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"They’re wrong" She pro so ons, the elders, were iift of children The gods agreed, but the price would be that they lose their immortality Our line is descended from them"

Annwyl stared at him with her mouth open "That is the sweetest story I’ve ever heard"

"It is?" The girl read too ave up ihus shrugged "It’s a tale they tell the hatchlings I’m almost positive there was more to it than that"

"Are you always so cynical?"

"Yes"

"So you’re not i time"

"Yes About 800 years or so"

"So, corunted "If you feel the need to put it that way"

"Any siblings?"

"Yes"

"How hed and settled down for ould clearly be a long and painful night He almost missed the days when she lay unconscious and near death "Too many And you?"

With a frown, "Is that meant to be funny?"

Oops He actually just ood at polite "No Just wondering if there was anyone else besides the demon-spawn you call kin"

"Sadly no Or at least none that my father has claimed" She propped her elbows onto her knees and cupped her chin in the palm of her hands "Are you close to your family?"

"Just one sister The others I only see at faons have fain sacrifices required?"Fearghus barked out a laugh and the girl sh"

"That you did"

Maybe the evening wouldn’t be that painful after all

Chapter 5

Brastias, general of the Dark Plains rebellion and Annwyl’s second in command, leaned back into the hard wood chair and rubbed his tired eyes She must be dead She had to be dead Annould never disappear this long without word sent He’d already sent trackers out to find her, but they ca her trail somewhere near Dark Glen, a haunted place most men dare not enter

Of course, Annas not most men She often dared where others fled She remained the bravest warrior Brastias knew and he’d met many men over the years who he considered brave

But Annwyl could be foolhardy and her angerformidable

And yet every day for two years Brastias thanked the gods for his good fortune On a whi froo had been Annwyl Dressed in white bridal clothes and chained to the horse she rode, her destiny to be the unwilling bride for some noble in Madron And based on how heavily arerously unhappy about it as well Once the attack began, one of his men released Annwyl and told her to escape She didn’t Instead she took up a sword and fought Fought, in fact, like a dehty sight to behold By the ti the headless reown coiven her the name Annwyl the Bloody and, as much as she hated it, the name stuck