Page 20 of Of Wind and Terror

I grit my teeth together at her blatant disrespect.

I may not be in my kingdom, but I’m still a Gaiadamn prince.

She’ll do well to remember that.

“Where. Is. She?” I don’t recognize my voice. It’s abnormally low, almost a growl.

I take a single step forward, brandishing my ax.

The female’s eyes narrow. “This is not the way to get what you want. Haven’t you ever heard of asking nicely?”

I bare my teeth at her, already envisioning ways I can end her pathetic life once and for all.

Runt makes a strange yipping noise and then jumps on my shoulder. His sharp claws dig into my flesh, and I have to hide my wince.

Fucking pacon.

I swear he does this just to irritate me.

The pacon releases another keening noise, and I momentarily pull my attention off of the blonde fae to focus on the annoying beast. He bites down on my ear hard enough to draw blood and then jerks his chin towards the smallest building—nothing but roughly hewn logs that have begun to fade in color from the consistent and overwhelming sunlight.

The damn pacon doesn’t need words for me to understand.

Kassandra is there.

In that hut.

Everything fades away—the bodies littering the ground, the glaring female fae, the puddles of blood, the pain in my stomach and shoulder. The knowledge that Kassandra is here nearly brings me to my knees.

Once I get her back, I won’t let her out of my sight. Not now. Not ever.

I turn in that direction instantly, dismissing the female fae without a word. She’s not worth my time.

Or my blade.

I’m not sparing her life because I suddenly gained a conscience or anything as absurd as that. There are simply more important things to do.

“STOP!” the fae bellows, but I ignore her.

I move towards the entryway, preparing to duck in order to step inside, when a tiny figure barrels into me. I instinctively place my hands on her shoulder to steady her, and once I come into contact with her smooth, porcelain skin, I never want to let her go.

Kassandra.

Little beast.

Mate.

All coherent thoughts leave me. Flee. Vanquish. I pull back just enough to stare into her perfect, heart-shaped face.

Plush, pink lips.

Brilliant-blue eyes framed by dark, sooty lashes.

Golden hair falling in perfect waves around her.

I grab a fistful of those luscious locks and tug her face to me. Just before our lips can meet, something moves between us.

“MOTHERFUCKER!” I roar as Runt swipes a claw at my face, causing me to stumble backwards a step and release Kassandra.

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