Page 1 of Bride of Fire
Chapter 1
Rivenloch, The Borders, Scotland
Autumn, 1155
“This is war,” Jenefer du Lac declared, clutching the grip of the longbow in her fist, drawing back the sinew, and firing.
“Is it?” her cousin Hallidis argued, lifting a skeptical blonde brow. “Because I distinctly remember our parents saying something about going to the king bearing honey, not vinegar.”
“That wasyourmother,” Jenefer said drily, eyeing the straw target. She’d hit it dead center. Again. Nodding in satisfaction, she gestured for Hallie to take her shot. “Mymother would never stand for—”
“Yourmother,” Hallie bit out, nocking her arrow and raising herself to her full height, two infuriating inches taller than Jenefer, “isn’t the Laird of Rivenloch.”
Her bow twanged, and the shaft hit three full inches to the left of Jenefer’s.
Jenefer smiled in self-assurance and tossed her tawny braid over her shoulder. “Deirdre may be laird,” she scoffed, plucking another arrow from her quiver, “but when it comes to battle, she doesn’t have half the ballocks thatmy—”
“Mymother saved Rivenloch from the English,” Hallie reminded her.
“Which would have been impossible,” Jenefer fired back, loading her bow, “withoutmymother Helena commanding the—”
“Oh, for the love of Freya! Will you two stop your bloody squabbling?”
The reprimand, coming from their heretofore quiet cousin, Feiyan, rang out across Rivenloch’s deserted archery range and startled them to silence.
Feiyan tucked her dark hair behind her ear and checked for witnesses before continuing in softly urgent tones. “We’ve no time to waste, cousins. We need to act before that scheming Highlander settles in and it becomes impossible to get rid of him. But Hallie’s right. This may call for stealth instead of warfare.”
“Stealth?” That got Jenefer’s attention. Forgetting their argument, she gasped and seized Hallie’s arm. “Oh, Hallie, please tell me you’ve dug a secret tunnel.” She drew scheming brows together. “One that leads straight from Rivenloch to that High-and-mighty-lander’s courtyard.”
“A tunnel, Jen?” Hallie rolled her ice-blue eyes. “When would I have had time to dig a tunnel?”
“’Twould have to be miles long,” Feiyan said.
“And we’ve known about the Highlander for less than a sennight,” Hallie said with a superior smirk.
Jenefer frowned. Her cousins didn’t have to look at her like she was daft.
Jenefer du Lac was a full-fledged warrior maid.
The granddaughter of a Viking, as they all were, and the firstborn of the renowned Helena of Rivenloch.
Seasoned in combat.
Fearless and feared.
Her cousin Hallidis might be the spawn of a Cameliard knight and Deirdre of Rivenloch. But Jenefer could match Hallie’s skill with a blade. And with a longbow, as proved by this morn’s match, Jenefer could best her.
As for Feiyan, all that whelp had to show for herself were a few dancing, prancing battle maneuvers that her mother Miriel’s servant from the Orient had taught her.
Aggravated, Jenefer drew and fired three arrows in quick succession. All of them landed within half an inch of the bull’s-eye. “I refuse to sit idle while my future stands upon the edge of a sword.”
“I know,” Hallie said, clapping a patronizing hand on Jenefer’s shoulder, “and I agree we need to act quickly, now that we know the Highlander’s on his way. But we dare not endanger our parents’ diplomatic efforts.”
“Easy for you to say,” Jenefer said, shaking off Hallie’s hand. She set down her bow and stalked off toward the target, calling back, “’Tisn’tyourland in question.”
“’Tisn’t yours either,” Hallie retorted. “Not exactly.”
“But ’tismeantto be.” She plucked the shafts from the target and returned to her cousins. “By Thor,’twillbe.”
