she insisted.I pressed my back to the wall and inched forward to peer over the railing. Below, three gray-coated soldiers stood in the doorway, guns in their hands and scowls on their faces. Pale morning light spilled around them, illuminating part of the room and turning Raven’s face a luminescent white. She’d drawn a wool cloak around her shoulders, and her dark hair hung in disheveled waves down her back. She seemed younger, vulnerable. When she spoke again, her tone was pleading.“You’ll wake my da,” she said in a wheedling tone. “He’ll be angry.”“If I find spies in this house, your da will rot in His Excellency’s prison. That should worry him more than his lack of sleep.”“Look if you wish,” she said. “You’ll find nothing, I swear it. Go on, search all the rooms!”The soldier gazed at her face as if he could peel off her skin with the sheer force of his stare. She returned it, her expression equal parts defiance and fright. The soldier sniffed once in derision.
