Page 69 of Warlord's Mate
“Or perhaps you’ll exchange your life for theirs.” Allok smiled, his red eyes glowing with delight. “Bow before me, Jorrick. Surrender, and I’ll free them both.”
“Lies.”
Allok’s smile widened. “Do you have much choice?” he looked at Mar-see and Aris in turn before meeting his gaze again. “You alone cannot save them both.”
“I’m not alone.”
“But you are.” Commotion by the trees drew Jorrick’s attention. The men who had come with him all walked into camp, their jaws clenched tight, their movements jerky, as if every step was forced. “They cannot help you now so what will it be?”
He was a fool. He should have waited longer. Slipped inside Allok’s hut once darkness fell and killed him while he slept. His traitorous heart had betrayed him once again and forced him to act before thinking.
Mar-see shifted on her feet. Jorrick met her gaze, held her stare and knew he’d do it all again. “I love you.” She gasped softly, the words shocking even him. He wasn’t sure he’d ever said them out loud to anyone, not even Zasra. An emotion as strong as love was dangerous. Proof of that was staring him in the face now. His love for revenge and for this tiny slip of a human had brought all this upon them. She was the ruin of him, just as he’d always known she would be. His camp was gone, his men dead. Even if he bowed before Allok and chose between Mar-see and Aris, he knew Allok wouldn’t keep his word. He’d force Mar-see to perform whatever magic’s he thought she could do and use him and Aris as a means to try and get it. He’d be better off killing them both himself and save them both the torture Allok was sure to dole out to them.
He wrapped his fist around the handle of his blade and looked at Mar-see and Aris both. Could he end them to save them from pain? He pulled the blade free of its scabbard. Yes. Yes, he could.
He loved her. Marcy fought to get enough air in her lungs to breathe but the slightest move tugged at the blade against her throat. She smiled instead, hopefully that one small gesture would be enough to—what, exactly?
She’d tried analyzing her feelings for Jorrick and for every check mark in the, ‘this is a fucking stupid idea,’ category she found a reason why it wasn’t. Him showing up with nothing more than his bandolier of knives strapped to his chest and a handful of men being one of them. Not only had he come for her when the odds were stacked against him, he’d done so without regret. The look on his face, and those three little words that were still whispering through her head all the proof she needed.
Her body ached from the abuse she’d suffered the night before. She’d run from camp not knowing where she was going but it hadn’t taken her long to know where she’d been running to. As much as she wanted to see Sara again, she’d wanted to see Jorrick more. Out of all the bad shit this horrible place had to offer, she felt safe with him. Had for a long time. And that feeling of safety had slowly morphed into curiosity, then longing, and as she stood there, her arms aching from being stretched for so long over her head, she knew without a doubt she loved him too. The joy she’d felt the moment she saw him walk into camp told her she did.
Jorrick pulled his long blade from the scabbard. Her pulse raced at the sight. There were so many men here. So many Allok controlled. She had no doubt Jorrick could take on any of them and win but if they all attacked at once?
Don’t think about it. He’s here. That’s all that matters.
She glanced at Aris. She didn’t know how he was even standing. He’d been beaten in front of her as punishment for her running. The blows he’d received were more brutal when she looked away and she was surprised Aris survived it. Whatever species Jorrick and Aris were, they were made of sterner stuff than most. Their size alone suggested it. She was glad to see looks weren’t deceiving when it came to them.
Jorrick’s fist was clenching around the handle of his long blade. He was strong and ruthless but Marcy knew he’d never survive a fight. Not here. Not with Allok’s men. There were too many of them and every one she saw had a weapon in hand. All of them watching. All of them waiting for Allok to tell them to attack.
Her pulse started racing. They were going to kill Jorrick and make her watch and just the thought of it made it hard to breathe. Allok was power hungry and nothing short of giving him what he wanted would ever satisfy him.
She stiffened when a thought popped into her head. “I’ll do it!”
“Mar-see!”
She ignored Jorrick when he yelled her name. She locked eyes with Allok and lifted her chin as much as she dared. “Jorrick and all those you took from his camp in exchange for what you asked for.”
That brain-numbing pressure she felt when Allok tried to get inside her head was sharp enough to drag a quick breath from her lungs. She squinted against the pain and sucked in a quick breath when it disappeared.
“How do I know you speak the truth, witch?”
She glanced at Jorrick. “Because I know you’ll kill them if I’m lying. Let them go. When they’re all away from camp, I’ll give you what you want.”
“Mar-see.”
It was nothing more than her name but the inflection behind it made goosebumps pimple her skin. It was a warning, the deep baritone of Jorrick’s voice harsh enough that small growl she heard rumble from his throat on occasion followed behind it.
“It’s all right.” She gave him a tiny smile. “My life for all of those he’s captured is a small price to pay.”
Jorrick’s face went red. “It is a price you will not pay!” He pulled one of the knives from his bandolier with his free hand, gripping it and the long blade before turning to Allok. “Let her go or I’ll kill you where you stand.”
“The moment you let those blades fly, I will slaughter every person in this camp you called your own, starting with the witch.”
Not a single person moved as Jorrick and Allok stared at one another. This was going to end badly. Marcy felt it in the pit of her stomach. No one was going to win.
Panic made her shout his name. The red-skinned alien didn’t so much as glance her.Think, think, think, Marcy.He wanted a spell. He wanted his enemies vanquished. She straightened when a thought popped into her head. He wanted magic? Then she’d give it to him. “Allok, I’ll rain fire upon your head if you don’t let them go!” As she suspected, he never flinched.
She’d sucked at foreign languages in school. She’d tried to learn French and Spanish and never could grasp them but she remembered a few things. With a mix-mash of both, she started speaking both languages together, pacing the words as if they were a chant, the volume in which she spoke getting louder until Allok finally looked her way. She had no idea if his translator was making any sense out of the words or not but it was too late to worry about it now. The way she was butchering both languages, even if the translator did work for foreign languages, it would probably make no sense to him anyway. “This is your final warning,” she said. When he did nothing but stand there, she said every Spanish and French word she could think of and even made up a few just to be safe, her eyes locked with his own as she shouted the words. When she stopped talking, she narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips.