than anything out there.
“I shall fight for you!” came a voice.
Kyra turned, surprised, to see Aidan
entering the room, holding a small spear, trying to put on his bravest look as
he marched in.
“What are you doing here?” her father
snapped. “I was speaking with your sister.”
“And I overheard it!” Aidan said,
marching inside, determined. Leo jumped up and ran over to him, licking him, and
he stroked his head.
Kyra could not help but smile. Aidan
shared the same streak of defiance as she, even if he was too young and too
small for his prowess to match his will.
“I will fight for my sister!” he added.
“Even against all the trolls of the forest!”
She reached over and hugged him and
kissed his forehead, wiping her tears.
She then turned back to her father, her
glare darkening. She needed an answer; she needed to confront him and hear him
say it.
“Do I not matter to you more than your
men?” she asked him.
He stared back, his eyes filled with
pain.
“You matter more to me than the world,”
he said. “But I am not merely a father—I am a commander. My men are my
responsibility, too. Can’t you understand that?”
She frowned.
“And where is that line drawn, Father?
When exactly do your people matter more than your family? If the abduction of
your only daughter is not that line, then what is? I am sure if one of your
sons were taken, you would go to war.”
He scowled.
“This is not about men versus women,” he
snapped.
“But isn’t it?” she shot back,
determined to stand her ground. “Why is a boy’s life worth more than a girl’s?”
Her father fumed, breathing hard, and
loosed his vest, more agitated than she’d ever seen him.
“There is another way,” he finally said.
She stared back, puzzled.
“Tomorrow,” he said slowly, his voice
taking on a tone of authority, as if he were talking to his councilmen, “you
shall choose a boy. Any boy you like from amongst our people. You shall wed by
sundown. When the Lord’s Men come, you will be safe, here with us.”
Kyra stared back, aghast.
“Do you really expect me to marry some
stranger?” she asked. “To just pick someone, just like that? Someone I don’t
love?”
“You will !” her father yelled,
his face red, equally determined. “If your mother were alive, she would handle
this business—she would have handled it long ago, before it came to this. But
she is not. You are not a warrior—you are a girl. And girls wed. And that is
the end of the matter. If you have not chosen a husband by day’s end, I will
choose one for you—and there is nothing more to say on the matter.”
Kyra stared back, disgusted, enraged at
him. But most of all, she felt disappointment in her father.
“Is that how the great Commander Duncan
wins battles?” she asked, wanting to hurt him. “By finding loopholes in the law
so he can hide from his occupier?”
Kyra did not wait for a response, but
turned and stormed from the room, Leo at her heels, slamming the thick oak door
behind her.
“KYRA!” her father yelled after her—but
the slammed door muffled his voice.
Kyra marched down the corridor, feeling
her whole world shifting beneath her, like an earthquake. She felt as if she
had no solid ground left to stand on. She realized, with each step she took,
that she could no longer stay here, whatever the consequences. That her
presence would endanger them all. And that was something she could not allow.
Kyra could not fathom her father’s
words. She would never, ever , marry someone she did not love. She would
never give in and live a life like all the other women. She would rather die
first. Didn’t he know that? Didn’t he know his own daughter at all?
Kyra stopped by her chamber, put on her
winter boots, draped herself with her warmest furs, grabbed her bow and staff,
and kept walking.
“KYRA!” her father’s angry voice echoed
from somewhere down the corridor.
She would not give him a chance to
“I shall fight for you!” came a voice.
Kyra turned, surprised, to see Aidan
entering the room, holding a small spear, trying to put on his bravest look as
he marched in.
“What are you doing here?” her father
snapped. “I was speaking with your sister.”
“And I overheard it!” Aidan said,
marching inside, determined. Leo jumped up and ran over to him, licking him, and
he stroked his head.
Kyra could not help but smile. Aidan
shared the same streak of defiance as she, even if he was too young and too
small for his prowess to match his will.
“I will fight for my sister!” he added.
“Even against all the trolls of the forest!”
She reached over and hugged him and
kissed his forehead, wiping her tears.
She then turned back to her father, her
glare darkening. She needed an answer; she needed to confront him and hear him
say it.
“Do I not matter to you more than your
men?” she asked him.
He stared back, his eyes filled with
pain.
“You matter more to me than the world,”
he said. “But I am not merely a father—I am a commander. My men are my
responsibility, too. Can’t you understand that?”
She frowned.
“And where is that line drawn, Father?
When exactly do your people matter more than your family? If the abduction of
your only daughter is not that line, then what is? I am sure if one of your
sons were taken, you would go to war.”
He scowled.
“This is not about men versus women,” he
snapped.
“But isn’t it?” she shot back,
determined to stand her ground. “Why is a boy’s life worth more than a girl’s?”
Her father fumed, breathing hard, and
loosed his vest, more agitated than she’d ever seen him.
“There is another way,” he finally said.
She stared back, puzzled.
“Tomorrow,” he said slowly, his voice
taking on a tone of authority, as if he were talking to his councilmen, “you
shall choose a boy. Any boy you like from amongst our people. You shall wed by
sundown. When the Lord’s Men come, you will be safe, here with us.”
Kyra stared back, aghast.
“Do you really expect me to marry some
stranger?” she asked. “To just pick someone, just like that? Someone I don’t
love?”
“You will !” her father yelled,
his face red, equally determined. “If your mother were alive, she would handle
this business—she would have handled it long ago, before it came to this. But
she is not. You are not a warrior—you are a girl. And girls wed. And that is
the end of the matter. If you have not chosen a husband by day’s end, I will
choose one for you—and there is nothing more to say on the matter.”
Kyra stared back, disgusted, enraged at
him. But most of all, she felt disappointment in her father.
“Is that how the great Commander Duncan
wins battles?” she asked, wanting to hurt him. “By finding loopholes in the law
so he can hide from his occupier?”
Kyra did not wait for a response, but
turned and stormed from the room, Leo at her heels, slamming the thick oak door
behind her.
“KYRA!” her father yelled after her—but
the slammed door muffled his voice.
Kyra marched down the corridor, feeling
her whole world shifting beneath her, like an earthquake. She felt as if she
had no solid ground left to stand on. She realized, with each step she took,
that she could no longer stay here, whatever the consequences. That her
presence would endanger them all. And that was something she could not allow.
Kyra could not fathom her father’s
words. She would never, ever , marry someone she did not love. She would
never give in and live a life like all the other women. She would rather die
first. Didn’t he know that? Didn’t he know his own daughter at all?
Kyra stopped by her chamber, put on her
winter boots, draped herself with her warmest furs, grabbed her bow and staff,
and kept walking.
“KYRA!” her father’s angry voice echoed
from somewhere down the corridor.
She would not give him a chance to
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