Page 34 of The King has Fallen (The Kingdom of the Krow #1)
SOUNDTRACK: I’m Not Afraid of the Dark by Oshins and Anna Graceman
~ YILAN ~
We stood in the center of the King’s lavish tent which was three times the size of Melek’s and filled with a full suite of furniture, including the armoire I’d hidden behind for days. Rich rugs covered the dirt floor, and a battery of slaves lined the walls, including guards at the door and several women dressed provocatively, but keeping their chins low and their eyes on their feet.
It turned my stomach.
Melek offered the benediction of peace, and the King nodded to accept it, but didn’t return the favor.
“Do you want a drink, Melek?” the King said, his deep voice resonant with disdain as he snapped his fingers at one of the slaves, and she rushed to a sideboard to begin pouring whatever Gault usually drank.
Melek shook his head. “I drank as much as I wanted last night,” he said. If we hadn’t been under the King’s eyes I would have gawked at him for the manipulative words.
Deceptive fucker.
Gault waited until he’d been served a goblet full of what looked to be red wine. He stroked the woman’s breast as she handed it to him, and gave her a disgusting smile. But she gave nothing away, only nodded once as she offered the cup, then waited for him to be done and dismissed her with a wave of his hand before she moved again.
I thought of what she and the others must endure at his hands and my stomach churned.
“Did you enjoy your night last night, then?” Gault asked Melek, as if there’d been no break in their conversation.
“More than I should have,” Melek said sincerely.
Even as fear coursed through me, I tensed with the urge to laugh . I recognized it as a hysterical response. But where was Jannus when you needed him? We could have had such a field day with that if Melek and I weren’t standing here, knees trembling, awaiting either my demise or his. Or worse.
I prayed fervently that this was only the King toying with Melek and nothing more sinister.
“I met with the Captains this morning as you suggested,” Melek said as if Gault had asked. “I believe our current plan is—”
“I didn’t bring you here to discuss the strategy. I agree. It’s time to move,” he said quietly.
I blinked, but kept my eyes fixed on his hand on that goblet. I found his golden eyes unnerving.
“Oh. Good,” Melek said. “Then what—”
“This is an… interesting way to bind a prisoner,” Gault said, raising his goblet in the direction of our tied wrists. I would have assumed he was disapproving, but he smiled, and his tone was all suggestion.
Melek huffed. “I gave the guards the Covenant Days off. I have to keep her close.”
“Hmmm, close. Yes,” Gault murmured, his eyes gleaming. “I take your point.”
Melek began to frown, but then the King turned to the two guards that stood either side of his door—not having been given the days off—and beckoned them closer.
“I need to speak with the General. Take the prisoner outside and—”
“Sire, I have to disagree. She is… very slippery. I don’t usually allow her out of her cage at all. She has already almost escaped once, and that was with the cage. I can’t let her out of my sight. I will not put the burden of her on a male who has not had my experience with… stifling rebellion.”
Gault’s eyes narrowed.
Then Melek smiled at him, a sly, predatorial smile I hadn’t seen from him before. It chilled my blood. “Besides. I find I’ve grown rather… attached. There’s something quite satisfying about making an enemy submit.”
Gault snorted. “So, I heard. I’ll admit, I didn’t remember her enough to understand the appeal, but now that I see her…” he trailed off, his eyes raking down my body and making my skin crawl.
I kept my eyes on the wall of the tent behind him and refused to react. But I felt Melek tense.
“To keep her here while we speak, though…” Gault added with a sharp, questioning look at Melek.
“She is an asset for now, then she’ll be removed,” Melek shrugged. “As long as she’s at my side, she’s no risk.”
Gault tipped his head. “It seemed odd that you chose to lay claim to a Fetch , but then I suppose she’s been quite useful to you. And she is strong. She could likely survive a breeding.”
Melek took a beat to agree.
I was starting to sweat.
Gault waved his hand as if to push away a thought. “Very well, I suppose what I have to say won’t give her more information than she could have anticipated on her own anyway,” the King said, taking another mouthful from his goblet before continuing. “Now that we are positioned and our enemies will be rested before our advance, I want you there in person to lead that charge.”
Melek went still. “Gault—Sire, to get to the ravine would mean marching during the peace.”
Gault nodded. “Marching is not attacking. And you’d be alone—feel free to take a small guard, of course. Even if our enemies know you’ve moved, they won’t be able to accuse you of taking action. You will not attack until you lead the ranks. And we will not do that until after the Covenant.”
I was shaking with both fear and rage.
Melek was the most prominent figure in this war. If he left the camp at a time there was no other movement on the plains, scouts would see him. And even if he could be hidden before he actually moved to the Ravine—a big if— they would still know something important was happening. Messages would be sent. Strategies employed. He would be watched. Everything would be watched.
“Gault… if this was what you wanted, I should have stayed when we went before. We could have taken a decoy to ride back with you—”
“I have only just decided that this is needed.”
Melek swallowed. “But the Fetch… Sire, she’s a huge asset. But as I said, she is slippery. I wouldn’t trust her to anyone else. She’s in that cage, or tied to me—”
“You will win this. Once you have, she’ll have served her purpose.”
Melek went quiet. He couldn’t argue with that without revealing something the King would not like.
I didn’t even bother to hide my fear. These men discussed my death. It would only be natural that I would fear that. But my deepest fear, the one that made me grit my teeth against letting them chatter was—
“You go to the front. Leave her with me. I’ll take her until you’ve won and we’re certain of victory. We both know she won’t betray her own people no matter how much she wants to stay alive. You take the ravine. Then I’ll slit her throat because she’s no longer needed and join you for the final advance.”
And then he looked at me, and smiled.
Melek barely blinked. He didn’t twitch. Didn’t swallow. Didn’t even hesitate. “If you’re certain you want to deal with her—she has a sharp tongue as well as great skill—”
“I’ll keep her gagged. One way or another,” he said, his eyes locked on mine, his voice puttering off into a low rumble that made me brace and raise my chin.
“Of course,” Melek said as if it was no big deal. “If you’re sure, then I’ll need another day or two to make certain she’s hidden nothing and our final plan is foolproof. Then I’ll travel at night to try and avoid the eyes.”
The King shrugged. “Take whatever time and travel you believe is needed. I trust your judgment. But when you go, she stays with me.”
Then he stared at Melek and waited. And I couldn’t breathe.
It wasn’t a request.
By their traditions, everyone believed Melek had taken me—laid claim to me. More than once. In their eyes, he owned me.
Gault telling Melek to hand me to him meant he’d make me the King’s property. He was the only male I knew of who outranked Melek, and therefore, the only one who could make the claim as an order, without an outright challenge.
And if Melek were to resist, it would be a challenge.
You did not challenge a King without staging a coup, intentional or not. And we all knew it.
Melek hesitated a bare second, before dropping his chin and thumping his free arm to his chest. “Of course. But if I’m to do this, I need to move now, Gault. There’s a lot to do before I’ll need to travel if I’m going to make it in time.”
Gault nodded, his expression unchanging as his eyes returned to me. “I look forward to victory,” he said absently, then licked his lips.
I wanted to scream. But thankfully, Melek only bowed, then whipped around and dragged me out of the tent. He moved so quickly I was pulled against him and bounced off his arm and side until I found my balance.
When I was back on my feet and steady, I was still having to stop my teeth chattering.
And Melek was so tense his entire body felt like steel.