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Chapter One

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England 1447

The old castle, even fro rundown and in need of repair, stood surrounded by a clean, deepwith swords and lances Soht on foot, some on horseback

Overseeing the training were twolooks of intense concentration on their handsorine brothers, the others having long ago been killed in the three-generations-old feud with the Howards

"Where is Zared?" the older Peregrine brother, Rogan, shouted Sun glinted off his dark hair, showing the red he had inherited from his father

"Inside," Severn, the younger brother, shouted back, and hethe fe the men around him know Zared was female

Rogan nodded and looked back at thenear hi treachery of the Howards, and two years before he'd almost lost his wife He did notrats, and so he checked often on her whereabouts

He glared at the ht so softly? Here, I will show you" He took a pike froht who'd tried to fight against hilared down at the man He raised the pike as if to strike but instead tossed it to the ground and walked away

How could he protect his farines had left, when the ht for him were so weak?

He mounted his horse and started toward the castle, but Severn halted him

"You erently when they were alone He was angry that his brother had not taken his word that their young sister was safe

"She is disobedient," Rogan answered, scowling Three weeks earlier Zared had decided to go swi and had ridden out alone, unescorted, unprotected At seventeen she had a youth's belief that she could come to no harm