Free Blood Song: The First Book of Lharmell by Rhiannon Hart

nothing. Shall we get some water?’ I turned and saw Rodden watching us. His eyes burned with anger – he’d seen me question Carmelina.
    The irony was that even though it had been him doing the lying, I was the one in trouble: he knew I was on to him, and that could only make things all the more dangerous for me.

SIX
    I started my detective work the very next morning. Questioning Rodden had been a mistake, but it wasn’t one I was going to make twice. There were hundreds of people in this castle who must know something and so far I had barely talked to any of them.
    I scrunched my hair as it dried, making it look rumpled as if I’d just gotten out of bed. I had a pink off-the-shoulder gown that made me look a bit like a dessert, and I put a geranium behind my ear. Feeling quite ridiculous, I applied a little rouge to my lips and practised smiling flirtatiously and batting my eyelashes in the mirror.
    There were archery ranges in the bailey and, as I was feeling a little rusty, it would be a good place to practise as well as meet a few soldiers. I left Leap curled up on my bed and didn’t put on my gauntlet, wanting to appear like any other court lady. But that begged the question: did court ladies practise archery? Never mind, the plan would have to do. It was the only one I had.
    The range was deserted when I arrived, so I shot a few arrows for myself. There were all perfect shots; it seemed I wasn’t rusty after all. I was yanking the arrows out of the board when I heard a few deep male voices. Four soldiers came onto the range, jostling each other and kicking up dust.
    ‘Right, you lot!’ bellowed one of the men. ‘Show me you’re not a bunch of little girlies and give me some bullseyes.’ He looked at me and winked. I forced myself to smile back. Judging from the decorations on his uniform he was the captain, and as I paced back to my firing spot I let my body go languid, trying for a sexy, swaying walk but certain I just looked boneless. I clutched my bow awkwardly, notched up an arrow, pulled back with a deliberately weak arm and fired. The arrow bounced off the target and fell into the dust. I giggled and stomped my foot. Then I rolled my eyes and played with my hair. Was it too much?
    A few of the soldiers guffawed.
    I notched up another arrow, and as I drew back on the string I shut my eyes and turned my face away as if I was scared to look.
    ‘Here, here, here,’ the captain said, coming over. He held out a meaty hand for the bow. Testing the string he said, ‘Why, this is a big bow for such a li’l lady. You should ’ave something for your weight class.’
    Idiotically, I’d brought my own bow with me. It was large and obviously for a man. My arms had grown rather strong over the years – stronger than they probably should have, no matter how much archery practice I’d done.
    I gave the soldier a vacant look.
    ‘You need something smaller, honey,’ he explained.
    ‘Oh?’ I said, fluttering my lashes at him. ‘I had no idea.’ I saw a gooey look come into his eyes.
    ‘Well, you’ll just have to sort that out later, lovey. But meanwhile, you’re gripping it all wrong. Let me show you.’
    From behind, he put his arms around me and the bow in my grasp. He smelt vile, like sour wine and unwashed clothes, and his stubble scratched my cheek, but I kept an inane smile on my face. Together we notched up an arrow, drew back and fired. The arrow sank into the board, albeit at the very edge.
    ‘There!’ he said, beaming at me. ‘Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?’
    I twirled the bow in my hands. ‘Why, not at all, sir. You soldiers are certainly very . . . capable,’ I said, letting my eyes linger over his uniform. Inside his armour, the captain puffed up like a popinjay. I looked around, up at the soldiers on the parapets. ‘This palace seems to be so heavily guarded,’ I continued. ‘Why is that?’
    ‘Why, now, you’re not to concern yourself with such things, lovey. You just