Starkeeper of the Fractured Crown

“Maaaaahhhh.”

I stopped, his tone startling some of the nargs into retreating a few steps.

I gripped my hands at my sides and turned to him. “What?” I asked through my teeth.

He stepped out from the shadows, his navy blues near black now, his shoulders tense. He honestly looked like a General in this moment. A warrior capable of killing me without breaking a sweat. “Where did you get that information?”

Fear slid down my spine at the look in his eyes. “Why?” Did he not know? How could he not know? He was theGeneral.

“Where?” he repeated evenly.

I watched him carefully, suddenly afraid of beingalone with him. A rational fear I should have had since the moment I had first met him. “A warlock. I won’t tell you his name, and I won’t divulge where I met him,” I stated bravely. I couldn’t give him Talaroe’s name. I wasn’t going to be the reason a war broke out between the two species. If he wanted that information, he would need to do his own investigating, as for me? All I wanted in this moment was to pet a narg.

His eyes narrowed. “Then how can I trust your source?”

I lifted a hand and dropped it, feeling a little irritated that his line of questioning was keeping me from these magnificent beasts. “You wanted information. There it is. If you don’t trust it, you should go back to your precious little High Court.”

A muscle in his jaw feathered. “What rock?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, an important one, I guess.”

“Name?”

“No.”

His nostrils flared. “Don’t fucking lie to me now. If my High King decimated a village for it, I need to know why.”

Ihatedthat. I hated it more than anything else in the world. “Stopsmellingme,” I ordered, hearing the nargs retreat at the sound of my heightened voice. “Go ask him yourself if you want to know so badly. He’s your king.”

He bared his teeth, but his anger was falling. After a moment, he rolled his shoulders. “Tell me about them,” he jutted his chin towards the demons.

I wouldn’t allow him to see the relief I felt at hisrelaxing, but I was sure he already smelled it. “Are you done acting like I’m the enemy?” I challenged.

His shoulders relaxed even more. “Only if you’re done too.”

I sneered. “Youarethe enemy, Cole.”

“What happened to—”

“Stop bringing that up,” I snapped. “Iamtrying to understand you, but whatyouneed to understand is that no matter how much I learn from you, I will still be human. Soft and fleshy and easily killable, and you will always be an immortal warrior with wings and magic, honed to kill. Everyone is the enemy of the fly. Everyone. I’ll understand you, I’ll even listen if you give me proof that you’re not just some evil bastard here to decimate us, but you’ll always be the hunter and the humans will always be the prey. That’s just how it is. So get over it.”

He studied me for a moment before releasing a breath and rolling his eyes. “So, the nargs?”

Gods above. With a sigh, I turned back to the demons, my mood soured. “They’re gentle. Herbivores, like all demons—”

“Demons are not herbivores,” Cole stated, joining my side.

I wanted to move away from him. I didn’t want to feel the warmth from his body or smell the peppermint wafting from his skin. At the moment, I wanted nothing to do with him. “Yes. They eat berries, leaves, bark, grass, bushes, but never meat.”

“The verlacs had sharp teeth, Talons. They were trying to eat me and there are no animals left inthese woods.”

I leaned away from him subtly, flexing my hands. “Not because they were eaten. And don’t question me about the evolution of demons. That’s an immortal’s job, not mine. They like to hunt for fun, but they don’t eat what they kill. It’s a game. They love games.”

He looked over. “Why do you have a bow if you can’t hunt?”

“Hope,” I replied, taking a slow step towards the nargs once I saw that they had calmed again. “I know how to use it well, and I hope one day the animals will come back.”

“Maaaaahhhhh.”