Page 88 of White Raven

“Where am I gonna go?” I motioned around. “You think anyone here will help me? I can’t run away. I promise to return most obediently to you.”

“That’s not—” A synchronous groan came from the spectators; the sound of flesh and bone being hit taking Onyx’s attention back to the fight.

“I’ll be right back, master,” I snipped, turning away before he could stop me, my annoyance rolling off me like a cloud.

“Kanin . . .” I heard him growl, but I slipped away through the throng, the fight pushing the crowd forward. Heading toward the food stall, I weaved through the dense horde, trying to keep calm against the claustrophobia of the packed figures.

“Hey.” A man stepped in front of me, his speech slurring. “Where’s a little thing like you think you’re going?”

Tipping my head back, I saw a tall, dark-haired man. In his twenties, he had a short beard and long plaited hair, tattoos covering the side of his face, his nose flat. He could have been deemed somewhat attractive except for the lecherous smile curling his lips. His gaze leered down at me, tracking my face under the hood, stopping on my grey-blue irises. The smile faded, his blurred eyes clearing, his built frame stiffening.

“What the fuck?” He stepped right into me, the packed-in bodies barricaded around me, not letting me retreat. He reached over, yanking down my hood, the light from the torches shimmering over my hair. “Well, look what we have here, boys.” He tipped his head. “A little Day ravn far from home.”

Four other large, menacing men stepped in behind him, wearing the same black trousers and tunics as him. Danger prickled at the back of my neck and the instinct to run burned in my gut, screaming at me to move, to flee them.

“Excuse me.” I tried to push past them.

“Whoa.” The leader grabbed my arm with force, wrenching me back. “You aren’t going anywhere, fitte.”

“Let me go.”

“I don’t think so.” His lip lifted, his manner filled with violence and controlling dominance.

“I said, let me go.” I hissed, yanking on my arm. “I promise, you do not want to do this. You will not like the outcome.”

He let out a laugh, his eyes glinting. “Did you hear that, fellas? Sounds like we’ll be sorry,” he mocked, and his friends laughed in unison, their energy just as threatening. “What are you gonna do, fitte?” He brought me closer, his ale-smelling breath beating down on my face. “You are either an enemy hiding among us, which then I am only doing my civic duty. Or you are someone’s thrall, and they don’t care enough about you to let you wander unsupervised.” He licked his lip, violence and control bubbling up into lust. “They won’t mind if I see to your punishment. Make sure you understand your place.”

I tried to twist my arm from his grip the way Yanric taught me, but he smirked, clutching both wrists in one hand, his buddies coming in around me and blocking me in.

“Think we all will take turns teaching you a lesson. Test out what a Day cunt is like.” He reached under my cloak, squeezing my breasts. I struggled against his hold, but they cinched in the circle, pushing me into him, their hands touching me from behind. My heartbeat hammered in my chest, the noise from the crowd deafening, making me feel isolated in the massive crowd.

“Don’t fucking touch me,” I seethed. He pushed his fingers inside my bodice, the movement undoing the tie at my throat, dropping it off my shoulders.

His attention dove to the runes decorating my throat and jerked back. For a second, I thought I saw fear flash over his face, before a fiery hate drew his gaze up to mine, his flat nose flaring.

“You belong to⁠—”

“To me.” A deep voice severed through all the noise, the growl pulsing over my skin. “And if you don’t step away from her now, I will cut your ribs away from your spine and feed them to my horse.”

All heads whipped to where Onyx stood with his arms crossed. Though he appeared calm, I could spot the tension in his jaw, the rage in his eyes.

“Onyx.” The man spat out the name, a snarl hitching his mouth.

“Stigr,” Onyx spat back. “And your merry band of witless disciples.” He nodded to his friends. “How adorable, you all dressed alike.” He lifted a brow at the dark clothing they were all wearing. “Trying to play dress-up like the big boys, Stigr?”

“Fuck you!” he snarled, still holding my arm.

“I think you will be the one with something obtrusive shoved up your ass if you don’t let her fucking go,” Onyx growled, stepping in, his body vibrating with fury.

“Another good thing about not being one of you,” Stigr hissed back, his lids narrowing. “I don’t have to fucking listen to you.”

“Really?” It was a warning. A challenge. Onyx took another step, his body tense, looming a few inches over Stigr. “The emblem I wear tells me you do.”

“I don’t see any emblem.” Stigr finally let go of me, turning fully to Onyx, scoffing at the dirty tunic and trousers he was wearing.

“And what you never grasped: the uniform is not what makes you a Night Hunter.” Onyx peered down his nose, violence bubbling between them. “All you want is to peacock around, pretending to be important.”

“Faen ta deg!” Stigr lurched to Onyx, getting into his face. His companions grabbed for Stigr, holding him back. The sounds of the fight from the ring permeated the room, but more and more people were turning to us.