Page 71 of A City of Flames

His fingers dart towards his bottom lips as he presses down and draws back to find blood. “You bit me!”

“I’ll do much worse,” I spit as I inhale every bit of air back into me. Wild rage radiates from him, then my gaze flies to the door. Darius bursts through as planks of wood break off, and I look behind him, shocked to see all of Tarron’s men are unconscious on the floor.

Show off.

Flitting my gaze back to Darius, he notices my lip; it must have Tarron’s blood on it. With that, he’s a mass of wrath and fury as his stare drifts from mine to Tarron’s.

“Who are you people?” Tarron demands. I keep the blade out, not willing to give him a chance to attack but his face slowly pales as if he’s about to pass out. He fumbles backward, stuttering as he whispers, “The Golden Thief.”

Darius must have dropped his glamor.

“No—please,” Tarron begs; saliva splutters out of his mouth as he looks between us and crouches onto the floor. “Please don’t hurt me. Take whatever you want, money, jewels, anything!”

Darius hums a smile, a pleasurable one like he’s gladdened that his name inflicts that much fear in someone he’s not yet touched. He stalks forward, his smirk saying he is not one to mess with as he keeps his composure, but the more the seconds drag, I wonder if he’s waiting to strike.

“What I want—” He lowers himself to Tarron’s level “—is for you to shut down this tavern, pay every barmaid in here what they deserve, and then leave the Draggards for good.”

So, Darius wants more than just the crystal. He’s seeking justice.

“And—” Tarron swallows. “And if I don’t?”

Darius raises his hand to the side of Tarron’s face. What would seem to be a sensuous move isn’t as a flame ignites from Darius’s gloved finger. “Then, I’ll make you wish you complied.”

My muscles lock before Tarron winces, crying out as the flame makes contact with his skin.

Darius withdraws his finger for a moment. “Now apologize to the young lady.”

“I’m—I’m sorry,” Tarron whimpers as he looks at me. The burning panic pinches around his eyes, but I stay still, not uttering a single word to say if I accept it or not. It’s best I keep it to myself.

Darius stands up and reaches for a wooden box hidden between books on the top shelf. He opens it and takes out an emerald crystal, the shape of my palm.

I pull a face. He knew where it was this whole time.

Oh, how he aggravates me.

He walks over to me, throwing the crystal up in the air, catching it before he grabs me by the elbow and stops to look back at Tarron. “One last thing,” he says, eyeing Tarron up and down with a mischievous smile that spells trouble in every way possible.

Cackles and whistles swarm the air throughout the tavern as Darius and I watch Tarron walk out into the center of everyone naked.

My face contorts into a tight wince, and I look at Darius. “Was that necessary?”

He nods, drinking his mead. “Always.”

“So, is that how everyone fears you? You make them strip and embarrass themselves in front of a crowd?”

He chuckles, mouth closed, and shrugs. “Most of the time, but people tend to spread other rumors. Frankly, I love hearing the ones where I turn into a raging dragon beast and slaughter them.”

Frankly those rumors are pathetic. I roll my eyes and study him. “Well, would you?”

“Only if it comes to it.” He winks at me, and I frown. “Like I’ve said before, Goldie, it’s not fun killing someone if I’m not hunting them down.”

“And who have you hunted so far?”

It takes him a moment for my question to hit him. He looks straight ahead, partly lost within himself. “Everyone except the people who deserve it the most.”

I don’t realize how close we are until his arm brushes my chest. “And what is stopping you from hunting them?”

“Nothing,” he answers and takes another swig. “Killing just doesn’t seem satisfying enough.”

---