Page 1 of Hollow Court
The Life Debt
DAVIN
A Year and a Half Ago
In the yearsince my best friend died, I had spent more time than I should have imagining what my own death might look like.
Not one time had I pictured it here, on a frigid rooftop in an enemy kingdom, miles away from the people I loved. The kingdom of Socair truly was the gift that kept on giving.
Where Mac had died saving a good family from a house fire, I would die in the noble pursuit of bedding beautiful courtiers.
So we were both heroes, in our own way.
I let out a delirious chuckle as another fist met my abdomen. One of the men holding me hissed something in Socairan, and my mind roughly translated it. He was telling his friends to hurry if they were going to end it before they got caught.
My heartbeat thundered in my ears, slower than it should have been, and I fought against the soldiers who were pinning me down.
The next blow was a targeted strike at my head, and blinding pain exploded from the point of contact. I had to hand it to the beefy, stuffy lords of our neighbors. They were nothing if not capable.
My vision swam, and I spat out a mouthful of blood before I could speak.
“See, now, if you could put even half this much effort into your bedroom skills, perhaps dear Mariana wouldn’t have felt the need to seek company elsewhere.”
My assailant’s face went flat with rage, and he reared his fist back again before a creaking noise interrupted him.
The men froze.
“I thought you said no one came up here,” one of them hissed in his guttural Socairan dialect.
Then another person spoke from behind me, softer and more reserved.
“There you are.” The feminine voice was familiar, though I couldn’t quite place it.
Any hope I had for salvation fled as quickly as it had come. I had never seen a Socairan woman so much as politely contradict the men in the room, let alone intervene.
“What can we do for you, My Lady?” one of the soldiers inquired, a clear dismissal in his tone.
Lady? What was a lady doing on an icy rooftop in the middle of the night?
“My uncle is looking for you,” she responded. “Shall I direct him here?”
Her tone was so neutral, it was impossible to say whether she was being helpful or delivering a threat.
That’s when I put the pieces together.
Lady Galina. Perfect, pristine, demure, Socairan Lady Galina.
Her uncle was the duke of the clan, and arseling extraordinaire. He likely would not appreciate the Lochlannian captive—excuse me,guest—being harmed on his watch, if only for the political implications.
The men were quick to respond, assuring her there was no need to fetch the duke. They fled after a series of threats not to tell anyone, like I wanted to go running my mouth about the time I got the stars-blasted-hell beaten out of me.
Silence followed in their wake, all but the sound of my harsh, ragged breathing and my chattering teeth. It would appear that I wasn’t going to die after all.
Well, unless I froze to death. I needed to move.
The moon swam in and out of focus, and my eyes fell closed for what couldn’t have been more than a second. Only it must have been, because a shadow fell over me.
I groaned.Have they come to finish the job?