Page 6 of King of Storms and Feathers

Esen appeared, her fingers pressed on her forehead, blood dripping between them.

“Arrow, I swear I only looked away for a second, and the damned gold eater struck me with a rock.”

Violence swirled in her sky-blue eyes. Esen couldn’t stand being bested. If she found the girl before I did, she’d kill her without hesitation.

“Both of you stay here,” I said, taking off at a run and following footprints through the scrub until the bushes thinned out and revealed a clear view of the mountains.

Where would a desperate gold eater hide?

I scanned the land, my senses tuning in to nearby sounds—buzzing insects, the scratchings of desert rats, then rapid heartbeats coming from behind a patch of golden cactus plants.

There was my quarry.

Sword drawn, I stalked forward until I was five steps away from where she was hiding. A twig cracked, and the human sprang up and ran, her arms pumping and brown braid lashing the air behind her like a whip. She was surprisingly fast. But unfortunately for her, I was faster.

“I’m beginning to think you enjoy this,” I said as I caught her from behind, scooped her up, and tossed her over my shoulder in one smooth movement.

“You promised to slit my throat if I ran again,” she huffed out, her chain hitting the backs of my legs. “Maybe I’m testing your mettle.”

“Did I? Thanks for the reminder. But maybe I really like chasing things and you’ve just made yourself more interesting alive than dead.”

Silent, she bucked against me like an unbroken horse. I walked in the direction of the carriage, and then slid her onto her feet by the river’s edge.

I gripped her shoulders. “Run again and I’ll be forced to decide whether I should crush your skull or keep you alive and fuck some sense into you.”

Her throat bobbed as she stared at my boots.

“Look at me.”

She obeyed, her green eyes unblinking.

“Understand?”

No response.

Pinching her chin between my fingers, I wrapped my other hand around her throat and squeezed. “Test me and find out.”

“Yes,” she spat, her eyes aflame with murderous intent. “I understand all too clearly what a lowlife bully you are.”

Lowlife. I bit back a laugh. If only she knew how wrong she was.

Nobody had ever spoken to me with such unbridled hate before. I should kill her, but I hesitated, recognizing something in her gaze that gave me pause. The same icy bitterness that flowed through me, lit by a need for vengeance, cooled and heated her veins, too.

It was mesmerizing to see it mirrored in her narrowed green irises.

Raiden arrived beside me. “Arrow, give the girl to me. I’ll watch over her while—”

“No,” I growled, my attention fixed on those leaf-green eyes. “It’s time you bathed, gold eater.”

My fingers hooked into the neck of her shift. One simple tug and the garment tore in two. She crossed an arm over her scrawny body, shivering under the glare of the afternoon sun.

Gritting her teeth, she clasped her chained hands and whipped them toward my face. Before the blow landed, I seized her wrists, and Raiden drew his sword.

She snarled at him like a rabid dog.

“Leave her,” I said, walking forward, forcing her to inch backward to the very edge of the riverbank. “She’s nothing,” I lied.

Truth: she was too gloriously fucking mad to kill.

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