“Do you desire them?” he questioned, his eyes rapt.
The answer came to me easily, which was surprising in itself.
“Yes,” I whispered.
The knowledge pleased my husband. I could see that plainly. He leaned forward to capture my lips and I let out a small sigh, his kiss fogging my mind.
“We will make it so,” he murmured against me. “If we have not already.”
I blushed, despite everything that had happened that night, and he pulled back to study me, seemingly amused.
My eyes strayed to his shoulder where I saw one of his scars curve around from his back. I reached forward to trace the raised line. Though I could not see his back, I knew that the majority of his flesh was covered in scars, as if he’d been whipped.
Before, I’d never been courageous enough to ask, but right then, I felt the question tumble out before I could stop it. “What happened?”
He caught my hand, pressing his lips to the center of my palm before they trailed over my wrist, kissing my golden markings.
He took his time answering me, but finally he said, “AVorakkarmust be strong for his horde. He must be able to withstand pain and suffering in order to lead them best and he must not let pain and suffering break him.”
My brow furrowed. “I don’t understand.”
“AllVorakkarswear these scars,kalles,” he told me. “It is the final test, the test chosen and carried out by theDothikkar.”
My eyes widened in realization. “He…your king did this?”
The pain he must have withstood. The agony. How long had he been whipped? Shock and disbelief and horror rolled through me.
“I chose this,” he corrected, taking my face in his hands. “I have always known my purpose is this. I have always known I would be aVorakkar.It was inevitable. It was but a fleeting moment in my life, a necessary step in order to achieve something more. I would do it again without hesitation.”
I understood what he was saying. One sacrifice to achieve everything he’d wanted.
But…
“It’s barbaric,” I protested.
“It is the old way, the old tradition.”
There seemed to be a lot of those, I couldn’t help but think.
“How many tests did you have to go through?” I asked.
“As many as was necessary,” he told me. Something told me he didn’t want me to know the exact number and I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to know.
I blew out a breath. “We’d been told that there are six horde kings across Dakkar, which includes you. Is that true? There are five otherVorakkars?”
“Six,” he corrected. “And theDothikkaris currently in the process of selecting a seventh.”
“So many,” I commented softly.
Arokan ran his hand back up my bare spine until he cupped the nape of my neck, holding me still as he said, “The Ghertun grow bold. We simply need more horde warriors to patrol the wild lands, to keep them in line.”
Concern touched my brow. “It’s that worrisome?”
“Lysi, I will not lie to you,” he confessed. “They reproduce very quickly, which means their numbers grow quickly.”
“Is that what you were meeting about tonight?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“Partly,” he answered. “Mostly, thebveriare beginning to migrate south. Soon, it will be time to leave this area, to follow them. We will journey for a new encampment during the next moon cycle.”
