Kingdom of Lothoria - Book 1

Chapter Three

Merrigan knew she was being followed, she also had a decent idea who it was, too. She quickly turned a corner and wove her way through the crowds in the marketplace. She glanced quickly behind her, cursing when she saw the edge of a black cloak disappearing into the crowd.

Not good.

She cursed again, turned away and quickened her pace, ducking into a nearby alley. The moment she entered the alley, she came to an abrupt stop. There he was waiting for her, black cloak and all. The Captain of the Royal Guard.

How in the hell had he beaten her here? She drew both her knives, preparing for a fight.

His eyes flicked over the blades before he smiled, that smile didn't reach the deep green of his eyes. "I think it's time you simply gave up, don't you?"

She returned his smile. "Never."

With a shrug, he drew his sword and without hesitation, rushed forward.

She threw one of her knives, and spun away as he rushed her, preparing to throw the second knife.

He dodged the knife, and followed her when she spun as if he'd known she was going to make that move. "Nice try," he said with a smirk. He swung the sword in a graceful arc toward her right arm.

She ducked and pivoted, striking out at him with her remaining knife. It missed and she was forced to back away from him, giving up ground. She gave her wrist a flick and twist and lobbed a ball of fire at him. He dodged that too. The man was quick on his feet, she'd give him that.

The Captain charged forward again, sword raised. There was no time for her to dart away from him, her only choice was to defend. She raised her knife in a feeble attempt to block the blow. Their weapons struck together with such force she lost her grip on the knife, it spun from her hand to clatter against the cobbles beneath their feet. She was forced to retreat from the swing of his blade, ducking and weaving as he continued to strike at her. Her back hit a wall and she knew she'd lost this battle.

"That wasn't a very fair fight. Let's go for two out of three."

He snorted. "Not a chance. Do you believe I'd allow you the opportunity to use your magic on me?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, why don't we find out?" She raised a hand and wiggled her fingers at him.

He sheathed his sword quickly, grabbed her wrist and slipped a cuff around it, before securing the other one around her other wrist. "Try and flambé me now," he told her with a grin. He grabbed her arm and hauled her from the alley through the streets of Lothoria in the direction of the castle.

She glanced up at the Captain and realized this was the first time she'd seen him without the hood of his cloak raised. He was remarkably young to hold the position of Captain, maybe only a year or two older than herself, which would put him at nineteen. His dark red hair was tousled from the hood of his cloak giving him the appearance of a man who had just rolled out of bed.

His green eyes met her gray ones and he scowled. "Problem?" he asked.

She nodded furiously. "Oh yes, you ruined my perfectly good day, Captain."

He grunted, looking away from her. "Too bad."

"That's quite rude, you know, Captain."

He rolled his eyes. "Are you going to say 'Captain' at the end of every sentence?"

"Yes, I am, Captain." She smirked. Anything to annoy him."You do know, I didn't do anything."

"You have magic and you've used it, it's against the law. You have also assisted others escape justice."