Broken by the Horde King (Horde Kings of Dakkar #4) - Zoey Draven Page 0,46

as well.

A shadow fell over me and when I looked up, I saw that it was the Dakkari female, the one that had spoken about my pendant. She was looking at me with a slight frown, her eyes narrowed as she studied me more closely. Raising my brow in expectation, I met her gaze readily, which I could tell she hadn’t expected.

She reminded me of Laru’s friends, the friends that, when we’d been young, had always tried to make me cry because I was different. They were all grown now, with young children of their own, but even now…I sometimes still remembered the ugly things they used to lob at me.

It wasn’t me she wished to speak to, however. Her expression softened, her eyes sparking when she turned to regard Kiran.

Of course, I thought, pressing my lips together in annoyance.

“Can I speak with you a moment, Vorakkar?” the female asked, her voice low and purring. “In private?”

The female was beautiful. Her hair glittered in the sun, her curves were on full display, and her nipples were tight and pebbled through the almost-translucent material of her dress. I’d always known that Dakkari were not shy about nudity…but ever since I’d disrobed for Kiran that night on the cliff, I had always avoided being exposed for too long.

Kiran barely spared her a glance. In reading his expression, I swore I spied a hint of his annoyance, a slight ticking of his left jaw muscle, which always meant he was impatient.

“Later,” he bit out gruffly. “I must see the mokkira settled and then find my pujerak.”

The female barely held in her pout, her hand lifting as if to touch his arm before remembering herself. Seeing that movement, I realized that they’d been intimate once. She had almost dared to touch him in front of the crowd that were still gathered.

Something uncomfortable burned in my chest at the thought. I swallowed. I sensed Kiran’s dark eyes on me before I felt his hand pressing into the small of my back, leading me away.

Stiffening, I stepped away from his touch, giving him a glare over my shoulder. His expression lightened. I swore I saw a brief twitch of his lips before his face smoothed. Already, the Dakkari female was looking after us, a dark, furious frown on her lips.

We set out on the path away from the pyroki enclosure. A female stepped in our way before gasping and apologizing, lowering her head.

“Kallo,” Kiran said to her. It was a term of respect for a horde member, I knew. “Will you follow us? I have a task for you.”

“Lysi, Vorakkar,” the female squeaked, her eyes widening when she glanced up, as if shocked Kiran had spoken directly to her.

The dark-haired female fell into step behind us as we wound our way through the encampment. Kiran nodded his head to the horde members we passed but his expression invited no further conversation. Finally, towards the back of the encampment we stopped in front of a voliki.

“This will be yours,” Kiran said, gesturing towards it. “For now.”

For now?

I frowned, wondering why his words sounded so strange. As if he expected me to be in a different place soon.

“You may rest if you wish. I can have a bath sent in,” Kiran said, meeting my gaze.

I swallowed, shaking my head. “I’d like to see where I’ll be working, to set up my supplies. I don’t need rest.”

Kiran studied me. I was all too aware of his gaze hovering over my features. I saw it lower, back to the pendant between my breasts.

“Very well,” he rasped. He nodded to the female lingering on the edge of my vision. “Your piki will show you.”

Piki?

I gasped, outrage filling my breast, especially when I heard the Dakkari female make a trilling sound of surprise in the back of her throat.

A piki was one of the higher positions in a horde and a saruk. Because a piki was the companion to a Morakkari. A companion and helper to the queen of the horde, a trusted confidant and friend.

“Don’t do that,” I hissed softly, keeping my voice low so that even the female wouldn’t be able to hear.

“Do what?” Kiran challenged.

“Do not say things like that because your horde members will actually believe them,” I told him.

If his people believed that Kiran had just assigned me a piki, then they would assume that I was his future Morakkari. The one he’d chosen for himself.

Which was ridiculous. I didn’t understand why he would do such a