Free Son of Corse (The Raven Chronicles Book 2) by KateMarie Collins Page A

silently cried herself to sleep over having to turn away from where she was certain Sera was being kept .  He’d comforted her the best he could, making sure she didn’t know he cried as well.  There was only one person besides Sera whose absence would hurt more.  And he wasn’t certain Arwenna wouldn’t try to trade herself to Bohrs to secure Sera’s release.
                  Angrily, he pushed the thought from his head.  Joss would put a dozen arrows into Bohrs before he let that creature touch Arwenna again. 
                  Arwenna glanced at him, concern in her beautiful eyes. He smiled, willing his worries to fade.  He wasn’t about to burden her further by letting her know his fears.  Maybe when all this was over, when they could laugh about it.  But not now.
                  A smoldering keep lay in the bottom of a small valley. The blackened walls bore mute testament to how violent the attack was.  The wooden gate, nothing but splinters now, lay scattered about the outside of the keep.  Empty iron hinges hung dejectedly, melted by intense heat.  Joss frowned.  From what he could tell, the gate had been blown apart from the inside.
                  Barek raised a hand, signaling them to stop and dismount.  Joss slid off before reaching up to help Arwenna.  He could feel Barek’s eyes on them and couldn’t resist placing a gentle kiss on her head as her feet hit the ground. 
                  She smiled up at him, a tight smile that spoke volumes. One day, this little war between himself and Barek would be fought. The skirmishes were starting to wear very thin on Arwenna, though.
                  Adjusting his quiver slightly, Joss took a moment to nock an arrow. He caught sight of Mialee sneaking towards the back of the keep.  Barek and Y’Dürkie were approaching the entrance cautiously, weapons at the ready.  Glancing over his shoulder, he nodded at Hugh. The blacksmith wasn’t much of a fighter, but he’d make sure no one snuck up behind them.
                  Joss picked up the sound of still crackling fires as he walked through what used to be the gate of the keep.  Small hot spots still burned, scorching what little grass and wood remained to feed off of. 
                  The inner courtyard was a sickening mix of charred bodies and wood.  Whoever attacked the place hadn’t left anything untouched.  Arwenna knelt next to one of the bodies, the green of her magic reaching towards the corpse.  Joss didn’t say anything.  He knew she intended to talk with one of the dead in hopes of learning who or what did this. 
                  A furtive movement of shadow against a wall caught Joss’ attention. Without a sound, he motioned towards Hugh. The man nodded in response, and the two began to circle towards opposite ends of a row of stone arches.
                  Joss raised his bow, ready to shoot at a second’s notice.  The soot dusted walls added to the shadows, making it darker than it should’ve been.  Joss barely noticed the shadow as it darted through another archway.
                  Moving quickly, he got to the archway before Hugh.  The shadowy figure passed through a patch of sunlight streaming through a broken wall.  Joss caught sight of the man’s face and let loose with his arrow. The arrow struck with force, piercing his shirt and pinning the man to a support beam.  Before the man could do much beside turn, Joss loosed another arrow, pinning the other arm.  Vaguely, he heard Hugh calling for help as he let fly a third arrow. That one landed just below Bohrs’ crotch.  Damn , he thought, I missed .
                  “I’ll give you one chance to answer, cretin, before I put the next arrow in your throat.  Where’s my daughter?”  Joss growled with fury.  He raised his bow, the arrow ready to