The Way of Thieves Read online

  It was then that she noticed something out of the ordinary—something…odd.

  Two pairs of glowing red eyes emerged in the looming darkness as the sun set. She held her breath, tensing her neck as she watched a two-headed basilisk creep through the forest in search for food. The snake-like heads sniffed and searched the thick underbrush of the forest floor and let out a shrill sound unlike anything Elise had ever heard.

  Lips parted, she watched in awe as they seemed to communicate with one another in a series of shrieks and grunts that reminded her of a pig. Swallowing, she reminded herself of why she was there in the first place.

  She carefully pulled an arrow from the quiver on her back, not blinking and barely breathing. As the storm raged on, she nocked the arrow and pulled the string back as far as it would go.

  Rain fell into her eyes, clouding her vision. She blinked them away and clenched her jaw. Perhaps it was a bad day for a hunt, but she had no choice. She’d taken this mission, and would execute it.

  She sucked in a long breath of the cool air, and said a mental prayer, asking her wisp guides for clarity.

  Releasing the breath, she also let go of the arrow and watched it soar through the night and into the chest of the deformed basilisk.

  The roar that resulted made her jump, almost falling from the tree. She held steady, shivEliseg as the massive creature ran. Her arrow protruded from its body.

  “Fiddlesticks,” she growled, and with a leap from the tree, she descended down to the forest floor, landing with barely more than a soft squish in the mud.

  The basilisk ran, and she chased it, nocking arrows and shooting as fast as her skilled fingers could go.

  The hide was tough, and as she ran behind the frantic creature, it took two more arrows into the back of the beast’s heads to send it crashing down to its death. The thud made the entire surrounding area vibrate, and sent dirt flying through the air.

  Skidding to a stop, she breathed heavily, lifting her hood and exposing herself to the onslaught of rain. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she knelt and felt the beast for any signs of life. Closing her eyes, she thanked the Mother for her blessing. Then, she removed her dagger and cut out the beast’s heart.

  As she did so, her body trembled at feeling the spirit leave the the beast. For a moment, she was overcome with sadness for the poor creature. Her hand glowed a faint orange, and she placed it onto the belly of the beast, and closed her eyes.

  “On to the Mother,” she said. “May your journey be peaceful.”

  It was the only way she could do this job—to come to terms with bringing death to any living creature.

  She was a fairy, through and through, even if she only had scars where her wings had once been—even if she was one of the last of her kind.

  Available on Kindle Unlimited!

  About K.N. Lee

  K.N. Lee is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She is the author of the Dragon-Born Saga, Eura Chronicles, Wonderland University, and the Chronicles of Koa series. When she is not writing twisted urban fantasy, epic tales of dragons, pirates, and mermaids, and dark poetry, she does a great deal of traveling.

  Also by K.N. Lee

  The Dragon Born Saga:

  Half-Blood Dragon

  Magic-Born Dragon

  Queen of the Dragons

  War of the Dragons

  Fate of the Dragons

  Curse of the Dragons

  The Chronicles of Koa Series:

  Netherworld

  Dark Prophet

  Blood Princess

  Crimson King

  The Eura Chronicles:

  Rise of the Flame

  Night of the Storm

  Dawn of the Forgotten

  Prophecy of the Seer (Coming Soon)

  Empire of Dragons Chronicles:

  Fallen Empire

  Reign of Magic

  Fire and Fury

  Realms of Ruin

  THE FALLEN GODS TRILOGY:

  Goddess of War

  Goddess of Ruin (Coming Soon)

  Queen of Chaos (Coming Soon)

  The Darkest Day:

  Waking the Dark

  Tempting the Fire

  Breaking the Oath

  Stealing the Soul

  About Craig A. Price Jr.

  Craig A. Price Jr. is a USA Today Bestselling Author. His novel, The Crimson Claymore, an Epic Fantasy Adventure novel that has garnered millions of reads, was featured in fantasy, had more than 17,000 votes, and more than 1,000 comments/reviews on the social networking platform for readers and writers, Wattpad.

  Visit his website at: www.craigaprice.com (Join his mailing list for a FREE eBook)

  Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/CraigAPrice

  He grew up in the Pacific Northwest, as well as lived in Utah for several years during the winter Olympics of 2002. He now lives on the Alabama Gulf Coast with his beautiful wife and two sons.