Talk About Ugly

LERRIN

Suhle dropped his arm like it burned. "I'm sorry!" she gasped, hands to her mouth. "I'm so sorry, you startled me and—"

"Suhle, who taught you to fight?" Lerrin asked faintly.

She stared at him, shocked. "A family friend."

"You said… you said you chose service even before your first bleeding."

"I did."

He sucked in a breath. "Then why did you learn to fight?"

Her face pinched, but she didn't look away. "To protect myself."

"From what?"

Her breathing was quick and shallow, those haunted shadows he'd seen in her eyes at times were back. He thought she would look away, try to escape him. But instead she pushed her shoulders back and sent to him.

During my twelfth summer I was… attacked.

Lerrin felt it like a punch to the stomach. He'd known. He'd known.

Who? he asked.