Chapter 4 #4
He rises and stalks towards me and I force myself not to take a step backwards when he approaches.
I have to crane my head upwards to meet his gaze, but I do.
I refuse to cower, and though she is a spoiled, high maintenance princess, Tesni also believes herself to be untouchable.
She wouldn’t be afraid of this man, and I will not allow myself to be either.
He reaches out and I do flinch back instinctively ever so slightly.
This seems to amuse and delight him, his blue-gray eyes sparking.
He reaches again, and this time I don’t move when he grasps a lock of my hair and holds it out between us.
“Red,” he says pointedly, as if I’m an imbecile and the men around us laugh.
I blink, shocked to see that he’s right: my hair is a bright, fiery red once more.
Great Makers, I haven’t seen it this color in so long.
But of course, Tesni would have changed my hair and eyes back to match her own.
I look like me for the first time in almost fifteen years.
Would I even recognize myself if I looked in a mirror now?
Blackheart arches a dark brow and I again remember the part I’m to be playing.
I slap his hand away and scowl, and he chuckles low, a cold, mocking edge to it, before walking away.
"A lot of coats for a Fire Witch who I suspect is always nice and toasty,” Blackheart observes, toeing the large pile of clothes they’ve pulled from the trunk.
“It’s called fashion,” I sneer, doing my best to look down my nose at him. “Something you disgusting mongrels obviously know nothing about.”
One of the men laughs.
“Sharper tongue than I was expecting,” he observes. Shit. Did I mess this up already? Is this not how Tesni acts?
“Not even half as sharp as I’ve heard it can be,” Blackheart counters.
Oh good. So, I was right: Tesni is just a raging cunt and everyone in Hypathia knows it.
“Someone get her bandaged up,” he adds, gesturing to my bleeding arm and forehead.
A woman with white-blonde hair cut nearly to her scalp on one side, the other side flowing down to her waist, and sharp, angular facial features rummages in a saddlebag, looking for healing supplies, I imagine, but I only watch her from the corner of my eye.
No, my gaze remains on the barrel-chested man who leers at my exposed thighs, the low cut of my dress, a dark look in his eyes that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.
“Turner,” Blackheart barks, and the man pulls his gaze from me. “Help Gilroy put all this shit back in the trunk.”
He nods and walks away as the woman comes towards me with a bundle of cloth. She wraps my arm quickly and inspects my forehead, but decides it doesn’t need anything more than wiping the dried blood away. I wince and hiss.
“Ow! You’d do well to be careful,” I snap. “Didn’t you hear? I’m expensive.”
The woman glares at me and I glare right back until she eventually rolls her eyes and walks away. I turn to find Blackheart staring, his eyes are dark and cold.
“You’re just as bad as they say,” he spits, shaking his head. He mounts a giant Northland, black as midnight and taller than any horse I’ve ever seen. He juts his chin towards another Northland, this one a shade lighter and a few hands shorter, but still massive. “Up you go.”
“No collar?” I ask, frowning. I’m surprised that a group of obvious Hunters wouldn’t be more prepared. Shouldn’t their first order of business be to subdue my Gifts with something more long-lasting than the poison from the carriage?
“I’m not worried about you, little fire witch.
” I narrow my eyes and he gives me a look that’s half amused, half challenging.
“You want to try? Go ahead.” He spreads his arms in invitation.
I clench my jaw, knowing damn well that I can’t do a thing, and even if I could, Tesni would know better than to try.
Whatever game he’s playing, it’s a stacked deck.
Anyone who couldn’t see that would be a fool.
He chuckles darkly when I do nothing but cross my arms and press my lips into a thin line.
“So, as I said: up you go.” I eye the horse warily and Blackheart huffs out a mocking laugh.
“Surely King Barony’s great Gifted knows how to ride?
I’ve heard he has prize winning Elysians in his stables.
” It’s true. King Barony has some of the most beautiful horses in all of Hypathia, and Tesni and I both learned to ride at an early age.
Of course Tesni would have continued that throughout her life and would have no problems with this beast, but I haven’t ridden in years.
I take a deep breath and hope that I remember enough to look competent.
“Of course I do,” I snap irritably. “I’m just used to superiorly bred animals,” I add, bitingly. I hate how easy it is to sound like my sister, to play the spoiled, entitled, ungrateful fire bitch that she’s known to be.
“Oh, my apologies, My Lady,” Blackheart says mockingly, the sarcasm so thick that I’m surprised the bastard doesn’t choke on every word. “Up,” he says, all humor gone and that cold, commanding tone ringing loud and clear.
I grip the horse’s saddle and begin to hoist myself up when I feel uninvited hands on my ass, pushing me upward and squeezing greedily in the process.
I clench my jaw and throw my leg over the horse, and when I’m settled, I turn to find Turner grinning, clearly proud of himself and daring me to say something.
There is a darkness in this man, one I’ve seen too many times to count in my life.
He’s the kind of man who thinks he has a right to take what he wants from a woman, whether she agrees or not.
The kind of man who doesn’t take no for an answer.
The type of man I’ll kill without a wisp of guilt in my heart if he tries anything more than what he’s just done.
“Get on with it, Turner. I want to make camp by nightfall,” Blackheart barks.
Turner raises a length of rope and I grit my teeth, but don’t fight as he binds my wrists and then ties the length of rope between my horse and Blackheart’s.
Turner holds my gaze for another long heartbeat before walking away.
Blackheart turns his horse to face me, eyeing me in a way that makes me shift in the saddle.
Not in any way like how Turner had, but a way that makes my heart settle firmly in my throat.
It’s like he’s stripping away every last layer of my defenses, seeing every secret I’m trying to hide.
“You try anything, you’ll regret it,” he finally says.
I swallow hard but nod once. He turns his back to me and after a few more minutes, we ride out into the unknown.