Storm Born by Richelle Mead

target.
    The woman gave me a thin smile as though reading my mind. “You could kill him, but your friend would be dead before your next eye blink. As would you.”
    “What’s it matter? You’ll just kill us both anyway. At least this way I’ll take company to the next world.”
    A new voice spoke: “No one’s sending you to the next world. Not yet anyway.”
    One of the unhorsed riders clambered to his feet. Presumably one of my spirits had fought him, because I didn’t recognize him. Yet…something about him struck me as vaguely familiar. White-blond hair hung to his shoulders, and ice blue eyes studied me carefully.
    He approached slowly, a sly smile spreading over his face the closer he got. I didn’t know who he was and wondered what tactical advantage I’d gain or lose by turning the gun on him instead. Was he the bigger threat? When he was only a couple feet away, his face lit up, and he lost himself to great, booming laughs.
    “I don’t believe this. I don’t believe this! The mouse has walked right up to the cat. Unbelievable.”
    The black-haired woman fixed him with an irritated glare. “What are you rambling on about now, Rurik?”
    He could barely contain himself. “Do you know who this is? This is the Dark Swan herself. Eugenie Markham, right at our doorstep.” I flinched at the use of my given name, though I knew it shouldn’t surprise me anymore. “By the gods, I never expected this. I fought her only a week ago, and now here she comes, offering herself to me.”
    “If you consider me shoving my gun down your throat offering, then yeah, I suppose I am.” I eyed him curiously, and then I knew. “It was you. You’re the ice elemental from the hotel.”
    He sketched me a bow. “And now I’ll finish what I started. Happily, even. The sight of your naked body has haunted my dreams for many a night.”
    “Yeah? The only thing I remember about you is how easy it was to kick your ass.”
    Rurik grinned. “You’ll remember a lot more before I’m done.” Behind him, a few of the other men regarded me with renewed interest. I felt myself go rigid, despite my bold words.
    The black-haired woman eyed Rurik distastefully. “If you think I’ll let you give in to your…perversions here, you’re wrong. You’re as bad as them.”
    “Stop being so prim, Shaya. You know who she is.”
    “It doesn’t matter. You can have her later if the king says so, but you’re not doing anything while we’re on patrol. My patrol.”
    I didn’t quite take that as female solidarity, but it was better than nothing. I’d come expecting a grisly death, not a gentry gang bang. Wil might be a lost cause, but if I fired on one of the guys, my minions could probably do serious damage to the others. I tensed, ready to fire.
    “Stop,” Volusian suddenly said, moving forward. “Don’t touch her.”
    “We don’t take orders from you,” replied Shaya.
    Volusian was unfazed. “No, but you do take orders from your king, and my mistress has business with him.”
    I saw the men freeze. So did I. Business with their king? Ah, right. We were in the Oak Land where Dorian ruled, the king Volusian had originally wanted me to see. Suddenly I wondered if this winding way we’d taken had been a ploy of his to get us to Dorian after all. If so, I wondered if he’d imagined capture as part of the plan.
    Shaya regarded me coolly. “King Dorian has no business with her.”
    A few of the men looked like they doubted this, and I jumped on it, as well as what Volusian had said about Dorian earlier.
    “Are you so sure?” I smiled, portraying the same smug confidence I used with the minions, even as my heart pounded in my chest. Too many eyes on me. It was like public speaking. “I’ve come a long way to talk to him. How do you think he’ll react if he finds out you’ve killed me before I’ve delivered my message?”
    “Tell me your message,” she said impatiently.
    “I talk only to him. Alone. I don’t really think