•The Forest Road•
[Ace's POV]
Ray and I moved forward slowly, each step deliberate and measured on the packed dirt of the forest road. The man lay sprawled ahead, a dark shape against the earth. The late afternoon sun cut through the trees in long, slanted beams, dust motes dancing in the golden light. It illuminated the fine weave of his tunic, the good quality of his boots. He's no bandit, I thought, the observation doing nothing to ease the coiled tension in my shoulders. Bandits wore leathers and rough-spun wool, not tailored clothes that spoke of rank or station.
Crouching beside him, I reached out two fingers to check for a pulse at his neck.
His eyes flew open. They weren't the glazed eyes of an unconscious man, but sharp, focused, and alarmingly alert. In the same instant, his hand shot out from beneath his chest, gripping the hilt of a sword I hadn't seen. The blade flashed in the sun as he swung it in a vicious, horizontal arc aimed at my throat.
