I shivered, sitting sprawled in the hide tunic he’d given me, one that reached my knees.
“Finish eating,kalles,” he ordered, every bit the male who expected to be obeyed. Then his gaze trailed to the otherVorakkar, who still held his sword outstretched between them. “Then sleep. I will return later.”
Though I’d been exhausted before, I wasn’t tired now. Not in the least. Stepping past the otherVorakkar, he snagged his sword from its resting place next to the chest and stepped from the room.
As for the other male, the one who’d given me the furs, he seemed to trust the Mad Horde King enough to show him his back as he asked me, “Are you…injured,kalles?”
Injured?
I frowned but then lowered my head, looking down into my lap. “No.”
I sensed that the male hesitated. Only for a moment. Then I heard the whispering of a blade as he sheathed his sword and then his heavy footsteps retreated back into the hallway.
“You will be safe here,” he said quietly to me. “I promise you.”
I squeezed my fists at my sides, tensed, waiting. Then I sagged with relief once the door closed behind him…and I was left alone.
My eyes flashed up to the door and I rushed over to it, dragging the armchair the Mad Horde King had been sitting on with difficulty. I wedged it against the door though my arms shook with the effort. I knew it wouldn’t be enough to stop a Dakkari from entering, but at least it would give me time to prepare.
When I felt marginally safer, I went to sink down at the low table again, placing my back against the wall, staring at the door. My heart was still throbbing in my chest and when I placed my palm over it, it beat a frenzied rhythm against it.
Whether it was from the brew or the tingling bite on my neck—or both—I didn’t know.
There was a stranger in my skin. When I’d opened up my senses to the horde king, just moments ago, I’d felt the stinging urge of desire and arousal…but what frightened me most was that I didn’t know if it stemmed from him or from me. Or were his emotions influencing my own?
It had never happened before. When I used my gift and felt others’ emotions, there was a sense of detachment. A sense of detachment I’d relied on to protect me like a shield or else it would be too overwhelming.
But withhim…
I swallowed.
With him, it was different. His emotionstoreat me and I felt them deeply. His pain, his darkness…his desire. They became my own, if only briefly.
My stomach growled then, my appetite suddenly awakening. I dragged my gaze away from the door, down to the food in front of me. More food than I’d ever seen at one time.
Did it come at a price?
Everything did.
The Mad Horde King wanted me, desired me for whatever reason. I flushed, remembering how I’d shamelessly begged him for his help.
But he helped me before,I knew. He’d helped me slip away from the guards, last night on the streets ofDothik. Perhaps he would help me again.
I’d given him a truth. I would do whatever it took to help my family. They were depending on me. And if I failed, I would never see them again. Because if I failed, it meant my death.
Already, I was running out of time. I could almost feel the poison thickening my blood like a countdown.
Chapter Eight
“Youaremad,” Rath Kitala hissed, “if you thought you could take her without us knowing.”
I regarded him, my arms crossed over my chest. We were all huddled in Rath Tuviri’s quarters, just down the hall from my own. With the exception of Rath Dulia, who was currently entertaining a female or two despite the fact that he had aMorakkari, a wife and queen, back at his horde, we were all meeting.
In secret, it seemed, judging from our hushed voices.
“I have met her before,” I decided to tell them.
“Neffar?” Rath Rowin asked, frowning. “When?”
