Sascha stood several feet away, still holding the crossbow he’d used to take down the two other men. He knocked his hood away from his face. “Are you all right?” “Fine. I’m fine.” She was breathing so hard she could barely get the words out, but not so hard she couldn’t leap toward Donner. Toward the bone knife he’d stashed in his belt. Sascha watched her warily but lowered his crossbow. “I have no intention of hurting you, fräulein.” “My name’s Ana.” She wrenched the knife from Donner’s waist and pointed the tip at his unmoving body. “And that’s what he said, too.” Sascha pulled aside his cloak, revealing the leather Guard armor she knew so well. “I’m a Guard. I’m here to protect those who need it”—his gaze swept over the men he’d just killed—“from those who don’t.” Ana flipped the knife in her palm so she could start to saw her way out of the hemp ropes binding her wrists and arms. “Yeah, like I told you. That’s what he said.”
