Page 28 of The Heartless Archer

She closed her hand around three coins in the last pocket, pulling them out.

She almost choked on her saliva.

“Kronen.”

The golden coins winked back at her, the intricate design of the royal court carved into the metal. Only the royal family and guards were allowed that kind of gold, it was so much more worth than gulls and they were Noora’s way out.

She stalked back to look at the man for a moment. His breathing had returned to normal, his skin still flushed, probably from an incoming fever, caused by the inflammation of the wound.

His lashes were starkly black like they were dipped in ink, fluttering against the high of his cheeks. His nose was slightly crooked, Noora knew it had to be broken sometime in the past to carry that shape.

His hair was long for a guard, his curls defined and always dancing before his eyes. His skin was slightly tan, even though the sun rarely came out in Oy Frossen. And though he was only a guard at the palace, Noora had a hunch, that this sickly weak man was of great importance.

Whoever he was, he was the solution.

Noora slipped a dagger out of her boot, nodding at the wolf.

“Wake him up.”

He let out a happy yip and drove his tongue over Kai’s cheek.

A devilish grin spread on her lips as she imagined the way the posh guard would react to wolf saliva.

The wolf licked again before Kai slowly stirred.

His lashes fluttered against his cheeks, his lids moving restlessly until his eyes blinked open, revealing the jade green of them.

His gaze jumped around, disoriented for a moment.

“What…ugh.” He wiped at his cheek with the sleeve of his shirt, while the wolf put his big snout into his lap.

“What happened?” Kai asked, absently stroking the wolf’s head.

“You passed out,” Noora said slowly,pointing at his side with her dagger.

“Check the wound.”

He lifted his shirt, revealing the toned lines of his abdomen and the wide gauze wrapped around where three angry slashes sat minutes ago.

A relieved sigh left his lips. Noora still watched him carefully.

“Now that you are all stitched up, you can leave. Of course, after you paid me.”

His eyes narrowed. “Paid you?”

“Yes.” She nodded, hardening her grip around the dagger. She wouldn’t even need the blade. She knew she could knock him out in a matter of seconds.

To her surprise, Kai threw his head back, breaking out into rumbling laughter. She narrowed her gaze at him as he kept on laughing, wiping a nonexistent tear from his eye.

They shone at her in amusement, funneling the anger inside her.

“Why, in the great heavens, would I pay you?”

She dove forward in a second, the wolf scrambling away with a whine as she held up the blade against his neck.

His eyes widened, as his body froze in fear.

“Because your idiocy put both of us in danger and not only did I have to save you arrogant, ungrateful bastard but I had to take you to a place that is sacred to me, stitch you up while you passed out. I used utils on you, wasted them on you, and they are expensive.”

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