FATED BY BLOOD AND FIRE

's Poin

ght made its teeth shine. A shadow of a person held a bow behind it, and the arrow on the bow pointed straight at me. It felt like my heart was goin

eavy boots got closer, I held my breath and gripped the knife tight. The lock worked even though the door shook.

With its tip buried deep in the ground, the arrow stuck out of the wall. I pulled it free, runni

f could not get through it, but it made me feel safer. The knife was in my lap as

ould not tell anyone what went on. Not yet. I had to figure out why and who was after me. Wh

baskets. My stomach was turning as I walked to the packhouse. Since yesterday, I was not sure I could face Lucien, who

tables, people ate breakfast. Elin waved at me from a bench while she ate

n. He was talking to Marta, the woman with grey hair, at the head table. He looked like he had not slept bec

ked with her head tilted

and said, "I am fi

eve me. She showed off her stuffed wolf. "Hi, this is Sh

ike Elin had taken it with her everywhere, it smelt like lavender and dirt. I hurt i

in his pockets and said, "Listen up." "We need to get to work." We need more firewood

lp," and my voice was calmer than I felt. When I worked, I could keep an eye

d. As I stayed near the back, I watched every one. The tall guard, Torren, walked up and put his spear over his shoul

He put us into groups and told me to work with Finn, a young man, and Lila, an older woman. Finn was not very big a

y to hide how strong I was. Anything that brought me back made me stronger t

Lila laughed and told him to pay attention. I kept quiet and watched and li

wood. He looked at me for a while and said,

aid, "I have cut wood before." He kept looking at me as if he were trying to figu

mp every time his axe hit the ground. I thought of him this way: strong and sure, the Alpha I l

t me and said, "Yo

o close to him made my hands shake, not from the work. I hated how

d to talk, though. He said it in a soft voice, like he meant it.

oing because I needed to keep busy. Finn and Lila stopped for a while and shared water while sitting o

as he wiped his hands on h

e forest as I said, "Yeah." "

es, telling them to "stay here." My heart beat fast. I thought about following him to make

ad. He said, "Nothing," but his eyes were wid

arms. Elin jumped up and helped me stack them by the packho

While I stood there and watched the village get ready for the night, she ra

the head table. I tried to read their faces as I watched them. I kept seeing Marta's eyes on me,

. The arrow was still under the bed, and its sharp tip was shining. As my mind raced, I hi

use, but I could not calm down. I jumped at every sound. When I closed my eyes to sleep, I heard

it, my heart stopped. I saw that it was my necklace, the one Lucien gave me years ago and has a small wo