Free The Battle Lord's Lady by Linda Mooney Page A

“Why are you questioning my
every move, Karv?”
    “Why have you become so obsessed with this
Mutah?” the Second responded.
    “What is so unusual with us taking her
prisoner? We’ve plundered many Mutah villages and absconded with
untold wealth. Just...think of her as another form of jeweled pin.
A pin that is more valuable intact rather than melted down like so
much of the other gold and silver we’ve encountered.”
    He trusted Karv’s instincts, although he
highly detested the man’s often ill-thought-out actions. It was
because of those instincts, especially when they coincided with his
own, that their compound had grown as powerful as it had. Which was
why he always let the little man have his say at anything, even to
contradict, argue, or question his motives whenever he felt it
necessary.
    “Yes, but pins have sharp little needle
pricks that can draw blood. And if you stick one of those little
needle pricks in the right place, it can kill you.”
    “True,” Yulen admitted, then said no more as
he turned and left his Second to comply with his orders. He would
not let the man know he’d gone into the shop unescorted and untied
the Mutah’s hands—
    Her name is Atty.
    —literally freeing her, yet still keeping her
safeguarded—
    Safeguarded?
    The Battle Lord fiercely shook his head,
hoping to clear the fog sifting through his thoughts. He needed to
be clear-headed and prepared for anything on their journey back.
The slash on his face throbbed, sending echoing pain behind his
eyes. Reaching into his saddle bags, he pulled out the tin of
powder once again and took another dose, washing it down from his
nearly empty skin of water. He paused to give the medicine a chance
to get into his system, then went in search of MaGrath to see if
there was something the man could do further.
    More than anything, he needed his wits about
him. Karv was right about one thing. He was becoming obsessed with
this Mutah, although Yulen tried to convince himself it was because
of her incredible abilities. She was more valuable alive, more
valuable as a willing prisoner. More valuable as a—
    My...hair. My hair is my sign. Its...its
color is...unusual.
    Yulen slapped himself in the side of the
face, close to the pulsing wound. The pain that broke over him made
him double over in response, but it helped to clear his mind.
    It was five days’ journey back to their home.
He would need to keep—
    Atty.
    —a respectable distance away if he was to be
of any use to his men during that time.
    Sunrise was not far away, and the Battle
Lord’s anger at himself rose when he realized the only reason he
couldn’t wait for the first rays of dawn was because he needed to
see the girl warrior in the full light of day.
    And see the truth about her difference.
    Like...the color of her hair.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter Nine
    Compromise
     
     
    He had to give his Second credit for his
quickness.
    “Sir! The Mutah! She escaped her ropes!” Karv
came hurrying up, worry and anger like twin sentries framing his
already sweaty face.
    Yulen casually glanced at him. He made the
man wait while he finished tightening the girth on his horse before
turning around to listen to more of his tirade. “The Mutah didn’t
escape. I released the ropes myself.”
    “ What? ”
    “They were biting into her wrists and making
them bleed. So I cut them off of her and had MaGrath medicate them
to keep them from becoming infected. Are the men ready to
mount?”
    He watched as his Second slowly regained
control of his temper and his nerves. “I didn’t believe the little
Mutah bitch when she told me,” he began with a caustic edge to his
voice.
    That same acid note raised red flags in
Yulen’s mind. He lowered his brows at the man. “Karv, did you do
anything to hurt her?”
    The expression in the man’s eyes answered
him, even before his words. Yulen hurried toward the shop with his
Second in tow.
    “I thought she