Page 165 of Deadwood
King Tenere watched as Lander sidled past him, but rather than sticking with his brother, Paxon paused to mutter something in the king’s ear, facing away from me so I couldn’t try to read his lips. With the dip of the king’s chin, Paxon continued on, joining his brother near the three guards behind the second carriage.
“Bowen.” King Tenere regarded me as he stepped away from his guard, facing me and my group with a bored stare.
“King Tenere,” I replied blandly. “I’d say it’s nice to see you again, but I think we’d both rather skip the false pleasantries, with all the creatures waiting to demolish your group just beyond the line of light.”
He didn’t fall for my threat, but many of his men did, turning to nervously glance around them. Every couple seconds, when the breeze caught a flame, it’d illuminate the sandwalkers waiting on the outskirts of their lights. A few of the men shifted on their feet, likely thinking they might die tonight.
They were right to be scared.
One wrong move, and their torches would snuff out. A mistake they didn’t know they had made, given my smoke was more than eager to be released upon them. All that stood between their life and the afterworld was those little tendrils of smoke pouring from the tips of their flames. A shame they decided on the old-fashioned way of light rather than magic. But I assumed that was due to resources running thin with Auria being gone so long. I had no doubt she’d be worked nearly to death upon her return, and it made me all the more inclined to stay quiet about her whereabouts.
“Where is she?” King Tenere asked, doing his best to sound civil but utterly failing.
I cocked my head in question. “Who?”
“My daughter,” he gritted out, his tone taking a bit of an edge.
My eyes narrowed in thought. “Sorry, you’ll have to be more specific.”
His teeth ground together. “Auria.”
With her name, my brows raised. “Ah, I remember her.”
“I am not a fool, Bowen. I know she’s here. I received word that she and my guards took refuge in this pit of a place. Where is she?”
“Asleep, along with the rest of this town. You should really think about coming in uninvited at a more reasonable time if you desire an audience.”
His hands flexed at his sides. “It is time for her to return home.”
“Is that what Auria wants?” I asked, folding my hands together behind my back. Despite the casual stance, my magic thrummed in my veins to the beat of my heart, thrashing inside me wildly, like it sensed danger and needed to get out.
Something wasn’t right.
“She is needed back in Amosite, so that is where she will go,” King Tenere declared.
“Is that so?”
He inhaled a deep breath, then raised a hand, signaling a guard. The man moved, walking past the horses to the second carriage. We watched as he opened the door and reached inside. A muffled protest came from within, and then a woman was being yanked from the coach. She stumbled on her feet, despite looking fine otherwise, and with a closer look, I recognized her instantly.
He had brought Auria’s best friend, Taylin, along for the ride. Auria had briefly told me about her, and it was no secret the two meant a lot to each other. This was about to get ugly rather quickly.
Taylin slumped into the guard as her worn shoes tripped on each other in the sand. Flynt must have realized that she was drugged—heavily—at the same time as me because his stance stiffened, his hand moving slowly to the dagger at his side.
“I didn’t want to involve her little friend,” King Tenere began as the guard brought Taylin a few feet from the king. “But she has left me no choice.”
He was desperate. Barely a few words exchanged, and he was resorting to manipulation.
“Sure. Torturing Auria’s best friend will definitely make her want to go back to Amosite with you,” I said before I could catch myself.
King Tenere’s brows peaked at that. “She does not wish to go, then?”
I shrugged, trying to keep up the fucking casual act and feeling anything but. “Not my decision. It’s Auria’s.”
“She doesn’t get a choice. I am her father,” he boomed back as a guard rifled through a long, cylindrical bag to his left. Taylin swayed on her feet slightly as she continuously blinked, likely trying to get ahold of herself.
“Everyone has a choice,” I replied.
The busy guard pulled a short, thin stick from the bag, and I quickly realized it was a small arrow. The tip glowed a bright orange, casting a hue across the man’s face.
