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My swords had flashed in my hands before I realized it.

When my gaze found Nicu, rage gave me wings.

Many moons ago, I killed instinctively in combat, and in times of strife, and in the name of valor. Bereavement had since altered that course, curbing the impulse to choose slaughter over merciful injury. No longer did the former means of heroics hold appeal, so if I could avoid taking a life, I endeavored to do so.

Yet I’d felt a desire to impale these females, these foes intent on harming my quarry...which, outside of safeguarding Nicu, made no sense.

Still, I’d resisted. This afternoon, I had shed blood without slaying.

In the end, the defeated group limped from the perimeter, with the exception of a lone girl meeting my glare.

The lumber maiden grunted from above, struggling with her restraints.

From the pit of my stomach rose two venomous words. “Release her.”

The fox girl sneered, donning her captive’s feather hat. Strutting backward, she cast her arms wide. “Cut her down yourself.”

With that, she slunk into the woods to meet her company, the red tail of her braid swishing into the Autumn brush.

On a sigh, I slammed one of my swords into its scabbard. “Nicu.”

Feet shuffled through the grass, the boy appearing at my side, the girl’s woodpecker companion hovering next to him. I recalled seeing the bird ridding Nicu of his bindings during my assault on the hostiles. Turning fully, I inspected his person for wounds. Beyond the trembling of his chin, the glazed sheen of his irises, and a ladder of scratches across his temple, he appeared unscathed.

Though five years his senior, it struck me suddenly, to see him not as a boy but a young man. He stood on the cusp of adulthood, so far from the safety of his home.

Ever his friend, I cupped his shoulder. “How do you fare? Are you well?”

“Yes,” he said without preamble, his gaze darting to the figure hanging above us. “Take off her ribbons.”

Meaning, he desired for me to release the lumber maiden. However, he took priority, and not until I felt satisfied would I indulge him.

“Did she abduct you?” I persisted. “From the castle, did she lead you astray?”

“No. Take off her ribbons.”

He would not rest until I did so. I believed his words, for Nicu did not lie—a trait that we shared. However, his reply brought me little joy, for it suggested that he’d quit his family of his own volition.

Though how it involved the wooden girl, I knew not yet.

Regardless, this flight had been intentional. Anger would replace my relief later, but for now, I dealt with my second problem.

“Um...help?” the wooden girl clipped. “Any day now.”

Not that she gave me another choice.

I had sensed a trespasser last night, within the castle and the training yard. She may not have kidnapped Nicu, but she had somehow taken part in his departure,aftersoiling my wife’s resting place and rendering me unconscious in the cemetery.

By all accounts, she did not deserve aid. As such, I should leave her strung up like the puppet she resembled. Verily, I could sever her limbs over this chase.

With a flick of my arm, I whipped my free sword through her bindings. For an instant, I considered letting her plummet to the earth, letting her break into pieces, a base and corrupt impulse that only she could inspire.

I caught her with one arm. Her body landed in my grasp, the lumber of her skin oddly warm and yielding slightly to the impact, while certain corners of her knocked into my flesh. She wasn’t entirely soft, yet not entirely hard.

Her breasts swelled, her eyes on me like a pair of anise stars, her shape too real, because shewasreal.

I dropped the girl to her feet. It gave me a perverse pleasure to watch her buckle, struggling to steady herself. Indeed, I forgave myself for this momentary lack of gallantry.

The instant she pulled herself together, I aimed the sword’s tip at her heart.