Page 54 of The Promised Prince
Renna shook her head.
“This is where all the soldiers train. It’s one of my favorite places on the palace grounds. Men working hard to learn and improve their skills for the good of their king and country.”
They walked past rows of young men lined up to receive instruction from their captains.
“Couldn’t these boys have come to the tournament today?”
“No, these boys didn’t have the afternoon off. Besides, a soldier never lets the appearance of peace dictate his work ethic.”
“The appearance of peace?” Renna raised her eyebrows. “You don’t think this is a peaceful time?”
“Things are never as peaceful as they seem.”
“Your country is not at war, and nobody is rioting against the crown. The king has aligned himself with New Hope. What more could you want?”
“I just don’t want to miss anything or trust the wrong person.”
“What do you mean?”
“There are rumors of Tolsten spies infiltrating Albion.” He probably shouldn’t tell Renna all this, but he couldn’t shake the urge to open up to her. “I feel this weight on my shoulders that I have to find the spies and what they want before they do something that I can’t control.”
“Maybe it’s just a rumor.” She shrugged.
“Tolsten has recently frustrated some of our military plans. Nothing big, but small things like building a military fortress on the same border location where Albion had plans to build. Things that could be dismissed as coincidence, but also could be something more.”
“So, how do you know who to trust?”
“I don’t trust anybody.” It was true; he didn’t trust anyone outside his circle of friends and family—and now, Renna.
She whirled around, smiling. “Maybe that boy is the spy.” She pointed to a young boy practicing hand-to-hand combat across the field. “Or that man, or that man, or that man!” Her finger moved from one person to the next.
Trev pushed her arm down. “The spy could beyou.”
“Or you.” She smiled, raising a brow in the process.
Her playful expression made his stomach flip with butterflies. “Leave the spies to me. What you need to worry about right now is your aim.”
“My aim?”
Trev nodded at the shooting range, separated from the rest of the field by a fence. A young soldier working the desk bowed at Trev, handing him two small handguns. He turned to Renna. “Do you know how to shoot?” He started walking toward the line that faced the targets before she could answer.
Renna followed behind, trying to keep pace. “Of course not. It’s not like we had guns just laying around at Wellenbreck Farm. Only soldiers are allowed to have guns...” Her words trailed off as she watched him load bullets into the small, black weapon.
Trev finished his preparations and turned to face her, gun outstretched, waiting for her to take it.
She stared back at him, unsure.
“What are you afraid of?” he asked.
Renna shuffled her feet. “Oh, I don’t know. Hurting someone, hurting myself, failing, looking like a fool, embarrassing you, embarrassing myself, and possibly upsetting my mom.”
“Renna, I didn’t take you for a woman who cares what other people think.”
She shrugged her shoulders.
“Do you want to learn how to shoot a gun or not?”
She nodded her head up and down.
