steely set of his eyes. An unbearable tension settled over her, making her insides churn.
It was the sixth arrow that finally hit centre. Yan Ling was counting. She nearly let out a celebratory cry, but Fei Long was still not pleased. The next shot hit left of the mark. One more at centre, then the one after it flew wide. Her spirits rose and plummeted with each flight.
Fei Long lowered the bow after the last shot and held his hand out, flexing and curling his fingers.
‘Your arm?’ she asked. She knew he hated hearing her fuss, but what else was one to do?
‘Just lack of use,’ he said. It wasn’t an excuse. Fei Long was trying to assess the problem. He shook his arm out and held his hand out for the next arrow. ‘Let’s continue.’
The next five shots showed some improvement, but remained inconsistent.
She went to fetch the arrows to give Fei Long a rest. After only four shots into the next set, he stiffened, pressing the heel of his palm to his side. Since this was Fei Long, it must have been hurting long before he showed any signs of weakness.
‘You should rest,’ she insisted when he reached for the next arrow.
She knew he hated when she told him to rest, as well, but she didn’t care. This time, he didn’t fight her. He lowered his bow and stood there, head down, thinking. She was genuinely worried now, not about the archery contest, but that Fei Long would push himself too hard.
‘Will the target be that far in the competition?’ she asked.
‘I don’t know what Zōu is planning.’
‘Your body just needs to readjust. You’re doing much better.’
She wasn’t helping. She knew she wasn’t helping when Fei Long pinned her with a cold look. The echo of her encouragement rang hollow in her head.
It was all Dao’s fault. Dao had spoken of a legend, but what Yan Ling witnessed before her was a man struggling with his own limits. In three days, everyone else would be expecting the legend as well, including the crime boss.
Fei Long resumed his practice, attacking the target with a new determination. One in three arrows were hitting centre now, but a few of the misses were still flying wide. Was one in three good enough? She didn’t think so.
Suddenly Fei Long bent over, clutching a hand to his ribs. His breath rushed out and his teeth clenched. She wanted to run to him, but she froze, unable to move or speak. It frightened her to see him like this.
He straightened and muttered a curse, kicking at the ground in frustration. The pain had cracked through the layer of calm shielding him.
Why had he brought her along? It must have been to avoid showing any weakness to the servants who depended on him. Saving face was so important to Fei Long.
Did he consider her an outsider whose opinion didn’t matter? But a nobleman and a soldier wouldn’t show such vulnerability to a stranger. Fei Long trusted her, in a way he trusted no one else. It was a rare gift, and it tore her apart to watch him, struggling to remain composed, when there was nothing she could do or say to help. Fei Long exhaled sharply and ran his hand over his face.
‘I can use a lighter bow,’ he said with a scowl. ‘One that’s easier to pull. The arrow won’t fly as far, but the way things are going now…’
His voice trailed off and he turned to stare at the target again, his eyes narrowing as if looking upon an arch rival.
‘Stop for a while and you can try again,’ she suggested.
He opened his mouth to speak, but bit back the protest. His expression softened just a touch. ‘Yes,’ he relented. ‘I can rest for a moment.’
Fei Long lowered himself down into the grass, legs out in front of him. He propped the bow across his knees and tried to look like he wasn’t preoccupied with the target. She sat down across from him, sinking her fingers into the cool grass. The sun had risen to burn off the morning dew.
‘Dao told me the story of the Great Shoot,’ she said.
‘She remembered?’
‘She was thirteen years old at the time. Hardly an infant.’
Fei Long shrugged and set the bow beside him. ‘I remembered her and Pearl as children at the time. My sister must have been eleven.’
‘Dao said you were a giant to them, that you could do no wrong.’