Page 123 of King of Storms and Feathers

A snore rustled the air behind me. “Ari, wake up. Hurry.”

Rulers in every realm coveted gold reavers. So last night, for safety, I had insisted Ari sleep beside me. Now, she sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes as a single knock thudded against the door. A servant entered, delivered breakfast, then left without a word.

After Ari pronounced the grapes free of serum, we ate them and awaited our summons from Leaf’s brother. I paced back and forth across the room, while Ari lectured me about the importance of remaining calm during my meeting with the regent. Not to move against him unless he or his guards harmed Leaf.

Nodding as if I agreed with her, I cracked my knuckles and pictured smashing the pretender’s nose to a pulp, praying I wouldn’t have to wait long to indulge in the pleasure.

For nearly four hours, I wore tracks in the floor rugs. Then, finally, the steward arrived and led us to the entrance of the hall.

The open doors revealed a large light-filled room, where everything was awash with white and gold, including the twisted tree roots we stepped over.

Once my attention honed on the girl standing on a low dais beside the man I assumed was her prick of a brother, I could absorb nothing else about my surroundings. I could have been stepping over the bones of my dead family, and all I would have seen was her face.

Leaf.

Alive. Unharmed. Mine.

It took everything I had not to immediately swoop down and snatch her from his grasp, his gold-mottled fingers clutching her hand as if they were a united force. My muscles burned to crouch, then leap and take, but the Sayeeda’s hand pressed against my clenched fist.

“Breathe, Arrow,” she said, and I did my best to comply.

Drawing residual storm particles from the air deep into my lungs and veins, I waited.

“Come closer,” said the regent, and Ari and I walked forward like animated statues, burying our feelings, our true natures behind hearts of stone.

I couldn’t take my eyes off my human.

Standing with the bearing of a queen, for a split second, her gaze met mine, and the fury I saw in her eyes stopped my heart from beating. My gut twisted and clenched as my lips ached to form words of apology. For what, I wasn’t certain.

Perhaps I needed to make amends for everything I had said and done from the moment I met Leaf. Without a doubt, I’d wronged her many times over. And as an idea took shape in my mind, I knew that before I left this hall, I would need to hurt her again.

A sheer metallic tunic flowed over Leaf’s bodysuit of tight black leather, the sides made of panels of bright gold metal that molded to the curves of her waist. At first glance, it resembled a warrior’s outfit. But then I noticed two tear-shaped slits that ran along the sides of the pants, exposing her outer thighs and knees, rendering her body vulnerable.

The right side of her head was freshly shaved and the remaining hair braided and woven with pieces of twisted gold. It sat high above her head in a crown-like shape that reminded me of a peacock’s tail. From her clothes to her gold-painted lips, she looked regal, majestic, and every inch a powerful princess.

But most of all, she looked like my Leaf, my Aldara.

When I shifted my attention to her brother and saw Leaf’s features replicated above his padded shoulders, shock faltered my steps. Once handsome, his face had clearly been ravaged by serum addiction.

Now I understood why he wanted greater control of the gold that circulated through Mydorian. His life was ruled by the substance, and I doubted he could survive more than an hour without a dose flowing through his bloodstream.

“Welcome,” the regent said as we stopped in front of the dais cradled by a circle of white trees.

It surprised me to see his head shaved in the same fashion as Leaf’s, with a crown of rubies and gold slipping low on his sweat-dampened brow.

No bows or smiles were exchanged as he gestured a jeweled hand toward Leaf. “I believe you’re already acquainted with my sister, Zali Omala,” he drawled, not bothering to use my title.

“Princess,” I said, dipping my head slightly. For one glorious moment, her lips parted, revealing the gap in her teeth, and as her eyes met mine, something warm flashed in the deep-green irises.

Silent, she lifted her chin and stared past my shoulders.

“How pleased your people must be, Regent, to have their princess and ruler returned to them,” I said, hoping my measured voice hid the barely leashed violence simmering in my blood.

How I longed to rain terror upon this pretender’s throne room. Break his every bone. Burn him. And sweep Leaf away from him forever.

“Indeed,” the brother replied. “Very pleased.”

“And are you happy to be home, Princess?” I asked.

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