“Why did he do it?”
I blew out a small breath.
“Because he can,” I said softly.
After one last look back at the horde king, after seeing his expression darken, I slipped through the door. My heart leapt in my chest when I saw the hallway empty, no signs of Emmi anywhere. Which meant he’d woken.
Quickly, I shut the door, praying that Emmi hadn’t seen the door unlatched as I locked it again.
I needed to leave before he returned. Quickening my footsteps, I made for the end of the darkened hallway.
Just as I was snuffing my torch out on the wall—deciding to keep to the darkness to stay out of sight—a hand snagged my arm and I bit my lip hard to keep from crying out in surprise. A sharp sting and the metallic taste of blood came next and I looked back, only to see a narrow-eyed Emmi.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing with the horde king, Mina?” came his soft growl, shaking me. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t take you to Benn right now.”
Chapter Twelve
All the ease I felt in talking with the horde king was extinguished like a flame the moment I saw Emmi. My tongue felt as heavy as a boulder in my mouth.
“Be-be-becau—” I started, but the word was lodged in my throat.
“Be-be-because what?” Emmi mocked.
My nostrils flared. In a rare moment of frustration and anger, I pushed at his chest. His eyes went wide with astonishment as I tugged my arm out of his grip, some of the blackened, bloodied water sloshing over the sides of the basin, splashing onto Emmi’s worn boots. He cursed, jumping back.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I said, “BecauseI-I know about Kaila.” I was immensely proud that I hadn’t stumbled over the first word again. It felt like a small victory. It feltgood.
Emmi went still. So still that I knew my words had frightened him.
Good, I thought.
“W-we all ha—” I started, before drawing in a deep breath, “have secrets. It’s best if w-we keep them.”
Emmi’s lips parted but then he closed them, his jaw tightening. He glowered at me but said nothing. That was how I knew I’d shocked him.
I turned my back on him then, continuing on my way. Only when I reached the well and quickly washed out the basin did I realize that my hands were trembling and my nerves were frayed.
Or maybe it’s because I didn’t eat much, I thought, feeling the pit of my stomach pinch with hunger. I thought of therikcrunstrip in my dress, thought about the horde king rejecting it, telling me to eat it instead. Did he guess that we had very little food here? Had he…wantedme to have it instead?
But that would imply that he cared about my well-being and I wasn’t foolish enough to believe he did. Tonight was an anomaly. He’d probably spoken with me because he was a little delirious from his wounds. Perhaps he hadn’t been sleeping.
It didn’t change the fact that I needed to decide what to do and how I was going to do it.
The witches would come soon. Once the moon was black and darkness blanketed the land. That was when the ceremony would be performed. That was when a heartstone would be made.
The question was…would the horde king be here when they arrived?
Or would the curse continue on? Would Dakkar survive in an endless, growing fog?
“Orala sa’kilan,” I whispered to myself, feeling the words flow from me easily and effortlessly.
Would the fog reach the northlands? Would it suffocate my father’s grave, spreading its long tendrils across the earth where he rested? Or would my homeland freeze it in its tracks and remain a frozen haven for the rest of time?
The only thing that was certain was that the horde king’s fate would determine everyone else’s.
* * *
That night,I barely slept. The gnawing ache in my belly and the horde king’s words kept me awake.
