somehow she was still breathing. Her arm throbbed. It was good to be alive, to feel pain.
Blood and gore coated her from head to toe. It was in her hair, on her face, ground into her clothes. She looked like someone had slaughtered a dozen pigs right on top of her.
“On your feet, warrior,” a voice above her barked.
She looked up into a set of fierce, whisky-colored eyes.
Fallon.
Her mouth opened and closed several times as his frown deepened. She belatedly realized that they were still in the midst of the fight and popped to her feet. It was difficult since her arm didn’t want to support her.
The battle had turned as men streamed from the trees on stallions that seemed to take great delight in trampling any revenant unlucky enough to be in their path. Shea watched as a man leaned almost casually down from the side of his mount, and with a flick of his wrist, buried an ax in a creature’s head.
Shea’s party had pulled back to the cave to watch the strangers work.
Finding herself out of immediate danger, Shea found her gaze returning to Fallon. What was he doing here?
He frowned as his men cleaned up the remaining revenants.
Shea found herself studying him. She had never thought to see him again.
Tiny lines feathered out from his eyes. His mouth was a flat line as he surveyed the battle. He was so absorbed in his surroundings it was tempting to think he’d forgotten all about her standing there at his side. That was a trap. It was evident by the way he held himself alert that, despite appearances, on some level he knew she was still there, and he was ready to react in any way should she move against him.
Somehow, though, she had thought his reaction to meeting her again would be slightly different. Slightly more. Not this barely acknowledged existence.
Fallon bared his teeth and strode forward, leaving her standing and staring after him in consternation. Then it dawned on her that he didn’t recognize her.
She didn’t know if it was her attempt to look like a boy, the gore caked all over her face and clothes, or just her general insignificance as a rank and file soldier, but he hadn’t looked twice at her.
A laugh broke from her and was quickly stifled. The glee bubbled up and escaped until she was laughing so hard that she was nearly crying.
“Shane,” Eamon roared, “We don’t have time for you to have a break down. Get your ass back on the line.”
Her laughter died abruptly, and she looked over her shoulder to see Eamon glowering at her from his place in front of the ragged line that had formed at the mouth of the cave. Her eyes went from the haggard looking men to Fallon’s warriors.
Though the tide had turned in the Trateri’s favor, the fight wasn’t over. Shea was standing unprotected close to the tree line, easy pickings for any stray revenant. Even as she delayed, a clump of riders with revenants snapping at all sides shifted towards her.
“Move, Shane!”
She didn’t hesitate again and hauled ass back to the dubious safety of Eamon and the others. They waited and watched as Fallon rallied his men and drove the revenants towards the warriors waiting by the cave.
Eamon gave a war cry and tore forward, the rest of the men following as they hacked their way through the beasts while Fallon’s men on the other side did the same. Caught up in the wave, Shea followed, trying to stay close to Clark as they once again engaged the revenants.
The death cries of wounded beasts assaulted Shea’s ears as she hacked and sliced her way through body after body. After what felt like an eternity, but was likely only minutes, of furious battle, a peculiar silence fell over the group when the last revenant was killed. Panting filled the air as each man looked around noting, finally, that it seemed to be over. That they’d won.
Shea knew her face reflected the same astonishment and bloody triumph as those around her.
A single cry of victory rose from Clark, nearly deafening Shea in its intensity, since he was standing at her shoulder. A second cry followed, and then all the men were screaming their triumph at the sky.
A slight smile graced Shea’s lips as she looked around. That smile froze on her face as her eyes found Fallon watching his men with arms folded over his muscled chest. His normally stern face radiated