Chapter Fifteen

Poppy, hidden atop the Rise, steadies herself and sends precise arrows into the Craven swarming the guards below. She tracks Vikter through the chaos and saves him with a shot to a Craven’s skull. She continues killing efficiently, focusing on threats climbing the wall and those menacing the archers.

Craven reach the battlements, dragging down archers. One guard hurls himself and a Craven off the wall to prevent a breach, shocking Poppy with his sacrifice. As the mist thins, the slaughter is revealed; the remaining Craven are cut down, some appearing newly turned.

When the gates reopen for the wounded and dead, Hawke appears on the wall, bloodied but uninjured. He praises the hooded archer’s skill and beauty, edging closer. Fearing discovery, Poppy tries to slip past him; Hawke blocks her path, and she flips him and runs. He pins her cloak with a dagger, then acrobatically intercepts her again.

The chase turns into a close-quarters struggle. Hawke catches her ankle, noting her delicate slippers and deducing she is no guard. Pulled against him, Poppy answers by pressing a bloodstone-and-wolven-bone blade to his throat, drawing a bead of blood. Amused, Hawke calls her a “stunning, murderous little creature,” then says, “Princess,” signaling recognition and imperiling her secret.