Page 45 of A Hunter for Luna

He slashed at an arrow, deflecting it mid-flight with uncanny speed. "Stay close,"

Leather clad figures emerged from the underbrush, at least a dozen of them, their faces hidden behind crude masks. Bandits.Scald the moon.

I reached into my sleeve, and pulled out my fan, snapping it open with a flick of my wrist. The razor-sharp edge glinted in the dappled sunlight. I was not helpless.

The bandits closed in, most of them focused on Benedetto. They carried an assortment of rusted swords and daggers and approached warily. My husband was very good at fighting, but numbers could bring him down.

I caught the glint of magic sparking to life in one bandit's palm - a spell.

Oh no you don't.

Instinctively, I thrust out my hand, letting a blast of dark moonlight erupt from my fingertips. It struck the bandit square in the chest. The spell in his hand sputtered out as he flew backwards, crashing into a tree with a sickening crunch.

Control it, my grandmother’s voice echoed in my ears.Shape it.

I gritted my teeth, reining in the wild surge of magic that threatened to pour out of me unchecked. A smaller, more concentrated ribbon of darkness coiled around my wrist like a snake, ready to strike.

Biter screamed and reared, lashing out with his hooves. One caught a bandit in the chest, and the stallion moved to continue stomping on him. The other bandit moved to close with us, away from the angry horse.

Beside me, Benedetto moved like a whirlwind, seeming to vanish and reappear at will as he cut down bandit after bandit. Starlight magic, I realized with a jolt of surprise.He sources starlight magic, not moon magic like I thought.Teleporting takes a lot of energy and skill, too. I thought he was untrained. Vala always said so.

Rose had gotten a tutor because untrained starlight mages were dangerous to themselves and everyone around them. How had Benedetto managed to live so long untrained?

A hulking brute of a man lunged at me, his jagged blade slicing the air. I ducked under his swing, lashing out with my fan. It carved a deep gash across his throat. Blood sprayed as he fell, gurgling.

Dawn whinnied and bolted, heading deeper into the forest.

I spun to face the next attacker, but pain lanced through my thigh, sharp and hot. I hissed through clenched teeth. Damn it. A knife had grazed me, leaving a thin line of crimson welling up on my riding pants. The bandit grinned, thinking he had me.

Not today. Ignoring the burning in my leg, I surged forward, burying my fan to the hilt in his chest. His eyes went wide with shock. I wrenched the fan free, letting him crumple.

Gods, let that be the last of them.I spun to face Benedetto.

The other bandits lay scattered on the forest floor, some dead, others groaning in pain.

Benedetto wiped the blood off his sword and cast a sidelong glance at me.

"You've got the footwork of a cow," he said dryly. "Or maybe you're drunk. Either way, you should go home. This is dangerous work."

I scoffed. "If I ever need your praise, Benedetto, I'll cut it out of you myself."

He bowed. "You're welcome to try."

Insufferable ass. I couldn't deny a flicker of admiration for his skill. Maybe he’d spar with me, and I could learn something new.

I tied a strip of cloth around the wound, tightening it as I applied pressure. “It’s a scratch.”

“We should move before scavengers come,” Benedetto answered.

“Agreed.”

It took an hour to catch up with Dawn, who’d finally stopped in a small clearing to crop grass. A honey candy brought him to my side, and mending the rein took only a few minutes.

We moved on, trying to make up for lost time. As the adrenaline of the fight and finding Dawn faded, I limped more and more. When the sun dipped close to the horizon, we stopped to rest. I winced as I checked the wound on my thigh. It was a shallow cut, but it hadn't closed because I had to use that muscle to walk, which kept opening it.

Taking care of Dawn took longer than usual, and I petted him and gave him scritches to calm his remaining nerves.

Benedetto took even longer cleaning the blood off Biter’s hooves and legs.

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