Destiny of the Heart (Viking Destiny) by K. Young

with her. If anything happened to Mel because of
Kristen, she would never forgive herself. She crawled out from
under Mel and threw the carriage blanket over her.
"Stay on the floor, and be quiet." Kristen whispered.
"What are you doing?"
"Putting a stop to this."
Kristen opened the carriage door and quietly climbed
down. The driver and the footman were dealing with what had
happened. Scanning the area, Kristen noted that one of the
horses had slipped and broke its leg. The footman and the
driver were contemplating who was going to shoot the animal
and put it out of its misery. Kristen scanned the treeline. The
hair on the back of her neck stood on end, and she ducked
just as an arrow flew past her head, sinking into the back of
the footman.
The driver spun around and crouched low as the
footman fell to the ground, blood spilling from his mouth.
Kristen's lips thinned into a straight line as she turned in the
direction the arrow had come from. She could just barely
make out the shadow of a person in the treeline. She
narrowed her eyes. There wasn't much she could do with a
lone bowman at a distance. She would need to be closer to
cause any damage, and she was a sitting duck the longer she
stayed out in the open. Plus, Mel was caught in the crossfire.
She stayed low to the ground, but backed up to meet
the driver as he was crawling toward her.
"They're after me. Can one horse pull this carriage?"
"Not with anyone inside it, m'lady." The driver
responded.
Kristen was happy to hear that the man sounded
steady. There was no fear of the situation, but concern for his
charges. She smiled at him.
"Then take Lady Atchkinson and the good horse and
get her home."
"But, miss - "
"No arguments. I'll deal with this and be along shortly."
"I can't leave you here alone."
Kristen's eyes blazed in fury. "If something happens to
Mel because of your pigheaded notion of chivalry, I'll take it
out of your hide. You get her out of her now and don't make
me tell you again."
The driver drew back in surprise. He had never seen
Lady Kristen in such a state of anger, nor had he ever seen
her take charge of a situation better than most men. There
was something in her expression that told him to listen. Lady
Kristen was an unusual woman, and there were whispers
among the staff that she had shown up to the house bruised
and battered, but not the least bit crippled. Like she had been
in a fight and walked away leaving the other unconscious.
There was even rumor that it was a man. He couldn't credit
that at the time, but looking at her just now, he was beginning
to think perhaps the whispers weren't so wrong.
"Yes, m'lady."
The driver remained low and crawled to the door of the
carriage. He opened it and helped Mel down, keeping the
blanket wrapped around her. Kristen stepped in front of them
and made a broad target while the driver took Mel up front and
unlatched the remaining horse. He lifted her up into the
saddle, then jumped on behind her, digging his heels into the
horse's flank. Kristen kept her eyes on the treeline before her,
but she listened as the driver got Mel away from the road.
"If I wanted to kill them, I could have." A man's voice
rang out through the forest.
"I believe you." Kristen answered.
"I didn't because I wasn't paid to kill them. Just you."
"So what now? You stay hidden behind the trees and
continue to shoot arrows at me until you finally get me?
Seems rather a waste of good arrows, and of my time."
The man chuckled. "Afraid, your highness?"
Kristen furrowed her brow. The address made her think
that perhaps Mel's theories about the mysterious deaths of her
family might be correct. But, she wasn't actually afraid. She
had long ago accepted death as part of life, and knew that
when her time came, she would be reunited with her loved
ones.
"Not especially." She said.
The man sighed rather dramatically. "You know, it really
isn't any fun unless you're scared."
"Sorry to disappoint."
"I doubt that."
"True."
The man laughed.