All to gain his freedom and return to his horde.
Yet, I could understand why he’d done it. He’d spied a weakness in me and he’d used that to his advantage.
Could I do the same to him?
Once I was stronger, I would leave. I would find Tess. And I would take her away from the Dead Mountain, no matter what it took. We would travel north, back towards our home—the one thing I didn’t have—and wewouldfind Jacob.
That was the only path I wanted to travel. The only path I saw for myself. I couldn’t return to Benn and the others. And I certainly couldn’t stay here.
The northlands were the only option left.
And to get there, I wouldneedto make the horde king trust me.
I nearly vomited up the contents of my stomach thinking about it but I breathed in deeply when I reached the edge of the table. Leaning against it heavily, I dipped the clean goblet that had been left out for me and brought the water-laden cup to my lips.
It tasted like euphoria, soothing my parched throat and dry mouth, which felt like it’d been stuffed with fur. As I drank the water, I looked around the domed tent. The walls were rounded but the black wood cabinets that lined them fit perfectly, the tops of them sloping to match the curve of the hide seamlessly. More weapons than I’d seen in my entire life lined one side of the tent. A large table sat closest to me and the pole I was chained to. A fire basin was immediately to my left.
The floors were lined withrugs. Colorful tapestries swirled with shimmering gold. Underneath my bare feet, they felt plush and soft. My toes curled into them. Towards the back of the tent, I saw tools, though I didn’t know their purpose. And hanging above them was a map. It took me a long while to realize it was a map ofDakkar.
My lips parted and I shuffled as close as the chain would allow. My gaze ran over the elegant, dark lines of the coastline and traced thinner lines that ran through the land, though I didn’t understand their purpose. To map out different territories, perhaps, different regions? There was writing scrawled across the map at certain areas, though I couldn’t read it.
Instead, my gaze was drawn to the blot of ink on the right side of the map and I recognized the Dead Mountain depicted there. That blot of ink was the fog and I realized that sections of it were darker than others, like that blot was constantly being added to.
They are tracking the spread of it, I thought. It encased the entire Dead Valley and was beginning to extend its reachnorth.
A burst of light flooded the tent but I didn’t tear my gaze away from the map. I was tracing my gaze north, trying to find the place I’d once called home, the place my father was buried.
I smelled him before I saw him—the crisp smell that reminded me of forest walks in the frost, of compacted snow crunching under boots, and ice shards glittering from trees.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him still next to me. I could feel him looking at me and with a deep breath, I turned to meet his gaze.
My neck craned up and up. I was tall for a human woman and even still, the Dakkari towered over us. Those red eyes looked a little quieter this morning. Last night, the strands of black in them had swirled wildly.
Rowin looked…
I swallowed, hating that I found him as handsome as he was intimidating.
His long black hair shone with health, ending at his waist. The top half of it was tied back and braided away from his face, exposing the sharp cut of his cheekbones and the regality of his features. All hard edges and strong lines.
He was bare-chested again and I noticed something in the morning light that I hadn’t before, even in the Dead Mountain. Golden swirls of ink adorned his chest and pectorals. A shimmer of them wove around his shoulders and down his biceps as well, though they were fainter.Tattoos?I recognized the same scrawling script across the map of Dakkar. I wondered what they said.
He was clean and looked well-rested. His shoulder was bandaged and when his tail flicked behind him, I saw it was wrapped too.
Looking at him made my heart beat faster so I turned my attention back to the map.
“I’ve never seen one before,” I said quietly. “I’ve never seen Dakkar laid out like this. Like I can touch every place on it, like I can imagine being there.”
“There are some places on Dakkar that you would not wish to be,sarkia,” he said.
My belly twisted at the word. I had the strangest sensation that he’d said it purposefully…like he was trying to remind himself what I was.
His hesitation was palpable but then he asked, “Would you like to see where your village was in the north?”
His question…surprised me. I shot a quick look up at him. He was scowling, like he didn’t know why he’d asked.
“Yes,” I whispered. “Please.”
His shoulders were tight but he walked closer to the map. Unconsciously, I moved to follow but my ankle snapped tight and I remembered the taut stretch of the chain.
