CHAPTER XII #5
“Hmm, perhaps it doesn’t,” the man nods, eyes slowly moving back to my face. He takes in the bruises on my cheek and chin and smiles again, almost like he enjoys the sight of them.
“Or perhaps it does concern us… more than you will ever know.”
The men around him straighten in their seats, as if he’s said something of importance. Their hands slowly make their way to the various weapons angled across their backs, their once smug attitudes now attentive.
“Is your woman companion a human by chance?” the man asks.
“What does it matter?” Lord Daniel quips.
“Again,” the leader flicks his gaze to Daniel, “more than you will ever know.”
Lord Daniel eyes the man before jutting his chin to the road behind him.
“On your way, Leviathan. I have no time games.”
I shift atop Millie and subtly reach for my dagger, noticing the man on the far end of the line moving his horse towards mine.
“This is no game, my Lord.”
“Then you’ll do well to remind your man of that,” Daniel nods to the man moving closer to me, “because if he takes another step, I’ll send the rock of the earth through his horse’s belly, then his own.”
The man in the middle openly scowls at the threat. His gaze darts to his companion before he looks back at Daniel, lips feigning a friendly smile.
“We only wish to greet the human woman, Discerni.”
His gaze meets mine again, the look he gives excited when none of us deny the nature of my race.
I watch him closely and grip the handle of my blade, frowning when the braids against his back start to sway towards his shoulders in an unnatural way.
There’s no breeze in the air but somehow they’re moving to the front of his chest, the colored beads at the ends tightening like they’re some sort of collar around the dark hair.
It truly is unnatural, and I don’t know if it’s the darkness playing tricks on my eyes or something else, but I swear I see the braids start to transform into the likeness of snakes.
What in the Old World?
Stormfall shifts under my neck, his full body going tense as his talons grip me hard. The sharp pierce into my shoulder pulls my gaze away, and when I look back at the man his braids are unmoving, once again falling behind his back.
I steel myself and send the Leviathan a feigned smile, giving him the greeting he wants.
“Hello.”
“Hello,” he smiles smugly, “human reborn.”
I narrow my gaze and feel Stormfall take an attacking stance under my hood.
“Tell me, Lady,” his brown eyes hold mine, “did you find what you were looking for on your travels?”
“You’ve had your greeting, sir,” I remind him curtly.
The man grins in amusement, as if there’s something funny with what I said. He lets his eyes drift to my lips and down my neck, his smile growing even broader when his gaze settles on chest.
“This is no sir, human,” the rider on the man’s right says with a scowl, “this is Prince Yiannis Antanavicius of Livyatan. You’d do well to bow.”
Prince Yiannis leans forward in his seat with a look of expectance. He lifts his brows, waiting for a proper greeting, but I stay atop Millie in unmoving defiance, watching as the ends of his braids start to move towards his chest again.
Ancients, are those really snakes?
What in the ever-loving Old World…
The Prince chuckles when I don’t make a move, his smirk laced with a silent approval that his companions don’t seem to agree with. They all lean forward in their saddles as if they’d like nothing better than to pull me to my knees and make me bow before him.
“Earth through belly,” Lord Daniel reminds the men as the ground starts to vibrate.
Prince Yiannis turns to Lord Daniel in consideration before relaxing back in his saddle, signaling for his companions to do the same.
“My apologies, Lord, Lady,” the Prince nods, “do not fault my men for their traditionalism. They’d love nothing more than to see a pretty lady down on her knees.”
“That’s enough!” Lord Daniel commands as the Prince’s men all start to laugh. Cal shifts in his saddle like he’s about to charge at them, and I think the Prince sees it too because he’s quick to diffuse the insult with a smile.
“I, however, enjoy a strong and defiant woman,” the Prince tips his head at me in some sort of salute, “remain on your horse, Lady. You remind me of our desert women sitting there.”
“We will be on our way now,” Daniel glares.
“No,” Yiannis replies causally, moving his horse forward, “not yet.”
The ground around us starts to rumble again, the yellow grass swaying underneath us all. The Prince of Livyatan arches another brow, this time directed at Lord Daniel.
“You’ll attack a Prince of the Kingdoms, Lord?”
Daniel’s eyes narrow at the implication while I grip my blade even tighter.
“What is it that you want, Prince?” he spits.
“Something simple,” Yiannis shrugs his shoulder, “very simple. All we want is to see the fruits of the Lady’s travel. Then we’ll be on our way.”
“You have an interest in women’s riding gloves and books?” I ask sweetly.
“Of course not,” he chuckles, “why would a man like me have any interest in such trivial things? But you and I both know those are not what I’m referencing…”
Stormfall shifts on my shoulder again.
“I can’t say I do, Your Highness.”
“I’m sure,” he smiles with sarcasm, moving his horse closer still, “though it really is a simple ask. I just want to see what you have learned from your travels…”
The Prince’s hands extend to the riders beside him, “my companions and I will not be leaving until then.”
The weight of his words settle into the night as a new and heavy tension. The Prince’s intention becomes clear- He and his men won’t be leaving us alone until they get a look at Storm.
I glance at Lord Daniel and see he’s poised and ready for sudden action.
His face is hard and determined, as if he knows we’re not going to be riding away without an altercation with the Leviathans.
Cal has the same look on his face, his own hands shining with hidden blades that are waiting at the ready.
Both of them are prepared to fight, there’s no doubt about it, but with our small group outnumbered five to three, is that truly the only way out of this?
A deafening silence starts to build as the Prince looks at the three of us in more expectance.
His eyebrows quirk from atop his horse, his features wondering just as I am if Daniel and Cal are actually willing to attack.
I shift in my seat and grip my blade harder, feeling as Stormfall moves on my shoulder as well.
His talons pierce my skin hard enough to draw blood, nearly making me wince, but it’s not until his beak nips sharp against my neck that I take an involuntary inhale to quell the pain.
Fuck me.
This isn’t the time, Storm.
The Bird of Ash nips again, almost as if he’s trying to tell me something.
Hmm.
I straighten my shoulders and look directly at the Prince of Livyatan, truly gambling at this point. If Cal and Daniel are prepared to get us out of this situation by means of a fight, then I might as well give them a distraction to do so.
“I’ll show one of you the fruit of my travels, Prince…”
Yiannis lifts his eyes in surprise.
“But it will not be you.”
The Prince smiles in amusement. “Grigori!” he exclaims, never taking his eyes off me.
The man on our far left moves his horse forward.
“Greet the Human Reborn,” Yiannis commands, “I’d like to see what she has gained in Pyre.”
I nod my head in agreement before peering towards Daniel and Cal, willing them to be ready for what’s about to happen.
Cal’s eyes catch mine, also nodding in understanding, but Daniel looks on with a slight hint of confusion.
He wasn’t with us in the meeting room when we discussed Hirovale’s Bird of Ash and his powers, so he’s about to be as surprised as the rest of the Leviathans.
I reach for the hood of my cloak and pull it back slowly, giving Daniel another look that begs he be ready. The Leviathan, Grigori, moves his horse next to Millie and eyes the bruises on my face. He smiles at the sight of them, then begins laughing outright when I scowl.
“Any day now, Lady,” the Prince chuckles.
I situate Millie’s reins around the horn of my saddle, freeing the hand to bring it up to my face. My other hand still rests on the blade near my waist, my fingers gripping it tightly as Stormfall’s talons grip me.
“Tell me, Prince Yiannis…” I look at the man solemnly, “do you value the life of this man next to me?”
The Prince’s brown eyes dart across my face before he shrugs, “not particularly.”
Grigori turns his head in confusion but is only received with a small nod from Yiannis.
His Prince urges him forward as I angle my shoulder away from the rest of the group, giving them my back before slowly pulling my hair away from my face.
My heart beats rapidly as I watch Grigori’s hazel eyes dip down my neck to find Storm, his gaze immediately widening just as Stormfall’s talons push off my shoulder.
“It’s a beast!” he announces to his group.
Within a breath of the words leaving his lips, chaos erupts.
“Take her!” the Prince yells, kicking his horse towards me as Lord Daniel’s hand darts up to the sky.
The ground rumbles below us as a solid rock wall quickly cascades in front of the four remaining men and blocks their movements.
Stormfall leaps from my shoulder at the same time, his wings extending forward and aimed straight at Grigori who is now reaching for Millie’s reins.
Storm quickly lands on the Leviathan’s neck and pierces the skin with a tight grip, his wings folding around the man’s head and smothering him from the nose down.