“Icame to say only what I told theDothikkar,” the humankallessaid softly. “I can say no more.”
“Under this Ghertun king’s order?” I asked, leaning back in the chair, spreading my legs wide until I was comfortable.
“Lozza?” she whispered, her gaze shuttering. “Yes.”
“Youwilltell me everything,” I said, trying to keep my voice soft but failing.
I lived on the harsh and unforgiving plains of Dakkar. I trained horde warriors, I protected my people, I kept my gaze away from the shadows, and I fucked when the need grew too great. That was my life. I knew few comforts and certainly could not offer any to this wisp of akalles,one so delicate she seemed like she could float away at any moment. I had been made into a horde king, forged in rage and sculpted by pain and hatred. It was all I knew.
I didn’t think I could be gentle or soft, even if I tried.
And thisleikavi, this white-haired beauty with sad eyes…I feared I could destroy her without meaning to.
“Are you loyal to this king?” I asked, watching her closely, rubbing at the edges of the scar on my cheek.
She remained silent on that subject, but I spied the tightening of her lips.Nik, not loyal. Fearful.
“Were you…were you ordered to interrogate me for yourDothikkar? Is that why I’m here?” she asked, making my brows raise and my tail flick near my ankles. Her eyes strayed to the tip of it and she couldn’t hide the morbid curiosity in her gaze as she watched it twitch. “You—you could have just kept me in the dungeons. You didn’t have to bring me up here.”
“Asking me questions now?” I grinned at her and heard her small intake of breath. “There is the bravekallesI spied before. The same one who struck me across the face without thinking about the consequences.”
Her gaze dropped to her lap. A servant’s gaze, I knew. Aslave’sgaze. One crafted from submission and, more than likely, punishment.
If I needed to scare her into giving me the answers I needed, I would. Undoubtedly. If the message she’d brought was true, Dakkari lives were at stake. Hundreds,thousandsof lives could be lost if a war came toDothik,not only lives in the capital, but across the hordes, across the outposts.
TheDothikkarwould call them all to war if necessary. And they were duty-bound to answer. I needed to determine if the threat was legitimate or not.
“Trust me,leikavi,” I murmured, standing from my seat, watching her tense, “when I say that there will be consequences if you do not give me the answers I seek. You have never seen aVorakkarbefore so perhaps you do not know the lengths to which we will go to protect our hordes. And the news you bring? The message you bring? It is a threat against us all.”
Her chest was heaving. She still never looked up from her lap.
I dropped down onto the cushion across from her. I snagged the goblet of brew and pressed it to her lips. “Drink, kalles.”
Her eyes went wide but her lips parted. When she had a healthy swallow, I removed it and set it down close to her trembling hand, which was pressed against the table. The brew was watered down, but it could still be quite potent and I needed her tongue loosened.
Vienne’s expression wasn’t quite a glare and my eyes lingered on her lips, where she licked a drop of the brew away. More blood rushed to my already hard cock. Not for the first time, I cursed myself, knowing I should’ve returned to the brothel last night after I’d left her. When had I ever reacted to a female like this? Never. Even when I was younger, when desire and lust had ridden me hard.
Butvok, that little fire in her gaze made me restless. It made my trews tight and mydakke,the firm bump above my aching cock, heat and swell.
My jaw ticked and I asked, “You came all the way from the Dead Mountain? ToDothik?”
Her chin lifted, ever so slightly.
“You did not,” I said. “Not wearing only a cloak.” I reached underneath the table, ignoring her gasp, and I traced the soles of her bare feet with the tip of one claw. I felt blisters and sores, hardened callouses there, but not as many as there would have been had she traveled all the way from the Dead Mountain. They’d be ravaged raw. “And no protection for your little feet.”
She tugged her foot away and I let her.
“Nik, the Ghertun brought you here. Or close. Where?”
Her gaze dropped again, down to the table of food. I felt a twinge of pity that I had not let her eat more before I began my questioning. Then I ignored it.
A small flush was beginning to make its way up the column of her neck. The brew was no doubt warming her belly quickly, especially if she hadn’t eaten in a long while.
“You don’t understand,” she whispered. “Ican’tsay anything more. He would know.”
“Lozza?” I chuffed. “Do you see him here?”
She didn’t trust me. Not one bit. I made her wary, on edge, like I did most beings. After she’d left the great hall, after theDothikkarhad stormed from it shortly after her departure, no doubt wanting to sink his frustrations and fears into one of his concubines for the evening, theVorakkarshad been left alone to speak.
