Chapter Seventeen
Jian
We are betrothed.
Somehow, those words felt more like a betrayal to Jian than learning the soldier he’d trained was a woman.
If he hadn’t seen the skill Hua possessed, he wasn’t sure he’d have believed it. But why not? He’d seen women fight before. It was common in Koulland, and even Qara had the skill. Yet, part of him wanted to send Hua back to her family where she’d be safe from the coming battle.
Every other part of him wanted her fighting by his side. He got the distinct impression she didn’t need his protection.
No, she had Luca for that.
He’d avoided Hua in the days following their conversation on the rooftop, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the fearless girl sitting on the edge. Hadn’t she been living on the edge of a cliff for months now? If the w
