"Please, Ruk’hai," I gritted out, the words scraping like gravel against my throat. "Step aside so I may finish my work."
He looked up then. Those dark eyes locked onto mine, and for the first time, the mask of indifference slipped. A flicker of amusement danced in his gaze, only to be swallowed by a shadow of irritation.
“Krash’uk,” he hissed. I had no idea what it meant, but his tone left little doubt it wasn’t a compliment. “You’re far too loud.”
An indignant hiss slipped from my lips before I could stop it, startling even me. My heart slammed against my ribs as Malek went utterly still, his movements halting as he blinked slowly. He didn’t move a muscle, only stared, but it was enough. Something deep within me, some primal instinct, recognized the apex predator in the room.
A staggering, overwhelming urge washed over me to bow, to yield to the Ruk’hai of the Okshai as if he were my master. Yet another part of me, the part that had always been far too defiant for its own good, refused to bend.
"I’m not loud," I countered, my gaze locked onto his. "I only wish to do my job."
Before I could even register the shift in the air, he stood and pushed me back until my spine collided with the rough wall. A massive hand closed around my throat, strong, but not enough to bruise or hurt me. Up close, Malek was a force of nature, far more terrifying than from a distance. The scent of him, like the forest after the rain, swirled around me, thick and strangely intoxicating. My heart hammered against my ribs, and my chest heaved as adrenaline scorched through my veins.
He lowered his head until his mouth was a hair’s breadth from my ear. His hot breath ghosted over the sensitive skin of my neck, sending an involuntary shiver racing down my spine.
“Shakrar,” he murmured, the word vibrating against my skin. "Disobedient. No means no. Krun!"
I swallowed hard, my throat working against the pressure of his palm as I scrambled for the right words, anything that wouldn't provoke him into snapping my neck as easily as he had the dùthragh’s.
Malek was a monster carved from years of battle and bloodshed. Against him, my training would be useless. I knew my way around a pair of daggers, I was good with a bow, and I could hold my own in a brawl, but I lacked his strength. At this distance, a single strike from him would be the end of me.
Helplessness boiled in my gut like venom. I could still hear Leone’s mocking laughter from every time I’d insisted on learning to fight. My duty had never been to war or blood, butfor the silken sheets of some highborn lord. Even my magic, the power to control everything the earth produced, was pitifully weak. Malek would snap my vines with a casual flex of his muscles.
The High Fae inside me thrashed and hissed at the unfairness of it all. Yet, I knew better than to fight against the odds. So, with a crushing weight in my chest, I surrendered.
"Morak, Ruk’hai," I whispered, the apology tasting like cold iron on my tongue. "It won’t happen again."
Malek pulled back just enough to search my eyes, but this time, I tore my gaze away. It wasn't out of submission, never that. It was to hide the sudden burn that threatened to spill over.
I wouldn't let him witness my weakness. Nothim.
He let out a low sigh and stepped back, reclaiming his chair as if the earth-shattering tension of a moment ago had never even existed. I wanted to bolt, to scrub the feel of his touch from my skin as quickly as possible, but his voice cut through the air, anchoring me in place.
"Good girl."
The praise struck like flint against steel, igniting white-hot rage and something else I couldn’t name. But it wasn’t welcome. I shoved the feeling down into the dark recesses of my mind, refusing to examine it too closely, and clung instead to the fury. Anger had been my guide through the wreckage of my life before, and it would not fail me now.
I turned to leave, but not before vowing silently that I would live to see the day Malek knelt at my feet.
Chapter 10
After I clashed with Malek and that final, stinging humiliation, I finished cleaning the hut in absolute silence. I didn't spare the orc a single glance, even though I could feel his eyes tracking my every move. My pride wouldn't allow me to show him just how much he had rattled me.
Fortunately, he finally left a short while later, and I was left alone, simmering in my own anger. I never imagined I could think of so many different ways to kill a person, but Malek brought out a bloodthirsty streak in me I hadn't even known existed.
Kalisha returned hours later, just as I was growing bored of staring at the walls. I could have gone out to explore the village, but I simply didn't have the stomach for it.
"Ready?" she asked, her eyes glued to my face.
"Yes. Do you want to check it?"
She arched an eyebrow, a habit that was starting to get on my nerves, and shook her head.
"If I have to check your work, then your work wasn’t done well," she said. Not waiting for a response, she turned and left the hut. I stumbled after her.
Hunger gnawed at me, and the prospect of eating something lifted my spirits slightly. It would be great if I could take a bath first to wash off the day's grime and the sticky mess that orc healer had slathered on my back. At least the wound had stopped throbbing.
The sun was already low, painting the sky in shades of orange and purple above the dense forest canopy. The scent ofroasted meat and woodsmoke grew stronger, a sure sign that the meal must be ready.
