Page 42 of Last Ride of the Umbra Fae

A crimson blotch caught my sight, and I looked down to see the remnants of blood. “Did this asshole just clean his beak on my shirt?”

“It’s far better than what he was about to do.” Vessa smirked.

My lips curled in disgust before Raven beat his wings and flew off my chest. He perched on the ledge of the balcony and did his morning business.

Fucking gross.

I dragged my legs over my side of the bed. In one swift motion, I reached back and pulled my shirt over my head,tossing it into a corner. I felt Vessa’s lavender eyes roam over the corded muscles of my back. By the time I turned around, she was watching every move I made while the silhouette of her raven watched hers.

“I want to say I owe you a shirt,” she mocked, “but I kind of like this view.”

I scoffed. “Thank your bird for that.” I shot a daggered glare in his direction.

I had a feeling he would stay in that form for as long as possible, but as the sun crept out from the depths of its dark, there was a whole new day ahead of us. I felt the weight of today already making jagged roots atop my chest.

“I’m going to change and then I’ll see you downstairs,” was all I said before I left Vessa’s room.

Time was pressingas I quietly sat on the edge of my bed, my mind pulling into a thousand places at once. Fang already knew we were here. I’d seen a few of his henchmen strapped as lawmen, stalking our arrival on the rise. One of them had thrown me a silent nod as we’d entered the city. His stone-cold glare had sent a warning down my spine the moment I’d seen his eyes linger on my arms wrapped around Vessa’s waist. The small notion told me he might have done more than tell Fang we’d arrived. Fire Fae were untrustworthy fucking pricks. Yet here I was, fighting myself off because I was no better than them.

In the same stroke of power, my yearning for Vessa beckoned at her door, wanting to be let in. I was supposed to ravage her body, mind, and soul, pull on the edges of her mind and see what made her so special, but every time my heart was near her, all I wanted to do was kiss her smooth, bronze skin and bask in theaura of her light that she allowed me to be in. She was a killer, a legend, and a call to every fiber that made me who I was. As rotten as my heart pulsed with tainted dark blood, it wanted to beat for her.

This was my only fucking job, and I was slipping. This was what I was supposed to do, but every time I needed to lie about who I was, I couldn’t. Lies came easier when not in her presence.

“Fuck.” I grunted, hunched over on the side of the bed, forearms resting on my thighs as I leaned my forehead into my palm. Looking away, I waved a hand in the air with my two pointer fingers and summoned Fang. Sighing, I ran it through my hair and waited for the apparition of his disgusting face to appear.

“Seems like your hands have been quite busy.” Fang’s words caused my jaw to clench. As expected, the Fire Fae were nefarious fuckers. As much as I wanted to punch through the apparition and grab Fang by the throat, my clenching fists remained out of sight, digging crescent moons into my palms, allowing the pain to keep me focused.

“It’s what you paid me to do, right? A handsome bastard like myself had an easy way in.”

Fang curved a thick brow and ever so slightly held a speculative grin. “I was told she’s a beauty, a rarity indeed.”

There was a long pause as we stared at one another. The hard lines in my face hid the malice burning in my fingers at the way he spoke of her. He searched for any cracks, anything that might indicate things might have changed, but when he found none, he nodded.

“You know what to do. If she isn’t delivered at my feet by the time the sun sets tomorrow, it’ll be your head on a pike.” His lips curved into a wicked grin. “I’m sure it will make a lovely new display at the Scarlet Gallows.”

I waved away the apparition. Fang’s face disappeared, unearthing a rage inside me that had my blood boiling. I pressed my chin into my balled fist and took a deep breath. My next thought was interrupted by a heavy knock on my door. It wasn’t an angry pound nor a light tap. There could only be one person who would make a knock sound so heavy and calm at the same time.

End’s Wrath stood in the doorway. Cowboy hat tipped forward, clad in a black trench coat, hands gloved. The old man was strapped more than usual today, which struck me as odd, being he did not need bullets to end a life. I had witnessed what he’d done in the Desert of Miera—removing the flesh off the bones of bandits through the power ofAma. He was a man with plans, always keeping an extra ace up his sleeve, and I knew he had many.

“Time is ticking, cowboy,” End’s Wrath said. The creases in his eyes held a hardened glare as a toothpick hung from the corner of his mouth.

“Don’t worry, old man. You’ll be back in time to enjoy a quiet game of cards before you know it. Your rooms are paid in full for the next few days.”

He said nothing as he stood in the doorway, watching me from beneath the brim of his hat as he picked at his teeth. I finished gathering my things and stepped into his space as he blocked the door. He sized me up even though I still had a few inches over him. Being six-three had advantages, as my attention suddenly shifted over his shoulder to the beauty standing in the hallway. Vessa waited with the strap of her satchel pressed firmly between her breasts. And gods-damn, she could quench any hunger I’d ever felt. Words evaded me as she stared into my eyes. The looming presence of Raven came into view, wearing a dark, slim-brimmed hat, a beige, rolled-up long-sleeve shirt with suspenders, and a pair of black trousers. Helooked like a bodyguard for hire, only, he was dragged by the strings of his heart. I despised the bond they shared with every muscle in my body.

Drawing another breath, I tipped my hat in greeting, staring into Vessa’s eyes. That drew out a mischievous little smirk that made her nose scrunch up, and another stone plunked into the pit of my stomach.

We headedto the east side of Donia. The light that illuminated the city waned the further away we went from the capital of Fang’s palace. We were entering a poorer side of town, where it was normal for the alleyways to reek of copper and be full of questionable slumped-over bodies. This was a nesting ground for the lost, in-between spaces where taverns filled every crevice with heinous acts. This was a place where bandits did their business and where those with guilt went to hide. I’d never forget the way those cries had echoed throughout the night, the way it’d made my skin crawl as fights broke out in the alleyways below until the last sounds had been of a fading life. I’d spent most of my mine in this shithole, bouncing between here and the library until I’d become a bounty hunter. I’d never wanted to step into this area of my past again, but here I was, greed snuffing out most of the memories, because the more money that lined my pockets, the closer I was to never thinking about this place again.

We tied our horses to a post outside a slim, three-story building. A human male leaned up against the wall with his hat tipped down, as if he were resting his mind. I nudged him out of his thoughts, and he jolted back as if we’d appeared from a shroud of smoke. I saw the desperation in his eyes and hungerbrushing against the hollow of his cheeks. I handed him a small pouch of nara coins.

With a seething glare, I whispered in his ear, “You better count every breath as a blessing while I’m away, because if anything happens to our rides, those will be the last ones you ever take.” My words were laced with warning.

“Yes, sir.” With a fear-stricken expression, he nodded, dusting himself off as if he had been magically turned into a businessman, and straightened his spine along with his hat. His eyes wandered to Vessa, and I could tell before the scumbag even moved that his gaze would linger on the swells of her breasts. I grabbed him by the throat and slammed him up against the wall. He gasped as his eyes went wide.

“Look her way, and I will snap your neck where you stand,” I growled.

He nodded best he could within my grip.

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