Page 95 of Forcing Fate

Greyson huffed, arching a brow. “It’s barely been a day.”

“But she made it a day!” Rory boomed.

“But I would like to know how her night went.” Corporal Bane finally spoke, not taking his eyes off me.

His intense stare set me on edge. He was a law enforcer on this side of the barracks and I had the nagging feeling he somehow had it out for me.

Willhelm hesitated, his spoon freezing between his plate and his mouth. I glanced at him, catching his knowing expression.

I cleared my throat. “Fine.”

One-word answers were probably best. It was fine. I hadn’t been assaulted and, to my knowledge, no laws were broken. To him, that would equate to fine.

Corporal Bane struck me as cold and heartless. Bound by the law, and the law only. He would be a perfect Marshal. Marshals were the King’s law enforcers. They wandered from hamlets to cities, visiting everything in between. They often traveled in groups of three, with two knights. It added protection and a measure of intimidation when they rode in to settle disputes and check on the citizens.

Marshals were trained to be devoid of emotion, empty of opinions, knowing only the law and how to enforce it. They were respected by the people but also feared. They had no empathy, only justice.

Sergeant Greyson gave the Corporal the side eye and glanced back at me, raising an eyebrow. “Nothing interesting happened?”

“Nothing worth mentioning.”

I forced myself to refocus on my plate and take another bite. I didn’t want to get on the Corporal’s bad side by challenging him. It would be better if I acted like the submissive, docile girl I was… or used to be. Where was this challenging side of me coming from?

The Corporal grunted in response and leaned back to study me.

Willhelm changed the subject to an exercise his company was planning the following day, and Rory and Greyson chimed in.

I ignored them as I devoured my ration. My back was to the bounty hunter, but his plate had been empty when I arrived. I wanted to find out when he could take me to purchase a blade. Niehm would hopefully bring my coin with her when she came.

I considered asking the Corporal if I was permitted a blade on the barracks’ grounds but thought better of it. He would want to know why I wanted a weapon and then keep a closer eye on me. Enough people monitored my actions.

Stuffing every bit of food in my mouth, I felt sick. Sergeant Briggs kept glancing between me and my plate. I wouldn’t dare an attempt to share any with the bounty hunter tonight.

“He’s not punishing you.” Willhelm’s words brought my attention back to him. He tilted his head toward Sergeant Briggs. “He only wants you to put on muscle. You’ll need the food to do that.”

“I can’t eat this much,” I mumbled, pushing my plate aside. “I feel sick.”

“You’ll need to if you have any hope of keeping up with the others,” Sergeant Greyson commented.

I grunted in reply and stood, grabbing my dish. Willhelm watched me rise and glanced behind me to the bounty hunter, as if knowing where I was headed.

“Be careful who you get close to, Avyanna,” he stated, giving me a dark frown.

“Do you know him?” I asked as I threw my leg over the bench.

“Not personally, though I know of him.”

“Do you know his name?”

“You’d have to get that from him.”

I sighed, leaving Willhelm and placing my plate in the bin of dirty dishes, then headed to the man in question. He sat at the corner table all by himself, arms crossed, simply watching the men mill about. He didn’t make a sound or acknowledge my presence as I took a seat beside him. I waited a moment, but nothing came as we watched the men.

“Will you still take me to buy a blade tonight?” I asked.

He turned to glance at me. “Bring the redhead and I’ll buy you one myself.”

“Niehm?” I couldn’t help but let out a choked laugh.

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