Page 35 of Marin’s Promise

The shutters banged open and made him jump. Evidently, he had not latched them properly. They rattled and smacked the stone walls with the frenzy of the storm. Bran cursed and stalked across the room. He slammed the shutters closed and snapped down the narrow clasp to lock them.

The hair along the back of his neck prickled in warning. All at once, the scent of lavender teased at his senses and his body immediately hardened.

“I told you I would kill you.” The voice purred in his ear and an arm curled around his torso.

Marin.

She tensed behind him and he could imagine her in his mind's eye, pulling back her dagger to deliver the death blow. But he would not go down so easily. Not when he'd come so far.

He ducked down low and jerked backward. Her concentration had been centered on the blow she’d intended to deliver, and not on her hold on him, which made it easy to evade her. This time.

She had her hair braided back, exposing more of her beautiful face, and she wore men's hose along with a surcoat. She lunged forward with a grunt and arced her blade at him.

He deflected her strike and backed up once more. “Where did ye send yer sisters and all the soldiers?”

She dove at him, hitting him with her full body weight. They both slammed to the floor. She kicked at him, landing a solid blow on his shin. He flinched from the injury and just managed to catch her intent to drive her elbow toward his face. He spun to the side as her arm came down on the hard-stone floor.

She cried out and cradled her elbow. Bran scrambled to his feet, grabbed his sword and held it to her throat.

“Why did ye stay?” he asked. “To kill me?”

She edged away from the blade and slowly lowered her hand from her injured elbow. “Your men are unorganized. Your leadership of them is tenuously established at best. If you were dead, they would disperse, and my sisters could safely return home. And your men are well-behaved for now, but for how long? I will not stand by while my servants are raped and killed.”

He gritted his teeth. He hated that his precarious leadership was so apparent. Damn the reivers for making so pathetic an army and damn the Middle March Warden for sending him on this fool’s errand in the first place. “Where are yer sisters? Where are the soldiers?”

“It doesn't matter what you do to me. They'll stay safe.” She gave him a smug grin. “They're gathering reinforcements, allies strong enough to withstand your forces no matter how underhanded your schemes.”

“Reinforcements?” he asked. If they went for reinforcements, then surely, they would seek a castle nearby.

“They left well over an hour ago.” She stood slowly, keeping her blue gaze fixed on the blade pointed at her. “I went with them but snuck back here for you.” Her hand slowly moved at her sleeve.

“Toss the dagger to the ground or I'll see it lodged in your throat.” He threw her an exasperated look.

She jerked the blade from her sleeve, but she did not toss it to the ground. Instead, she let it fly toward him, determined in her decision to see him dead.