The question caught her off guard, and she stared at Augustus, dumbfounded. Her lips thinned to a straight line. Had she heard him right?
“He’d sure feed a lot of my people.”
“He’s not for sale.” The words left her mouth in a rush as she shoved the hood on her cloak back, chin raised as she stared down the man before her despite their height difference.Feed his people?The thought made her sick. She was horrified that someone had even entertained the thought of eating him. Demitria’s gaze traveled up and down the older man. Waiting for the fight. Willing it to come. Augustus outweighed her by more than fifty pounds, but with her skill the take down would be easy.
His weathered eyes narrowed into a glare at her reaction before focusing his attention to Jace standing beside her. “Name your price. My people need their food.” He demanded, refusing to acknowledge the answer she’d already given him.
Demitria’s eyes roved to the clerk standing quietly behind the table. He’d known about the horse. Had seen her with him for years since she and Jace had been trading. He knew exactly what the horse meant to her, but watched anyway, brow raised in a curious look.
“I said he isn’t for sale.” She growled, her hand tightening so hard around the hilt of the sword her knuckles were white.The smooth metal warmed in her palm as the blood within her veins boiled. A rage built inside of her, ready to explode, when a strong hand upended her by the back of her cloak. In an attempt to regain her balance, her legs buckled at the knees. She fought to stay upright, unwilling to tumble down to the dusty floor. She would have hit Jace had he not caught her off guard.
“Enough, Demitria!” He bellowed. “Go wait outside with Atlas. I’ll finish this on my own.” His tone harsh, angry.
She could see that fire swirling within his gaze as he stared her down. It would be a useless battle to try and argue with him, that much she knew. Jace being angry with her was almost unheard of, the fact that he’d so openly looked ready to tear her to pieces was a telltale sign she needed to leave. Now.
“Fine.” Her eyes found their way to Augustus one last time, the warning in them clear before she began her retreat outside.
“It’s time for the adults to do their business.” Augustus quipped. The audible groan from Jace was the last thing she heard before her body turned back of its own accord, shutting out the room around them as she homed in on the man before her.
To hell with being complacent, and fuck letting it go.
Demitria swung. Her fist arched through the air in one rapid, glorious movement and connected with the older man’s jaw. Augustus stumbled backward into the counter as he nearly took out the rest of the men behind him when he fell. With glazed eyes, his body ricocheted from the wooden counter to the floor, blood dripping from his nose in a swift current, mixing with the dirt floor beneath him.
She didn’t stay to utter threats. Her movement fluid as she left, despite the anger that still roiled within. She had felt some release with the punch, but gods she was so ready to just lose herself to it. To let that rage take hold of her body and let it do with her as it willed.
Outside, Atlas stood patiently, waiting for their return. Dark ears flickered in Demitria’s direction, and his low nicker reverberated through her chest. A smile spread across her lips at the sound.
“Hi there, boy.” Holding out a hand, the horse nuzzled into her palm, letting out a long sigh of content. “I wasn’t gone that long.” Chuckling, she couldn’t help running her fingers down the soft fur of his muscled, sleek black neck. Atlas inhaled deeply before letting out another sigh as he attempted to nuzzle into her cloak. Each stroke of her hand brought wave after wave of calmness that tangled with her rage. Satiating it for the time being. A side the beast always seemed to bring out in her. They’d been inseparable for years now, owing each other their lives.
In the earlier days of their war forsaken planet, their community had been ravaged by a creature out for blood. An angel, so consumed with rage, had annihilated anything and everything in his path. Tearing through the homes of their community, tossing aside the Guardians like they were nothing more than fallen leaves on the wind. Demitria had been prepared to stand her ground in those moments. Prepared to lay down her life for those that couldn’t fight. In the end she’d stood alone, the others too injured to be of any use. But she fought back.
The kill had been something she never enjoyed. The smell of blood, or the sound of flesh being cleaved in two. It made her sick to her stomach. Even after years of bloodshed it never got easier, but the need to protect those she loved was too much. The need to protectJacewas what had been her driving force for so many years.
Demitria’s hands found the silver scars along Atlas’s back. The angel had flown in on a magnificent dark horse with wings that looked as if they’d been carved from obsidian. The creature had been injured in the crossfires of the battle and rendereduseless. With his wings broken, the horse had been discarded by its master. Abandoned and left for dead.
Demitria had tried to end his suffering once the battle had been over, but looking into the creature’s deep brown eyes, she’d wavered, the blade falling from her hands and clattering to the ground at her feet. After so much killing… to take another life...
Despite the harsh comments from the other residents on housing—caring for one of the creatures, it had taken her months to slowly nurse him back to health. She’d spent excruciatingly long nights changing and washing bandages from scraps of fabric that she’d managed to get her hands on, and applying salves made from yarrow, one of the only plants she’d been readily able to find and that Stella, their community’s “healer,” had shown her how to make, to ward off the infection that threatened to settle in. His wings had been beyond repair, but he wasn’t broken. Others thought differently of the choice she’d made, but none of that had mattered to her. Atlas hadn’t left her side since.
Jace rounded the corner, reaching her in three large steps. “Get on the horse and go. Now.” He growled, eyes narrowed as his lips held in a thin line. “One job Demitria. One fucking job…”
Demitria met his glare, not wavered by his anger. “Don’t start with me, Jace.” What had he expected? She knew the punch had probably been a tad overboard, but she was not about to tuck tail and let Atlas go for food. Like hell she’d let that happen.
“You can’t go around threatening people with your sword, or punching them whenever you’re angry, Demitria. Especially a leader with a community as large as his.” He scolded, gripping the bridge of his nose before he quickly secured the pack around him. Jace drove his point across, as if hoping that she’d understand the ramifications of her actions. Demitria knew what she’d done was wrong, she just didn’t care. She’d fight forthe things she cared about, regardless of the consequences on her or anyone else.
“You know he didn’t give a shit about what I had to say. I was communicating my feelings in the only way he seemed to understand.” She could feel the corners of her mouth tugging up into a grin. Untying the reins, she tossed them back over the horse’s head before easily swinging her foot into the stirrup and mounting.
“Are you mad?” Jace exclaimed. “We’ll be lucky if they don’t tear down our entire community. You could have started a war!” His hand raked through his hair once more. “You should have at least listened to what he had to say!”
“Excuse me?” Had Jace not seen an issue with the man demanding they sell Atlas? As food, nonetheless! “He is not yours to take from me. He’s one of the only things I have left.” Gods, she could feel the prick of tears in the corner of her eyes. Crying was something she hadn’t planned to do. It most certainly was not the first time Jace had seen her cry, but she sure as hell didn’t like when it happened.
Weakness. That was what crying was, and weakness got you killed. After everything they’d been through, she couldn’t afford to show it. To feel it. Not again. Pulling the hood over her head she nudged Atlas forward, away from her companion.
“That’s not what I meant, and you know that!” His voice carried easily over the whir of the motor as he kicked it started, pushing the throttle down as it jolted forward in a burst of speed. He met the horse’s gait easily. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m going home.” With another soft nudge Atlas exploded beneath her. His powerful legs thundering across the ground as they made their way back to the community. Jace would catch up within minutes, he always did. Atlas was running, but not nearly as fast as she knew he could. They were still too far away from home to not be in pairs. It was too dangerous to be out sofar alone, and she wasn’t stupid. Mad yes, but that didn’t matter out here. Leaving anyone alone would be a death sentence, and Jace was the one person she couldn’t bear to ever lose.
Demitria could be many things. Angry. Sarcastic, even brash. But cruel was not one of them. Even in a petty rage.
