he caught me and Kieran in the hot springs before turning his attention to the target.

I let out a breath once his attention was off me. Whatever this weird attraction thing was between us was confusing and unwelcome.

Maybe my libido was just trying to make up for lost time and, therefore, wasn’t making rational decisions.

Alaric drew back slowly and carefully, just like we had practiced, and then let the arrow fly. It gave a satisfyingthunkas it sank into the target. A wide smile spread across his face as the rangers cheered and before I could think better of it, I threw my arms around his neck in a hug.

“I knew you could do it!” He froze beneath me, and I panicked, drawing back quickly. “Sorry! Got a little too excited.”

Alaric opened his mouth. “I—”

“There you both are!” Kieran said loudly as he strode across the courtyard, leading his favorite gelding behind him. “I’m just about to head out. Adrienne and Emil are going to escort me. I’ll be back in a few weeks, but I’ll send messages if I find out anything good. Try not to kill each other while I’m gone, eh?”

Alaric and I stared awkwardly at each other before quickly looking away. When he made no move to say anything, I finally cleared my throat. “We’ll be fine. Promise.”

“Of course you will!” Kieran beamed before pulling us both into a crushing hug. I was plastered against both men andfound that I really didn’t hate the feeling of it as much as I should.

“Well, then.” I detangled myself from Kieran’s embrace and backed up a couple of steps. “Safe travels!”

“Yes,” Alaric said in an equally desperate tone. “That. Safe travels.”

Both of us fled the courtyard in opposite directions, leaving Kieran to see himself out.

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