Page 159 of Deadwood
My fists clenched at my sides, fingers threatening to break. “You’re not leaving, and that’s final. He can march into Deadwood all he wants. Burn the damn town down if he so wishes.” That earned a worried glance from Raiden. “We didn’t survive all these years just to cower in his presence. Neither did you.”
Auria stared up at me, a thousand words shining in those green depths.
“You two need to get out of here,” Raiden said, interrupting our silent promise to each other. We wouldn’t let anything happen to either of us or this town. “The crowd will calm down eventually, but I don’t think it’s wise to keep Auria in their sights at the moment.”
I gave him a nod of understanding. She wasn’t the problem, but the townspeople didn’t know that, and they surely hadn’t been convinced during her stay, which meant they most likely wouldn’t be swayed in the next few minutes.
A flash of lightning split the air right above our heads, but not one of natural occurrence. My smoke shot out, wrapping around the electrified thread before it got the bright idea to do any damage. Hazy ribbons snuffed the bolt out, the air instantly smelling burnt. A guard aimed for the attacker, though if they’d wanted it to strike, it would have landed true. They were sending a warning shot, demanding answers.
My fingers laced through Auria’s, pulling her close to my side as a wall of smoke fanned out on either side of us, causing the outraged citizens to part as I tugged her through the crowd, back toward the forest behind town. They wouldn’t follow—not if they wanted to keep their lives.
“Will they kill me?” Auria asked, causing my steps to falter.
I glanced down at her, doing a double take before stopping. My hands gripped her shoulders, turning her to face me. “No. I wouldn’t let them, even if they wanted to.”
“They’re angry, Bowen. You can’t be so sure of that.” Her eyes held a sheen, one I wanted gone.
“My p— The citizens of Deadwood don’t want violence. That, I’m sure of.”
She tilted her head in question. The only light illuminating the two of us was from the rings glowing silver in the sky. “A town full of criminals doesn’t want violence?”
“We have always strived for peace. That’s been our goal since the beginning. It’s—” My words cut off at the sudden change in her face, like realization was hitting her.
“What?” she asked.
I shook my head, dropping the subject. “Nothing.”
“You think I’m too fragile to tell me,” she surmised, deflation coating her voice.
My brows pulled together. “What? No. That’s not it, Auria.”
“Then what?”
“If I don’t protect you, then it’s your father—his kingdom—who’s after me.” If anything happened to her here, he’d have my head on a spear for the harm that came to her, even if it wasn’t my doing.
Her body went stiff before she stepped out of my hold. “Then why let us—me—stay here until the bridge is rebuilt if you’re so scared of the consequences when something happens to me?”
The way she said it made it sound as if she was so sure harm would always come to her. “Nothing will happen to you.”
Butfuck, she’d already been attacked here. Injured by both people and animal.
She shook her head, knowing this, too. “You don’t know that. My father would have killed you had any of those times ended in my death. He’d flatten Deadwood to nothing but dirt and dust.” Her head fell like it was just now hitting her that the dangers of being here might be too much to bear.
“I do know that, Auria, because I’m the one making sure no one puts their hands on you. Not again.”
Again, her head swung back and forth. She was in denial. “I was a fool to kiss you,” she whispered. The way her words hit felt like she meant it more for herself than me.
I opened my mouth to reply, but my words were cut off as a twig snapped somewhere deeper in the woods. Without hesitation, I grabbed Auria’s arm, pulling her to the nearest tree to pin her between my body and the trunk.
Don’t say that,I spoke quietly to her.
Her forehead creased, eyes boring up at me as her chest heaved in frightened breaths.
I will never regret what we did, Auria. Not even if you begged me to.
“Please, do tell why you have my brother’s fiancée pinned to a tree.” Paxon’s voice grated every nerve in my body like a knife against wood.
Smoke coiled in my veins, desperate to strike, but I kept the tendrils concealed.
