Heartbreak“I will kill him!” Valence’s face was dark, and his fists were clenched. He strode across the clearing to me, his narrow eyes as sharp as a blade. “Give me a sword!” he thundered. He looked around the forest but saw only Bri’s wooden weapons.
I clutched my knees to my chest as I lay in the grass.
“He is my slave, and I will deal with him as I see fit,” Jon declared.
“He murdered my son!” Valence grabbed a wooden sword and swung it at me. I put up my arms and the wood hit my forearm, hard. The pain shot down into my hand and up into my shoulder. I cried.
“Avinna, disarm him,” Jon said, and she leapt between us, grabbed the wooden sword by the blade, and twisted. It popped out of Valence’s hands.
Valence turned his fury on Jon. “How dare you stop me from killing this disgustin
