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Chapter One

Seven winters later

The broken spear caught her on her right side, knocking her off her war horse She landed hard on the blood-soaked ground but allowed herself no tiet her breath back She forced herself to her feet and quickly blocked the daed spear with her armor-covered forearm

She swung at her attacker with her free hand, her fist sla back into the wave of soldiers co toward her

She reached over her shoulder and grabbed her halberd A long poleax that she liked using because the head was made up of an ax, a spear, and a steel point To her it was like three weapons in one

I the firsther victi herself for the next attack

They surrounded her and she took a quick moment to size them all up She crouched a little lower, adjusted her stance a bit morethen she struck

She slashed the tip of her weapon across several throats, lowered it, turned it slightly, and then thrust the tip into the sockets where soh to tear through skull and brain

The reed her weapon closer, lengthened her stance, and anchored the end of the staff against the insea it, she thrust up with the ax head and into the groin of one soldier, sending his bowels pouring onto the ground She yanked the weapon out and used the ax head to cut legs off at the knees

She felt a breeze, a change of energy around her, and quickly lifted the staff while lowering the head She blocked the onco blade attack and twisted her weapon to disarainst his head and knocking him out

She then swung the weapon up and over, letting the momentum turn her around to face those behind her

She moved in time to avoid a blade aimed for her head and thrust her weapon at her attacker’s inner thigh, piercing flesh and tearing open an artery With a twist of her hands, she brought the weapon over her left forearm, jabbed it forward, and impaled the man next to her before he could strike Did the saht

She blocked another attack fro hiainst his throat while she used her halberd to dispatch the last two of those who’d attacked Once they were dead, she impaled the man under her foot and finished off the one who’d just started to come around from his bash on the head

Letting out a breath, Branwen the Awful, Captain of the First and Fifteenth Coon Queen’s Ariment of the Southland Arainst the blood-soaked ground and took a e she’d caused on this mountainside

Her troops were in the valley below fighting the ones they now just called the Zealots—those ere loyal unto death to the eyeless god, Chramnesind

As she stood there, staring, she instinctively knew so only at the waist, Brannie brought the weapon up and through the head of the blood-soaked priest who stood behind her As her weapon tore through the top of the priest’s head, she had to jerk her body slightly to the left to avoid the spear that ca her in the process

“Sorry!” Aidan the Divine called out The gold dragon winced a bit when he realized how close his spear had co to help”

That’s what he always said “Just trying to help!” He should have that branded on his bloody forehead

“Yes, I know,” Brannie replied “But I didn’t need your help”

“Everyone needs a little help now and again”

“Not me”

Yanking her weapon from the priest’s head, Brannie secretly enjoyed the way blood splattered across that pretty face and right into those bright gold eyes

Aidan said nothing as he atteave her that wide s diar called them, “Pits in the face”

Turning away, she took a step, but then heard, “Aren’t you going to thank me?”

“No”

“Not even a thank-you kiss?”

She faced the gold dragon Like her, he was in his hu in front of his gold eyes and nearly blocking the sight of those sharp cheekbones Brannie stepped close to him and put her fist under his nose She didn’t hit him, just held her chain mail–covered fist there and asked, “What about a thank-you punch to the face?”