Beloved in His Eyes (Angel's Assassin #2)(3)

But it was enough. He stopped, his shoulders straightening before he slowly turned to her. Their gazes locked. That black, evil gaze pinned her to the spot.

She lifted her chin and narrowed her eyes. Come back, she silently begged and reached toward her leg. I won’t miss my chance again.

But the monster turned and continued walking away.

“Did you see her?” a distant voice asked, its owner lost in her hazy thoughts.

She trembled fiercely. He wasn’t coming back! She had missed her opportunity! Grimacing, she pushed herself to her feet, half drawing the dagger from the sheath at her thigh.

“Justina. Did you see her?”

Slowly, everything around her came back into focus. The murmuring of the crowd. The shout of the guard to “stand aside.” Adam stood beside her, shaking her arm. Still, she watched the monster move. Such power, such strength in every step.

“She was right next to you!” Adam groaned. “I should have stayed with you.”

Adam. Justina released her grip on the handle of the dagger. It wasn’t worth losing her brother.

The monster paused beside another man, a man the same size as he with brown hair. The two spoke. And then, slowly, they both turned to her. The second man nodded. His eyes pierced her with perceptiveness.

Justina rose, seizing Adam’s arm. They had to get out of there. She pulled him back into the crowd, hoping to disappear amongst the throngs of villagers and merchants. She moved quickly, hauling Adam behind her, holding his arm in a tight grip.

“What?” he hollered. The farther away from the road they moved, the louder the environment became. Merchants shouted about long burning candles; one merchant promised to grant youth with his potion.

As they neared the candle maker’s shop, Adam broke free from her hold. “What did I do? Why are we leaving?”

Justina scanned the crowd for the monster or his friend. She knew they would be coming for her. Why couldn’t she have just kept her mouth closed? “It’s time to leave.”

“Why? We’ve got the entire day!”

Justina glanced at Adam. “You’ve seen your princess. It’s time to go home.”

“I don’t want to go back yet.”

“Adam,” she said sternly, grabbing his arms, and shaking him slightly. “I promised you’d get to see your princess. You have. We have to leave.” She took his hand into hers and whirled, leading him toward the road.

They hurried in silence for a moment, until Adam asked, “What happened?”

Justina’s hand tightened around Adam’s instinctively, protectively. She had endangered his life. Lord, if anything happened to her brother. If anything... She couldn’t tell him. He could never know how their father had died. Ignorance might save his life. “I almost ran into your princess. They might want to throw me in the dungeon.”

“Nay,” Adam insisted, turning to look over his shoulder. “They would never throw you in the dungeon. Lady Aurora would understand.”

Justina didn’t stop. “You can say that. But she is a lady and I almost crashed into her. We must hurry before the guards come.”

Adam was silent.

Justina thought the issue was over. She thought Adam would understand the offense she was fleeing from. Yet, it was a much bigger issue she faced than almost crashing into a lady. That monster. She recognized him. She was certain he would not risk her telling others that he had killed her father. He couldn’t let her live, she was certain.





Chapter 2


Gawyn hunched beneath a bush, watching the small, dark farmhouse.

It was easy to fall back into the training he had received as an assassin, even though he had lived with Damien and Aurora in Acquitaine now for almost a year. He had tracked the young woman and boy back to a farm on the outskirts of Auch. It had taken a day’s travel on foot. The young woman and the boy had barely rested, almost as if they were running away from something.

In the square at Acquitaine, Gawyn had seen the fear in the girl’s wide eyes as she stared at his brother. Did she know Damien had been an assassin? That could not be allowed. For a moment, he thought of his options. Dungeon, stocks. Gawyn stopped himself. She was a slip of a girl. What danger could she possibly pose to the lord of Acquitaine? Still, he knew it only took one person to destroy a man, be he king or peasant. He didn’t know who the boy and girl were. Or how the girl knew Damien. He would find out how she knew his brother and discuss the matter with him.

He was grateful that he had options. He thought back to a time when his only recourse would be slitting her throat, a time when killing had been the only answer. Now, things were different. Now, he was different. He lived among civilized people. He didn’t think like that anymore.

He heard the crunch of a twig behind him and froze. Prickles raced along his spine. He reached for his sword and whirled...

...only to find the tip of a dagger blade pointed at him.

A tiny blade. He almost laughed aloud. The small blade might give him a little wound, but certainly wouldn’t kill him. His gaze moved from the point of the dagger to the holder. He stared at the girl he had been following.

A grin quirked his lips. She had snuck up on him! It looked like his training wasn’t as sharp as it used to be. Either that or the girl was incredibly good at sneaking up on someone. Gawyn’s gaze swept her. She was just a thin girl; her body was hidden beneath a cotton cloak. Dappled moonlight fell onto riotous brown hair that hung in curls about her shoulders. Her eyes were narrowed, her lips set in a thin, determined line. She held the blade out before her steadily, unflinchingly.