She’s pissed at Stremon: not scared of him.
She leans in close and at first, I think she’s hugging me, but then her hand slides lower, and I realize she’s feeling around my pockets.
What is she looking for?
Then she finds it.
She finds one of my knives: one of my best hunting daggers.
Quickly and smoothly, she pulls it from my pocket, turns her body, and hurls it at Stremon. Before I know what’s happening, he’s dead on the ground: the knife sticking out of his neck.
“What the dragons?” I say, looking at her. “How the fuck did you do that?”
She just shrugs. “Didn’t you wonder how I got my name? Now, come on. Let’s get you out of these ropes.”
Chapter 14
Dagger
It’s not that I wasn’t afraid.
I was.
It’s just that Ezra is more important than fear.
It’s that Ezra is the only thing that matters.
It’s that Ezra saved me, and I had the chance to save him, too.
I slice the ropes that bind Ezra and instantly, he’s on his feet kissing me, hugging me. He lifts me off my feet and spins me in a circle. Then he kisses me more and more and more.
“You are incredible,” he murmurs.
“Thank you,” I whisper. “You would have done the same for me.”
“I’m so pissed at you for putting yourself in danger,” he says. “But you were absolutely, totally, completely incredible.”
“Like I said, you would have done the same for me.”
Ezra just shakes his head, like he can’t believe what he’s hearing, but he doesn’t push the matter further.
“What should we do with the body?” I ask. “Should we just leave it here?”
“Absolutely. It’ll be gone by nightfall. I guarantee it.” Ezra kneels beside what remains of Martin Stremon and retrieves his knife. Then he starts checking his pockets.
r /> “Looking for loose change?” I ask, surprised. Surely Martin doesn’t have anything valuable on him, but I’m wrong.
“Looking for these,” Ezra stands and shakes a couple of keys. “He had to get here somehow, right? I’m guessing he’s a better pilot than you.”
“Hey, come on now. I did my best.”
“I’m just saying that having our very own ship could come in handy.”
“How will we find it, though?”
“Easy,” Ezra holds out the keys. Attached to one is a small locator device. It has coordinates, but it also has a little arrow that points in different directions, depending on how the item is turned.
“Is that a compass?”