Free The Warlord and the Assassin: A Fantasy Romance Novella by Mia Amano

around the man’s neck, causing him to choke.
    “Akuna bastard,” the soldier spat. “Go ahead and kill me. It won’t change anything. Your cursed Warlord is dead and our army is surrounding your people as we speak. Why don’t you run back to Varanada and save your brothers, savage?” He obviously hadn’t recognized Tarak.
    “How about I carve you up and take your heart and liver, instead, soldier?” Tarak’s smile transformed into a vicious grin. The soldier squirmed, his face draining of color. “Erateans are good to eat. It’s the rich diet, I think.”
    The man froze, and Amina felt the overwhelming terror in his qwi . It seemed Erateans feared being cannibalized more than death itself.  
    She had heard stories of the Akuna, but she had never thought them to be true.  
    In that moment, Tarak’s face seemed to transform. Gone was the mild expression. He looked every bit the terrifying, bloodthirsty warrior.  
    The soldier froze, like a rabbit caught in the jaws of a wolf.  
    Tarak’s qwi filled the air, surrounding them with a fierce killing intent. Even Amina felt her heart quicken, a sliver of fear rippling through her.
    Then, as quickly as it rose, the sensation was gone, and Tarak was on his feet, his features carefully controlled. “Lucky I’m not hungry right now, soldier. Why don’t you go back to camp and tell Jerik Garul that you didn’t find the village. Tell him also that Tarak Chul is dead and that we Akuna are leaving Larion Fortress to take the body of our leader back to our homeland. The Erateans can have the fortress on the condition they don’t disturb our funeral march.”
    The soldier rose to his feet, shaken and trembling. The man beside Amina swallowed, the skin of his throat kissing the sharp edge of her blade. She could hear the breath rasping in his throat.  
    “Curse you, Akuna savage,” rasped the other soldier, bringing his hands to his neck. There were large, red marks where Tarak had held him. Tarak’s hand dropped to his sword hilt.
    The man backed away, holding up his hands in a placating gesture. “I’ll pass on your message to the Commander. Let my comrade go, woman.”
    Amina looked at Tarak. He nodded, and she released the man, kicking him in the backside. He stumbled to the ground then stood up and looked at her companion. After a frightened glance at Tarak, they turned and fled.  
    Amina shot the Warlord a flat look. “You don’t seriously think Garul will buy that, do you?”
    Tarak shrugged. “People believe what they want to believe.”
    She sheathed her knife. “And your people don’t really, you know-”
    “What?”
    “You don’t really eat people, do you?”
    Tarak’s stared back at her with an inscrutable expression. “Life on the mountain can be hard, sometimes.”  
    Amina shuddered. Tarak moved to her side and smiled. “Come, little Inue.” He brought his arm around her possessively. The smile transformed the hard lines of his face. “Let’s not worry about that now. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just got a bit carried away. It’s been a while since I’ve had a good fight. Let’s return to the Fortress and see what Garul is planning next.”
    Amina leaned into his warm embrace, trying to forget what she had just witnessed.  

CHAPTER EIGHT

    Under the cover of night, they stole back into Larion Fortress. As they made their way down the narrow, winding streets of Varanada Town, Tarak saw entire families of Varanese pass them by on foot, wrapped in traveling cloaks, with satchels on their backs. They were heading for Akuna territory. Word must have gone out that the Erateans were on the move, and many Varanese had decided to flee the city, rather than risk living through the bloodshed of another Eratean invasion.  
    Tarak followed close behind Amina. She set a swift pace, running on silent feet through darkened alleyways and passages he never would have known existed. At one point they passed through an ancient underground