Page 73 of King of Storms and Feathers

“Come forward, Esen,” I said coldly.

A gentle smile of reassurance on Raiden’s lips, he squared his shoulders and nodded at her.

Esen stared at my boots, her face pale with fear. “Please, Arrow,” she said, dropping to her knees. “I only wanted to protect you. To free you from the hold the human has over you. How can I make amends? I’ll do anything. Anything you say.”

“Enough,” I boomed as lightning flashed, a bolt forking into the middle of my chest. Thunder crashed a heartbeat later.

I glared down at Esen, my face impassive. “You dared to raise your hand against my property. You knew I counted on your loyalty, your friendship, and yet you still betrayed and hurt me.” I let silence hang between us while the scorching wind howled, whipping the desert sand into glittering, star-lit vortexes that eddied around us. “Stand up.”

Esen's teeth chattered as I turned toward the pit of fire. “You wouldn't,” she whispered. “Please, Arrow.”

Terror contorted her features as I dragged her to the edge of the pit. She had betrayed me and needed to face the reality of the harshest consequences.

Hair blew over my face as I thought about what it would feel like to shove my traitorous guard into the flames. It was only what she deserved. And with Esen gone, it would be much safer for Leaf at my court.

Raiden called out, “Arrow, remember the persimmons.”

“What?” I snapped.

“When we were children, remember how you hated them with a passion? Your mother made you eat them with every meal to strengthen your magic. And for years—even though Esen despised them too—she ate yours and never told a soul.”

Images of our shared childhood flashed before my eyes. The sad girl Esen had been. Unloved, until Ildri took her in. Esen gagging on those fucking persimmons.

My mind was already made up. I didn’t want to hurt her. I couldn’t kill her. But I needed her to understand the gravity of her actions. And that my authority was law.

Esen had to be punished.

I clapped my hands together, a wave of magic exploding from my palms, and I directed it between her shoulder blades. “It pains me to hurt you, but your betrayal cannot go unpunished.”

Her spine buckled as she cried out, her fingers clawing the air before she collapsed on the dirt, unconscious with her limbs jerking.

Drawing the energy inside me, I stepped back, and gestured to Raiden. “Return Esen to her chambers. The healers may attend her, and you can stay with her until she wakes. When she does, tell her that the next time she so much as looks at the human with ill-intent, I won’t hesitate to send her through the Gates of Amon.”

Raiden let out a long shuddering breath, then gathered Esen into his arms. “Thank you, my friend. I won’t forget your mercy. Esen loves you. As do I. You must know that everything we do is to protect you.”

Without responding, I turned away, my heart heavy with the knowledge that those who professed to care about me could be disloyal when it suited them. Perhaps this was a hard truth all beings faced—kings or not.

When Esen hurt Leaf, she may have convinced herself she was only protecting me, but jealousy was her unconscious motivation. She saw the human as a threat. And in truth, so did I. But for very different reasons.

There was nothing special about Leaf. She had no magic, hidden or manifest. No power. She was an unremarkable human, a member of the species who had killed my family. When I found her in Bonerust, I should have killed her without a second thought. But I didn’t. Couldn’t.

Why did she have such a terrible hold on me? Why did I care about someone I should despise? These were mysteries that needed solving.

First thing in the morning, I would send spies to scout the Earth Realm. If anyone was missing a gap-toothed troublemaker, my men would soon hear about it.

Then my curiosity would be appeased, and gold be willing, the girl’s insidious grip on me would loosen. At least enough for me to breathe properly again.

Chapter 19

Leaf

“Has Arrow lost his mind?” I asked Ari as I rode beside her on a rather flatulent dappled gray mare. “Yesterday, I escaped, you hid it from him, and today he’s letting us ride off together into the sunset, and I’m not even wearing chains. He’s unhinged.”

“This is a test. And I must point out that the sun is still high in the sky, so there’s no sunset to ride into.”

I huffed a laugh. Ari often took my words literally, context and nuance evading her. But what she said about Arrow rang true. This was a game. And the games he liked best were the ones where only he understood the rules.

“A test of what?” I asked. “How far I can flee on horseback as opposed to on foot?”

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