Page 24 of Bride of Mist
Dougal frowned. It couldn’t be.
Risking the release of one of the lad’s wrists, he reached up and snatched down the outlaw’s mask.
Chapter 7
A scream of outrage gathered in Feiyan’s throat.
The target wasn’t supposed toseeher.
Assassins were faceless.
Murder was cold and clean.
Without emotion. Without hesitation. Without mercy.
Now the villain had stripped away her emotional armor.
Now he could see, not only the glittering purpose in her gaze and the determination in her jaw that made her capable of killing him, but also the trembling in her lips, the flaring of her nostrils, and the blush of her cheek that indicated her reluctance to do it. Her distaste. Her regret.
She swallowed her scream.
As much as she hated this compromised situation, her objective hadn’t changed. She still had to find a way to slay him. But now she was forced to resort to a less lethal weapon in her arsenal. A weapon she didn’t like to use. But an effective one. One that worked on most men. One that had worked on him before, bringing his violent rampage at Creagor to a screeching halt.
Her femininity.
As he gaped at her, his eyes wide with shock, she fought the instinct to plow her fist into his ribs while his defenses were down. Instead of closing her eyes to angry slits, baring her teeth at him, and snarling,get off me,she softened her features, lowered her eyes, and bit her lip.
He inhaled in surprise.
When she lifted her gaze again, she’d extinguished the flame of fury.
As he looked into her guileless eyes, his face crumpled. His brow furrowed. His mouth turned down. His gaze dimmed. And his grip on her loosened.
With a sound that was half-sigh, half-sob, he released her. Then he fell away onto his haunches and hung his head.
For one uneasy instant, she hesitated. She hadn’t expected her ploy to work so well. For the blink of an eye, she felt sorry for the man.
She’d glimpsed pain in his face. A sort of dispirited surrender. He clearly didn’t wish to hurt a woman.
Yet hehad,she reminded herself.
He’d nearly killed Hallie.
And for that, he must pay with his life.
No matter how ill-at-ease she felt, she had to act now, while he was vulnerable.
Rolling swiftly away, she reclaimed hershoudao, then sprang to her feet and unsheathed. With a single powerful sweep of the keen-edged blade, she could lop his head from his shoulders.
She gripped the sword in both hands, drew it back, and stepped forward for the killing blow. But as she swung the blade round, her courage faltered. She made the mistake of squeezing her eyes shut and aimed high.
Without the concealment of her mask, her intentions and her weakness were exposed. At the last instant, he dropped, and her sword whistled through empty air. The combination of her momentum and his sudden dive toward her shins knocked her off her feet.
She hit the ground hard this time. Hard enough to force all the air from her chest. Hard enough to loosen her grip on theshoudao,which skipped out of her reach.
Suddenly she could rasp no air into her collapsed lungs. She opened her mouth, struggling to breathe, and failed. The edges of her vision began to darken. She clawed frantically at her throat.
The man snapped up hershoudaoand scowled down at her. Then he grabbed her by the front of her gambeson and hauled her up to a sitting position.
