Nock. Aim. Shoot.
Nock. Aim. Shoot.
Nock. Aim. Shoot.
All the arrows had found the bull’s eye, but then again an unmoving target at the distance of 20 m was not exactly impressive.
Archery had always came naturally to her, perhaps even more than magic did. It had always been ever since her aunt placed a bow in her hand when she was 7 years old. Despite her mother’s protest, her aunt often brought her along to hunt in the mountains. She could still remember the cool breeze, the old pine peppered with arrows. Evandria had trained every day, ignoring blisters on her fingers, all the string slaps. She had continued the hobby even after they moved to Anaxas. And especially after her parents’ deaths. Her arrow would go through those who had ruined her life.
“Seems like the Skyseer has finally decided to show herself.”
Lowering her bow, Evandria turned to watch as Emric sauntered in with his usual amount of bravado. His uniform was impeccable as always, spotless and freshly pressed. Meanwhile, her own uniform was crinkled after chasing down a thief down the King’s Market and sported a dark stain on the left sleeve that refused to fade away after countless washing. “I hate that nickname, you know that. And you’re late.”
He smirked as he picked up a yew bow from the rack, pulling back the string and pretending to aim at her. “All the more reason for me to bring it up. Are you finally going to tell me why you summoned me to meet you after work hours?”
“I need a favor.” Instead of directly answering, the man picked up an arrow and struggled to pull it back on the string. Evandria could not help herself as the corner of her lips quirked up. There was no worse archer in this world other than Emric Leverenz. He would not be able to nock an arrow properly even if it saved his life. “You should stick with your fancy swords.”
“So, what sort of favor do you need from me?” he finally asked after shooting another lame arrow. It barely stuck to the corner of the target.
The young woman moved closer to him, dropping her voice to avoid any curious ears. A handful of recruits had begun trickling in, taking the other side of the field to start sparring. More than half of them snuck glances at them – or specifically Emric, considering that most of them were women. “I need to get to the records room.”
“You don’t need me for that. You are more than welcome to traverse the records room, squad sergeant,” the inspector drawled, enjoying this far too much. He was the same way back in Numbrey when she had to put aside her pride to ask him to teach her how to use bladed weapons.
She sighed as she ran her hand through her dark hair. Asking for help had seemed like the obvious choice, but now she was starting to regret it. “I need to get inside without Constable Stephanie Driscoll following me around inside and watching my every move.”
The young woman knew she was in trouble when his blue eyes glinted with mischief. “And I am assuming that you will do something that is frowned upon by this institution? How can you possibly involve me in such a horrendous crime?”
“Oh, spare me the theatrics. You care less about protocols than I do – and that’s saying a lot.”
A raise of an eyebrow. “Why me and not one of your loyal squad children?”
“Lorcan can’t walk and Lysandra is too much of a stiff for this.” Not to mention that both of them wanted her to stop obssessing over it. While they agreed that the Resistance was a threat to everyone’s safety, they wanted her to let the past go. But how could she? Her parents were innocents and yet their killers went free. No one even knew who they were. “I just need to takeout some records of a cold case from years ago. No one is going to miss it. Are you going to help me or not?”
He pursed his lips in mock thought. “And what is in it for me?”
The sergeant shrugged. It took only an hour of asking around the HQ to find out something that the Emric might want – there was so much gossip about the man, after all. “I’ll get you that Hoxian saber you have been pining for from Engelorum Antiquities. After all, he is only willing to sell it to those with mountain-blood.”
“I can’t tell if I should be flattered or scared that you are stalking me.”
She rolled her eyes as she hung the bow back at its place. “Do not flatter yourself. I just really need to do this.”
Emric gave his signature grin. Dramatically, he straightened his collar and smoothed down the front of his tunic. “I can’t say no to that offer, so it is a deal.”
Nock. Aim. Shoot.
Nock. Aim. Shoot.
All the arrows had found the bull’s eye, but then again an unmoving target at the distance of 20 m was not exactly impressive.
Archery had always came naturally to her, perhaps even more than magic did. It had always been ever since her aunt placed a bow in her hand when she was 7 years old. Despite her mother’s protest, her aunt often brought her along to hunt in the mountains. She could still remember the cool breeze, the old pine peppered with arrows. Evandria had trained every day, ignoring blisters on her fingers, all the string slaps. She had continued the hobby even after they moved to Anaxas. And especially after her parents’ deaths. Her arrow would go through those who had ruined her life.
“Seems like the Skyseer has finally decided to show herself.”
Lowering her bow, Evandria turned to watch as Emric sauntered in with his usual amount of bravado. His uniform was impeccable as always, spotless and freshly pressed. Meanwhile, her own uniform was crinkled after chasing down a thief down the King’s Market and sported a dark stain on the left sleeve that refused to fade away after countless washing. “I hate that nickname, you know that. And you’re late.”
He smirked as he picked up a yew bow from the rack, pulling back the string and pretending to aim at her. “All the more reason for me to bring it up. Are you finally going to tell me why you summoned me to meet you after work hours?”
“I need a favor.” Instead of directly answering, the man picked up an arrow and struggled to pull it back on the string. Evandria could not help herself as the corner of her lips quirked up. There was no worse archer in this world other than Emric Leverenz. He would not be able to nock an arrow properly even if it saved his life. “You should stick with your fancy swords.”
“So, what sort of favor do you need from me?” he finally asked after shooting another lame arrow. It barely stuck to the corner of the target.
The young woman moved closer to him, dropping her voice to avoid any curious ears. A handful of recruits had begun trickling in, taking the other side of the field to start sparring. More than half of them snuck glances at them – or specifically Emric, considering that most of them were women. “I need to get to the records room.”
“You don’t need me for that. You are more than welcome to traverse the records room, squad sergeant,” the inspector drawled, enjoying this far too much. He was the same way back in Numbrey when she had to put aside her pride to ask him to teach her how to use bladed weapons.
She sighed as she ran her hand through her dark hair. Asking for help had seemed like the obvious choice, but now she was starting to regret it. “I need to get inside without Constable Stephanie Driscoll following me around inside and watching my every move.”
The young woman knew she was in trouble when his blue eyes glinted with mischief. “And I am assuming that you will do something that is frowned upon by this institution? How can you possibly involve me in such a horrendous crime?”
“Oh, spare me the theatrics. You care less about protocols than I do – and that’s saying a lot.”
A raise of an eyebrow. “Why me and not one of your loyal squad children?”
“Lorcan can’t walk and Lysandra is too much of a stiff for this.” Not to mention that both of them wanted her to stop obssessing over it. While they agreed that the Resistance was a threat to everyone’s safety, they wanted her to let the past go. But how could she? Her parents were innocents and yet their killers went free. No one even knew who they were. “I just need to takeout some records of a cold case from years ago. No one is going to miss it. Are you going to help me or not?”
He pursed his lips in mock thought. “And what is in it for me?”
The sergeant shrugged. It took only an hour of asking around the HQ to find out something that the Emric might want – there was so much gossip about the man, after all. “I’ll get you that Hoxian saber you have been pining for from Engelorum Antiquities. After all, he is only willing to sell it to those with mountain-blood.”
“I can’t tell if I should be flattered or scared that you are stalking me.”
She rolled her eyes as she hung the bow back at its place. “Do not flatter yourself. I just really need to do this.”
Emric gave his signature grin. Dramatically, he straightened his collar and smoothed down the front of his tunic. “I can’t say no to that offer, so it is a deal.”
