Chapter ONE - Weebly

Before he could clear his vision or remember how to
inhale, a pair of hands hoisted him to his feet. Someone
pounded him in the gut a second time, and then they set
to work on his face. A blow to the jaw, another to the
eye, a third to the cheekbone. Ethan felt his knees
buckle, felt blood trickling from his mouth and from a
burning cut just below his right eye. He was tempted to
conjure, but wasn’t sure he could incapacitate more
than one man at a time. And before he could think of a
spell, a fist to the stomach made him heave, though he
managed somehow to keep from throwing up. They
straightened him, and Ethan braced himself for another
blow.
“Enough.”
One word, but it stopped his attackers cold. It came
from Ethan’s bed, as had the demand for his blade. He
didn’t have to see Sephira Pryce to recognize her voice,
but he would have preferred to look her in the eye.
The hands holding him up released him, and Ethan’s
legs gave way. He fully expected to fall to the floor, but
someone had placed a chair behind him. He flopped
into it.