Page 25 of The Rook

“He needs to shift,” Brine said, his words more of a growl.

Tempest stood just as the horse became a man. He snatched a dagger from her waist and threw it over her head. A dull thud sounded behind her, followed by a scream. She yanked her other dagger from her hip and handed it to the tall, lanky man with shaggy black hair. He flashed her a smile with very straight, square, beige teeth. She grinned back and let another arrow loose as Brine loped after one of their attackers.

Another dropped from the trees. And, so, it went on. She kept shooting until Swiftly cried out. Tempest spun on her heel and nocked another arrow just as another assailant pulled a dagger from the horse man’s back before landing a blow to his head. Swiftly was unconscious when he hit the ground, his assailant following behind him, but in a more permanent sleep.

“Swiftly!” Tempest yelled, moving to his side. She touched her fingers to the base of his throat. He still had a pulse, butthey would need to bandage his wound. Brine jogged back into the meadow a bloody mess. “Who are they?”

“Bandits,” he grunted. “Three more. We can handle them!”

A surge of pride moved through her at the statement. She wiped the sweat from her eyes as a small, male bandit charged at her and maneuvered herself away from Swiftly. She danced around the bandit and used the tip of her bow to swipe his feet out from under him. He growled and rolled onto his belly to get up. Tempest darted in and slammed her bow into the back of his head twice. He slumped into the foliage. He didn’t get up.

The dragon cried again so loudly that her ears rang. Her eyes widened. Wicked hell. It was right above them. The world seemed to slow as a gargantuan, emerald shape descended upon them, blocking the sun and causing Tempest to shiver.

“Fall back!” she yelled. It couldn’t navigate through the trees.

Brine let out a snarl of surprise that made her blood curdle. Across the glen, he limped toward one of the two remaining assailants, a dagger lodged in his calf and another protruding from his left shoulder blade.

Tempest’s eyes watered as leaves and debris filled the air as the dragon tried to land. They were all going to die.

The dragon crushed several trees as it finally landed. It was as if they were twigs. Tempest faltered, and took a step away from the fight, then another and another. A wise soldier knew when to retreat. Now was the time. She took another step then halted, her fingers clenching around the bow.

“No!” she cried, shaking her head, ashamed. Brine needed her help. She left no one behind. Swiftly was defenseless, but Brine’s condition was deteriorating; if she didn’t stay to help, both of themwoulddie. And they didn’t deserve it. They were not the Jester.

She turned on her heel and sprinted back into the fray. Screaming, she caught the female bandit’s attention. The woman smiled, revealing rotting, yellowed teeth as she swung her short sword and raced to meet Tempest. Tempest dropped her bow and pulled her sword from the scabbard. The woman swung, and Tempest dropped to her knees, skidding over the wet plants beneath the woman’s guard and slicing the bandit’s Achilles tendon. The woman howled and dropped to the ground.

Tempest launched to her feet and kept going. Brine faced her, and his eyes widened just as her cloak snagged on something. She choked as the metal clasp dug into her throat. She spun, lifting her sword.

And everything just stopped.

She couldn’t even breathe as she came face-to-muzzle with the dragon.

The beast puffed out a metallic breath, blowing the hood from her head. This was how she died. Her periwinkle hair blew across her eyes, but she never took her gaze from the beast. She held up her sword, at a loss for what else to do. Running wasn’t an option. Her sword could not pierce its hide. A hysterical laugh built up in her chest. Oh, how the bards would sing about the female lion slayer who was eaten by a dragon.

The beast didn’t attack. She tucked her chin and glared at it. “What are you waiting for?” she screamed. Not her finest moment, taunting a dragon, but she didn’t want to draw this out further than need be. Already, her legs were beginning to shake.

The beast huffed and stretched its sinuous neck until the edge of Tempest’s sword was but an inch from its snout. She’dnever seen something more terrifying or glorious. “You’re beautiful,” she whispered.

“Step aside, maiden,” it—he—said, in a slithering voice that Tempest felt slide down her entire body. She jerked. Had the dragon just spoken? “Let me claim my prey.”

Tempest staunchly refused, shaking her head and holding her sword a little firmer, her hands slick with sweat. The creature hadspoken. Words. Human words. She blinked. The only conscious ones left in the glen were Brine and herself.

She swallowed hard. “We have felled most of the team, it seems. Let us be.”

The dragon chuckled; a rumble that started deep in his chest and caused the forest floor to vibrate beneath her boots. “You are a brave one. Or foolish. Likely both.” He tilted his huge, reptilian head to the side, regarding Tempest intently with his terrifying eyes. “Such remarkable hair. Quite beautiful. Unique. Rare. I like rare things.”

Get in line. She kept those thoughts to herself. “We meant no trespass on your territory.”

“So I am sure, and yet you are here,” the dragon crooned. “You must pay a toll for stealing my prey. What payment can you offer me, lovely?”

Tempest faltered for a moment. All she had of any value was her Hound ring. While she didn’t want to rid herself of it, it would be useless to her if she was dead. She held her hand out without taking her eyes off the monster in front of her, the silver ring dull in the fading light.

If the dragon had eyebrows, they would have risen. It was clear he wasn’t impressed. “You can do better than that, I think.”

“I—” Tempest began, frowning. She didn’t own anything else. A lock of periwinkle hair crossed her face in the breeze.She fingered the lock and then eyed the dragon. He seemed pretty enamored with her wild mane. “My hair?”

The shift in the dragon’s attitude changed immediately; his stance relaxed, and the stiff lips around his teeth lifted. She blanched.He’s trying to smile. But it was the most terrifying thing she’d ever beheld.He is intrigued.Although scared out of her wits, she managed to slap a smile on her face.

“If my hair is enough, take it,” she continued, “only swear to me that you will not harm us if I pay your price.”

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