“They say they are created with the hearts ofVorakkars.”
“I am certain they claimed that. I am certain they actuallybelievethat,” I rasped, my nostrils flaring. “But witches practice blood magic. A dark practice that goes against Kakkari. They believe a sacrifice will appease the fog and they plan to do it here, in the great hall, do they not?”
“Why there?” she asked, her gaze rapt on me.
“Because that was where the last heartstone was used. Atrueheartstone,” I told her. “The force of which unleashed this fog over the east. At least, that is what we believe.”
“Who used it? And why?” she asked. “Is that why all the Ghertun in there are different than…than all the rest we found?”
“A human female used it,” I told her, wondering what she would do with that information.
“A woman?” she asked, her eyes widening in disbelief.
“A sorceress in her own right,” I murmured, inclining my head. I licked my lips and tasted my blood. “And she used it to save a horde king. A horde king who made her his queen. HisMorakkari.”
Mina rocked back onto her heels. “I-I-I’d heard that there were…that there are human queens on Dakkar but we never knew for certain.”
She shook her head and her gaze appeared brittle and hesitant.
“We truly have no idea what’s been happening on our own planet, do we?” she whispered.
For a moment, I felt a wave of sympathy, unexpected and rare.
“Not of your own doing,kalles,” I told her. “It was by design. You and your people had been dealt a disadvantage from the moment they stepped foot on this planet.”
Quiet stretched between us as she processed what I’d told her.
“If there are human queens, does that mean there are humans living in the hordes as well?” she asked softly.
My jaw flexed. “Lysi.”
“Humans live in your horde?” she asked, her lips parting.
I inclined my head. I’d taken in a small group of humans that had come from this very mountain. Humans that had been captured and made slaves to the Ghertun. Slaves that the sorceress had helped free.
“Lysi.”
Her voice sounded far away and her eyes had begun to glisten with tears when she asked, “In the fog, did you mean it?”
My brow furrowed. Unconsciously, my body leaned towards her and when I realized that, I stilled. Even now, she could control me.
“Mean what,sarkia?”
“That you would take me to your horde and keep me safe there?” she whispered.
My whole body tensed. Before I knew it, a growl rose from my throat, low and deep. A maelstrom of warring thoughts made my head split anew, throbbing and aching.
Her words brought a sense ofrightness. I was reminded of my wants and desires. In the fog, I had pictured her in my furs, thought of her sighs as she kissed me so sweetly, thought that I would do nearlyanythingto claim her, to slip between her thighs and rut her until I was satisfied, until I had filled her to the brim with my seed.
That temporary madness might still stealeverythingI’d worked towards.
On the other hand, I thought I would never let thissarkiaclose to my horde. I would never let her ensnare another as she did me. She was dangerous. And though she offered her help now, I would not forget that she was the reason I was here.
“I did,” I growled, even though my belly roiled at the words. “And I will,sarkia. I will keep you safe in my horde once I return. You have nothing to fear.”
The lie was like a husky purr from my lips and I kept her wide gaze as I made her a promise I had no intention of keeping.
I wondered if this was why she was helping me. Not to ‘make amends’ as she claimed but to try to secure a place for herself among my horde, especially now that she knew there were other humans living there. Anywhere would be better than here.
