He quirked an eyebrow, amused by her idle threat. She would shoot it, but it would do her little good. “Will you now?”
Her eyes narrowed, her hand clenched tighter around the bow. “Your lackey bastards were near here the other day. They raided one of our encampments. I’m sure you already know that though because I’m assuming one of them spotted me somehow. That’s how you knew where to start looking for me.” She continued to glare at him as she broke off, waiting for him to say something. When he didn’t, she continued on. “There were children in those caves!” she snarled. “Children!”
“There are laws, and you and your people are breaking them.”
Her eyes fairly sparked with rage, he could sense her rapidly unraveling control. He had always enjoyed baiting her, watching her response, but this was different, this was not the girl that had stayed in his apartment at the palace. No, this girl was stronger, harder; colder. This girl fairly vibrated with anger and hostility. She looked like a warrior, she was a warrior, he realized. She had always been a fighter, but now she was so much more than that.
She was not the girl that had offered him her vein. She was the woman that was going to fire that arrow at any moment.
“Laws,” she snarled. “Laws! You’re a worse bastard than those monsters that came here to hunt us, and kill us. You sit there in your golden palace and you use us as your food, and your slaves, and you keep us starving and on the run. And you judge me you hypocritical son of a bitch!”
He knew she was going to let the arrow fly seconds before she did. He had pushed her to a breaking point, pushed her control to the edge. The string of the bow twanged as the arrow sliced through the air. He moved swiftly, darting out of the way of the lethal projectile moments before it slammed into the tree behind him. It would have been a fatal shot if he had still been standing there, that fact was not lost on him. She had shown no mercy, and neither would he.
He lunged at her. He had expected her to run, to try and flee on foot. It would have been pointless, but it was human instinct after all. What he hadn’t expected was for her to take to the trees like a monkey. Heaving the bow over her shoulder, she seized hold of a branch over her head, and heaved herself easily into it. She shimmied swiftly up the large tree, moving rapidly through the branches. Braith lunged for her, nearly catching hold of her pant leg. Her eyes were wide when she glanced back down at him, but it did not slow her down as she scurried up the tree.
She leapt onto another limb; she sat upon it for a moment before rising gracefully to her feet. Holding onto the trunk, and the branch above her head, she steadied herself. She stared down at him with narrowed eyes, her breath coming rapidly, and yet she still showed no fear. He had no intention of going up there after her, and she couldn’t stay up there all day, but it was only a matter of time before someone came looking for her, or came to the river. He had to get her out of the damn tree. And once he did, he was going to throttle her.
She stared down at him for a long moment, and then she turned and ran. His mouth dropped, he watched in wonder as she sprinted easily across the thick limb. She didn’t hesitate, didn’t pause as she dove off the limb, flying out across open ground before she caught hold of a branch from the tree next to it. He was too stunned to move for a moment, he could only watch as she swung herself easily onto the branch, hopped to her feet and sped across the newest limb. He recalled Jericho’s words that no one knew the forest like she did, but it appeared that not only did she know the forest she seemed to have mastered it. He was still gaping after her when she leapt easily into another tree, vanishing from sight.
It was her disappearance that drove him into action; he rushed through the woods, following her as she leapt and dove and ran through the trees with the agility of a squirrel. He had never seen anyone move like she did, so effortlessly and easily. She was heading deeper into the forest, drawing him farther away from the area she had been walking toward when he found her. She was trying to lead him away from her family, and friends.
She raced down another limb, he watched in horror and amazement as she leapt fearlessly out of the tree. Except there wasn’t another tree to catch hold of this time. She folded in on herself, curling her arms around her legs as she spun through the air. He had no idea what she intended until she hit the ground. She landed easily, bouncing swiftly up. She darted through the woods in a zigzagging pattern, easily avoiding any obstacle in her way. It was amazing to watch her, amazing to see her sleek agility, and her profound knowledge of the world around her.
Though he was fascinated by it, and felt that there were still many things she could do, many secrets and abilities that she had hidden, he was tired of being avoided. She was heading toward another large tree, if she got into it they would continue to play this game of cat and mouse even longer. He poured on the speed, rushing after her. She had just thrown her arms around the tree branch when he caught hold of her. She did not cry out, did not scream as she planted her legs against the tree trunk and shoved off it with all of her might.
He stumbled slightly backward as she lurched sharply against him with the full force of her small weight. He kept hold of the collar of her shirt though, clinging to her as she tried to dart forward, tried to pull free of his hold. She was far more stubborn, wild, and determined to escape than he had thought she would be. He knew she was a spitfire, but she was a lot more volatile than he recalled her being. She flung herself forward; the thin material of her clothing tore within his tight hold.
She staggered, seemingly just as surprised as him to be momentarily free of his grasp. He dove at her, wrapping his arms around her waist as he caught hold of her. She cried out softly in surprise as they tumbled to the ground. Though he didn’t care about her, he shifted his weight away from her, trying not to crush her beneath him as they rolled over the ground. She was frantic now, squirming against him, her terror evident as she tried to escape his ironclad grasp.
He was surprised by the brief moment of guilt that tugged at him. He wanted her to pay for her perfidy, but he had not meant to terrify her to this extreme. She tried to stagger to her feet, but he kept hold of her waist, pulling her back underneath him as he flipped her over. Her eyes were wide, her hair a straggling mess around her flushed face. She was panting beneath him, her fear palpable as she continued to try and squirm out of his hold.
He seized hold of her hair, his hand wrapping into the thick, wet mess. She pushed at his chest, shoving against him as a soft whimper escaped her. He didn’t know what he was thinking, what he was doing, but instead of burying his teeth in her neck and draining her dry as he had imagined doing for the past couple of months, his lips descended upon her mouth, seizing hold of it. Her hands flattened against his chest as she went still as stone beneath him. He pressed tighter against her, wanting some sort of response, needing something from her, anything.