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“I am always strong enough to wield my sword. Now give it to me,” he ordered with a strength that warned she better not deny him.

It took two hands for Shade to carry the sword to him, yet it was only one hand he needed to take it from her.

“As you advised, I will not be long,” he said.

Before he could take a step toward the door, Shade said, “I am going with you, and you need your boots.”

“Your assistance is not required in this particular task,” he said with an amusing glint in his eyes. “And I don’t need my boots.”

Heat tinged her cheeks just enough to show embarrassment, but she ignored it. “You are far from healed. Still weak and feverish. I will not take a chance of you collapsing somewhere and me unable to get you safely into bed.”

“You seem adamant about getting me into your bed.”

“You belong there,” she snapped and got annoyed with herself for hearing how it sounded. She quickly added, “Rest is needed for you to heal properly.”

“Worry not, I will heal and see that you join me in bed to compensate you.” He walked to the door and swung it open before Shade could retaliate.

He frustrated her beyond belief, and she could not wait until he took his leave. She grabbed her cloak and mumbled to herself as she hurried out after him.

She followed him into the woods, keeping a short distance between them and keeping her eyes on him. That his strides were strong boded well for him, but then he was a fit man and a determined one. A man who commanded rather than obeyed. She stopped a distance back when she saw that he stopped and stepped behind a tree that could not hide the width of his shoulders.

The ground was still wet from last night’s rain and the dark clouds promised more rain, and soon.

“You need to hurry. Rain is not far off, and I don’t want your wounds getting wet,” she called out.

She had barely finished calling out to him when he was suddenly beside her, his hand gripping her arm, tighter than she expected since it was his injured arm. His injury had not weakened him as much as she thought, unless he was far stronger than she imagined.

“Get into the cottage now,” he demanded as he kept his grip tight on her and propelled her forward.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, his strides so powerful that she had to take two steps to his one.

“No time to explain. Do as I say,” he ordered.

“Your wound?—”

“Now!” he snapped as they broke past the woods and into the clearing of her cottage.

The shout came, halting Quint’s steps abruptly and forcing Shade to stop along with him.

“You killed my brother Rand.”

Quint swung around, shoving Shade behind him. “He deserved to die.”

“So do you,” the man shouted.

Shade cast a glance past Quint to see a man not as tall as Quint but larger, thicker in size, and she feared that Quint was not strong enough to defend himself. His fever still lingered some and his wounds were still raw and no doubt painful.

“When I am done with you, I’m going to have some fun with the healer. But don’t worry, there’s no need for me to kill her. I will just enjoy myself with her for a while, then be on my way.”

“That is not going to happen, I’m going to kill you,” Quint said with such calm confidence that Shade actually believed him.

The man must have as well, since he took a step back, then as if regaining his courage burst out laughing. When his laughter subsided, he said, “You’re wounded, have little strength, and you’re wearing nothing but a cloak. It will not be me who dies today.”

Quint ripped his cloak off and tossed it aside. “Now I am completely naked and vulnerable. Do you still think you can kill me?”

The man appeared hesitant, then smirked, giving a nod at his arm. “Your wounds bleed. You have little strength. The fight will be over fast.”

“Aye, it will be,” Quint said and let out a vicious roar as he charged at the man.