Chapter Six
The next day, instead of relaxing by the fire where the soldiers played games of chance after a long day in the saddle, Irlan and Shadow were shown the basics of sword fighting by Morell. He was a man of few words, broad shouldered and used his sword like he was in a dance.
Shadow watched the move Morell made and tried to mimic it. The sword was heavy and after half an hour of imperfect copying her arms were beginning to tremble. Someone kicked at the inside of her right foot and she spun to see Carson behind her.
“Widen your stance. You’ll lose your balance and fall on your face.”
“The weight of the sword will probably do that to me anyway,” Shadow muttered, then held her breath as she recalled she wasn’t meant to speak.
Carson laughed softly. “Maybe we should give you a
