The Firebird’s Gift Series Box Set 1 by Alex Hayes

Author:Alex Hayes [Hayes, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shaking the Tree Press
Published: 2020-12-18T05:00:00+00:00

57

Demyan

With an angry huff, Dee dropped her focus from the man fleeing through the forest and shook the gun. “I’m pulling the trigger. Why isn’t it firing?”

“Let me see.” Demyan took the weapon and examined it. “There’s a safety mechanism. Must have reset when it hit the ground. You flip this catch.” He showed her.

Dee took the gun back and searched the woods, but the man had faded from sight. She lifted the weapon in his general direction.

“Don’t bother—” Demyan started, but she pulled the trigger anyway. “Perun’s teeth, that’s loud!” He rubbed his ears. “You’re wasting your time. He’s already gone.”

“Damn! Damn! Damn!” Dee shouted. Then she grinned and clicked the safety back into place. “Can I keep it?”

“As long as you promise not to shoot me. Just be careful, that’s all.”

She tucked the gun into her waistband as they continued along the path. “I didn’t know I was supposed to be a princess. Why did you tell him I wasn’t her?”

Demyan groaned. “Because he wanted to kill her.”

“Would that have been a problem?” she asked.

He marveled at her deadpan expression. “For you, yes.”

Dee shrugged. “Life’s overrated, but I think, for now, I’m glad he didn’t.”

“Well, I was second on his hit list, so I did us both a favor. Besides, your being a substitute for the princess was just a story to get us out of Nova Radcha.”

“Why do they want her dead?”

“Because they don’t want her telling everyone stuck inside the hellhole of a city she’s from that it’s safe to leave.”

“Why not? Isn’t there more room out here?” Dee asked.

He huffed. “It’s political, meaning complicated. I’ll explain it sometime.”

“Did they send you to kill her?” Dee asked, unabated.

“Yes, but I’m no killer.”

“No. I’ve met killers.” She squinted toward the trees. “Like that jerk who just got away without my bullet in his butt.” She looked back at Demyan. “Killers are cold and hard, and you’re not like that.”

He studied her as she moved ahead along the narrow track. She had a point. On the whole, his life had been crap, unwanted by his mother, hated by his aunt and a disappointment to his whole family. Still, it hadn’t made him cold and hard.

When the path grew wide enough to talk again, he asked, “How long were you in Nova Radcha working for Madame?”

Dee shrugged. “Two winters. Maybe three. It’s better to forget.”

“And before that?”

“I was a kid,” she said, in a way that made Demyan’s heart shiver. “Where are we going now?”

“To see some babushkas.”

She looked at him, eyes curious. “I’ve never met a babushka. Are they nice?”

“They’re amazing.” Just thinking about them gave Demyan a warm, comfortable feeling inside, a sensation he hoped Dee would soon discover.

“But they probably won’t like me.” Her voice hardened. “All the women in Nova Radcha hate girls like me. Some of the men can be nice, but they can’t be trusted.”

“Do you trust me?” Demyan asked, and immediately wanted to kick himself.

Dee gave him a long look. “No, but don’t feel bad.

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