Page 17 of Tower of Tempest
Missing Teeth tipped his head at me and grabbed the satchel from my arms, then slipped a dagger from his boot.
My entire body grew cold. “What are you doing?” I asked as he pointed it at my neck.
“Didn’t say I couldn’t slice you up a bit. You know how much the wings on your back go for on the black market? Lots of humans and elementals willing to pay a lot of money to hang those on their walls or use the feathers for pillows and blankets. Softest ones in the world, they say. Those made from elemental feathers.”
I stumbled away, bumping right into the back of their cart. “No.” The thought of him cutting the wings from my back made the blood freeze in my veins, an icy fear crackling over me. “I gave you my gold. Just let me go.”
Stubbled Chin and Narrow Eyes came up behind Missing Teeth, and it was clear they had no qualms about what he wanted to do.
I didn’t have time to form a plan. I just acted on pure instinct. Withall my might. I shoved my back against the cart, feeling the wheels slide against the road.
“What in the bloody fires are you doing?” Stubbled Chin lunged for me, but I rammed my body against the cart, and it slid farther, creaking and rasping.
“It’s gonna go over the cliff!” Narrow Eyes yelled.
All three men ran as their cart began to roll over the edge, their attention no longer on me.
I didn’t even look behind me as I pumped my arms and legs and ran, hearing their shouts and curses in the distance, and eventually, the crash of a cart falling off the side of a mountain.
Chapter Nine
LOCHLAN
Amber liquid sloshed over the sides of my tankard of ale and onto the silver table where I sat with Driscoll and Leoni.
We’d searched everywhere for Poppy, but she’d managed to evade us, and now she was gone. We’d walked through the forest back toward the village in Winged that lay a few hours north of Poppy’s tower.
The sky court was easily three times the size of Apolis. My home was scattered among a rocky hillside that overlooked the sea, a place where everyone knew each other—and each other’s business. Which meant as soon as I stepped foot in the water court, word would spread about this mission. Technically I did what I’d set out to do: I found her. I freed her. Well, she freed herself, and knocked me unconscious in the process. That hadn’t been part of the plan, and Leoni was still stewing over the fact that I’d gotten hurt.
“I’m okay, Leoni,” I said as she stared at the cut on my forehead. “It’s just a small cut.”
“I should’ve been there to defend you,” she shot back, that gold-red bun bobbing on her head in the way it did whenever she tilted her chin up. “It’s my job to keep you safe.”
Driscoll flicked her arm. “You know that Prince Lochlan is like a tree and you’re like a little weed, right? I’m pretty sure he doesn’t need you to defend him.”
She pushed his finger away. “It’s my job.”
I couldn’t handle the arguing, especially not now. “Well, you did your job. I’m safe and sound. The mission was a success.”
So why did I feel like such a failure? My mood soured, and I took another deep drink of the ale.
“Should we cut him off?” Driscoll asked Leoni like I wasn’t sitting across from him.
“I’ve had half a tankard,” I said, leaning back in the chair, then wincing at the narrow back. Everything in Valoris was made to accommodate its winged citizens.
Even the tables in this tavern were carefully placed with a wide berth so citizens’ wings wouldn’t brush against each other, which I’d been told was an intimate act. You didn’t touch a sky elemental’s wings unless invited to do so.
Leoni reached across the table and placed a hand over mine. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out with Poppy. I know you thought your dreams meant something, but maybe”—she bit her lip—“it’s time to get your shadow back, and then we can get back to Apolis in time for the conclave.”
The conclave. My brother’s first order of business as the new king of Apolis was going to be bringing all the leaders of the courts together for the first time in over sixty years. It was time, especially since dark dealings were stirring in Arathia, ones I’d come face-to-face with in the last year.
“Your shadow is our priority,” Leoni continued.
Her gaze dipped to my neck, where those blue lines crept down, now almost to my chest. If the lines reached my heart before I either got my shadow back or returned to the place where my shadow was taken, I would die. It was that simple. I’d truly thought Poppy would be my answer. It had felt so right, everything about this. Right up until she’d revealed my shadow had kidnapped her gran.
What in the fuck was that about? I had a lot of questions about why she thought it was my shadow who’d done it, but it made sense, givenmy dreams. Maybe people and their shadows were more connected than we’d thought.
A few patrons walked by, their wings carefully folded behind them. Their shoes clacked on the black-and-white checkered floor, and a huge lantern filled with flickering candles emanated a warm glow over the place. I liked the dim lighting. It was easier to stay incognito, especially since I was a rather recognizable figure. Normally I’d welcome the attention. The fawning. The swooning. But tonight I wasn’t in the mood.
