Badlands by Seleste deLaney

make it up that mountain in the first place?” He plucked a roll from the bowl in front of them. “And how’d you manage to bring down the other ship? Had to be some crazy shooting out there.” His head inclined toward Ever’s as if she would whisper the answer.
    “Nonsense,” Henrietta announced, sweeping into the room. “Ezekial shot down the dirigible. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
    Noah’s proximity might have made her uncomfortable, but Henri’s words were the first thing to pierce Ever’s barriers. She glared at the other woman, once more in an elaborate costume.
    Henrietta fluffed her hair and kept talking, pointedly avoiding Ever’s gaze. “After all, fighting is men’s work, and warrior or not, there is simply no possibility a woman could out-fight a man.” She batted her eyelashes at Noah.
    Ever’s muscles bunched, strained at the fabric confining them. She dropped the apple in her hand, the bite she chewed going sour in her mouth. It burned as it went down her throat. Her eyes squinted against the sensation. Gripping the edge of the table, her fingernails dug grooves into the wood as she fought to control her rage. “Would you care to see if the man here can stop me before I tear your heart from your chest?”
    Beneath her carefully applied powder, Henri’s face paled. Her eyes darted from Ever to Noah.
    Mahala just leaned back in her chair and laughed. “This should be entertaining.”
    “Miss Ever,” Noah said, his voice soft, soothing. “While I expect Henri deserves anything you care to dish out, I don’t think the captain would look very kindly on you killing the one person who can patch us all up.”
    Spencer’s face popped into her mind and she squeezed her eyes shut, forcing it away. But she didn’t want to put the ship at risk; they needed a healer on board. Her eyes shot open and Ever yanked up the sleeve of her shirt, exposing a row of narrow chevron-shaped tattoos. “Do you see these?”
    Henri nodded, her eyes fearful.
    “Each one signifies a prisoner I killed. One of the men your country thought too dangerous to house and so sent to the Badlands. Sent with bedtime stories about the women who patrol the borders to take them into custody. These—” she waved at the marks, “—are the men your people were too afraid to do away with. They sent them into the Badlands for me, and others like me, to do the dirty work. I have another arm like this one if you need to see it.”
    “That is hardly necessary. You’ve made your point. You’re a killer.” Henri lifted her head a notch, her eyes proud.
    Ever scoffed. “No, Miss High-and-Mighty, I am the executioner your lawmakers pretend does not exist.”

Chapter Five
    “Because we need a place to store the blasted cargo, Thomas, that’s why.” Spencer paced outside the corral while the shorter and grayer Zeke look-alike groomed a huge chestnut stallion.
    Thomas spit into the dirt. “You still ain’t told me why you didn’t deliver it. I watched your ship come in from the west. You made it to the Badlands, so why’s the cargo still onboard?” He fixed his penetrating blue gaze on Spencer, his hand brushing dirt from the horse’s coat.
    Spencer turned away and scrubbed at his face. It was a standoff of the worst sort. He had to unload the cargo for speed’s sake, but he’d have to betray his promise of secrecy to some degree in order to manage it. Thomas was the only person here he knew well enough to trust at all. With a frustrated sigh, he met the older man’s eyes again. “There was trouble there. Political trouble. Some fool’s trying to overthrow the monarchy. We couldn’t set down in the middle of a battlefield.” It wasn’t the whole truth, but it wasn’t a lie either. He prayed Ever wouldn’t hate him for it.
    “That so?” Thomas’s eyebrows reached skyward. “Ezekial said you brought a woman with you. One of their fighters.”
    Damn it, Zeke. “Rescued her is more like. She was