Page 6 of The Enemy's Daughter

“You’re really very good at throwing knives. It’s scary.”

“That’s because I had a very good teacher.” Although when Liam taught me, he never stood this close.

“The student has surpassed the teacher. You could join the front lines with a throw like that.” There’s pride in his deep voice.

I almost snort as I imagine the fit Father would have. “Blendingin might be a problem. I don’t exactly look like a soldier.”

He laughs softly. “I’ve noticed.”

I go still as a tingling warmth blooms in my stomach. And there it is. The change. The shift between us. I don’t know what to do with it.

He clears his throat at the awkward silence. “Actually, I take back what I said about the front lines. I don’t want you anywhere near there.”

“I don’t want to fight any more than you do. But... I could help the wounded on the battlefield. I could make a difference.”

He groans playfully, sensing the warning shot of a familiar argument.

“Oh, come on,” I say. “You know it’s senseless that our soldiers are only trained to set a bone or tie a tourniquet, while us women healers aren’t allowed to leave our territory. The injured shouldn’t have to be dragged all the way home before getting proper care.”

“It’s that way because we’re protecting you,” he says softly. “We value our women. Our families. It’s what makes us different from the Kingsland—that we’re decent human beings who don’t use fear and violence to control people. And I’m not sorry about that.”

My shoulders fall. He may not be, but I am. Sometimes. I mean, I do want safety, but at what cost? For our men to die when they’re injured?

“Maybe when I’m Saraf, it’ll be less dangerous and I can make some changes to the rules.”

I fight a grin. “Oh, yeah? You’d let women heal outside our territory? What if I said I’d also like to read a novel?” One of the best things about Liam is that he doesn’t condemn my love of reading or my fascination with what the world looked like before the bombs fell.

He tips his head to the side. “I don’t see how one novel could hurt.”

My smile grows. “Just one?”

“Is there more than one?”

I chuckle, and he laughs. But my smile wilts with the cold reality that although his optimism for the future is beautiful, it’s also decades away. By the time Father dies and Liam becomes the clan leader who will be the ultimate authority over all the clans, an entire generation of people will have been raised with the same distrust of even the most benign parts of the old world. Including the parts that could expand our knowledge of healing and save lives.

Liam shifts. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I say a little too quickly, not wanting to bring the mood down. My gaze darts to the trees around us as they rustle with a gust of wind.

“Are we not going to talk about it?” he asks softly.

It.Farron’s body flashes in my mind again, and I swallow hard. I’m not sure I’m ready to talk about it. I’ve seen people die before, but this—this was different. Farron was assassinated by people I love, and no matter how I turn it over in my head, I can’t make it okay. I hate what the Kingsland is forcing us to do to survive.

“Us getting married will be a... big change.”

I look up at him, surprised.

“And I didn’t actually win the contest to be Saraf. I guess I just want to know...”

“I’m happy it’s you, Liam,” I blurt. “There’s no other clan leader I would have wanted.”

He exhales raggedly. Then his calloused fingers find my face.

“Oh,” I say, jumping a little at the touch I didn’t see coming.

He pauses, and when I don’t pull away, he draws me slowly to him for a kiss. My stomach flutters as his warm lips land a little off-center from mine.

It’s over as quickly as it began. I lean back and nod. “Thank you for that.”

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