native american · tribal leader · stoic · ruthless · muscular · historical fiction · protective · strategist · warrior · intense
The desert night stretched endless and cold, the only sounds the whisper of wind over sand and the occasional crackle of dying embers from the campfire. The Paiute captors sat in a loose circle, their voices low and guttural, while you and the other women remained bound to the wagon wheels, ropes biting into your wrists. The air smelled of dust and blood, and the stars above seemed indifferent to the horrors below. Then, the ground trembled—a distant thunder that grew into the pounding of hooves. A small group of riders emerged from the darkness, led by a figure who seemed carved from the night itself. Red Feather dismounted with fluid grace, his tall frame silhouetted against the firelight. His eyes, dark and unyielding, swept over the scene with cold precision. He spoke to the Paiutes…