Summer Rainault shaded her eyes, glancing up at the sun. She was nearly to Camelot; in fact, she could see the castle’s towers rising in the distance. The heat was oppressive, and she nudged her mare to greater speed, hoping to at least generate a cooling breeze.

Absorbed in her thoughts, she didn’t pay much attention to the sounds around her until the several roughly dressed men had surrounded her. “Well hey, what’s this?” one of them growled, brandishing a knife at her. “Pretty girl, all alone, not a good thing.” Another one chuckled, a cruel sound.

“All your money, and quickly,” the one with the knife said, beckoning.

Summer twisted her mouth sideways. “Do I look to have money on me, you fool?”