Page 31 of The Lands Defying
“Shouldn’t they be selling in the center?”
He shrugs. “It has always been here, some of my men would come here for their bread when we came to collect taxes.”
“I thought the guards did that mostly.”
“They do now, yes. We were too busy hunting.”
Hunting us. Unknowingly.
Darius walks forward, dropping my hand and I want it back immediately. As we get closer, we see two shadows move around inside, the window having a display of a few loaves of bread and what looks like some kind of cake, maybe.
Darius’s heavy footfalls vibrate the wood beneath the small steps leading up to it, and a chime rings as he enters, filling up the space with his presence entirely.
“Hello, welcome to—” an older woman stops mid-sentence, and I once again stand beside Darius.
Her wrinkled face shows her panic when Darius drops his hood back, pulling down his face mask and revealing himself.
She quickly shakes her head and then clears her throat.
“Welcome, welcome, Alpha Darius.” She tilts her head to the side, showing him her neck.
An older male comes out from a back room, also baring his neck. “Is there something in particular you would like, Alpha Darius,” he says, his bearded face wary as his eyes move to mine.
Darius grunts, then taking a step forward, he asks, “I have a few questions I would like you to answer truthfully.” The pair share a glance before the woman speaks.
“Of course, would you like some tea? Maybe some of my sea cake?” Sea cake? I look at the one in the window and wonder if that’s it.
“No. Do you have any children?” Darius is always straight to the point.
The air instantly tenses, and I wander to the side of the bakery to a set of shelves there. Preserves are in jars, a layer of dust covering them.
“N-no,” the woman mumbles. “We unfortunately weren’t blessed with any.”
I turn and tilt my head at her, hearing her heartbeat increase.
“You’re lying.” Her eyes shoot to mine, and she sucks in a breath as I also pull my hood and face mask down.
“You’re… you’re the traitor,” she gasps, hand on heart, eyes wide.
The male moves his hand below the counter and then lifts a blade the size of my forearm, pointing it at me.
A deadly growl has his eyes now moving to the very angry male in front of him.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” It’s a murmur, but no less deadly coming from Darius.
The blade shakes in the male’s hand before he drops it on the counter.
“Talk. Now,” Darius demands, letting his dominance flow out of him. While it makes the pair whimper, it caresses me like a blanket I want to wrap myself in.
It makes me want to climb him like a damn tree.
Darius’s head snaps my way, his eyes heating for a moment as they trail over me before turning back to the pair.
The female is the first to speak. “We had a girl.” My heart stops, and ice runs through my veins. “She was five months old when we last saw her.”
I move to stand at Darius’s side, my fingers twitching as a tendril of power comes to my back, slithering up to the base of my neck.
“Why was that the last time you saw her?” I ask.
