Broken by the Horde King (Horde Kings of Dakkar #4) - Zoey Draven Page 0,86

sense something and because of it, they are more dangerous, more easily aggravated. A polkunu nearly killed one of my darukkars near my father’s saruk.”

“All the way down by Drukkar’s Sea?” he asked, his tone quiet yet pensive.

“Lysi,” I rasped. “So I do not think it is a warning for the Ghertun. I think it is a warning to us all. And I intend to ensure that the Dothikkar knows this after we meet. For too long, he has sat on that throne and done nothing. For too long, he has let us deal with the sufferings that have never before existed in the wild lands, sufferings that we hardly have time to deal with ourselves.”

The suffering of the vekkiri, the Nrunteng, and the Killup specifically. Though most Killup had left the east already, venturing north.

“Maybe this is what it takes for him to finally see,” Rath Rowin added softly. “A warning from Kakkari herself.”

“He will reason it is for the Ghertun, however,” I already knew. “Because this fog is not over Dothik. And as such, it is not his problem.”

“But it frightens him,” Rath Rowin said. “That is something.”

“True,” I voiced.

“Vorakkar,” came a voice from outside the voliki.

At the same time, Rath Rowin and I barked out, “Lysi?”

We exchanged looks and a smirk crossed the other male’s features just as two warriors entered with a large bathing tub.

“My apologies, Okkili,” Rath Rowin said. “For a moment, I forgot my place.”

I clapped him on the back. “I’ll leave you to rest. We will speak in the morning before you depart.”

The Vorakkar nodded. With a knowing look, he added, “Go back to your female. I’m sure my brief interruption left her wanting.”

That was exactly what I intended to do.

But first, I needed to make certain the gates were secured and then I needed to speak with Errok. No matter how terribly I needed to return to Maeva, I would always be a Vorakkar first.

Chapter Thirty

I woke to movement, my lids heavy like boulders. For the second time that day, I didn’t realize where I was until I smelled Kiran. Until I realized I’d woken in his bed, a place I’d never intended to be.

My belly grumbled with hunger but I’d been too upset and embarrassed earlier to eat. And now, Kiran’s bulk was dipping the bed, making a small crater that brought me closer to his body.

I still didn’t know why he’d had my voliki dismantled. I still didn’t know why he demanded that I sleep here.

He blew out a deep sigh and I felt him shift, felt him turn towards me. It was darker in the voliki, the last of the embers in the fire basin glowing low. He must’ve been gone a long time and I must’ve inadvertently fallen asleep.

When his arms wrapped tight around me from behind, I didn’t stiffen or pull away. In fact, I was surprised by how my body responded. My eyes closed for a brief moment, fluttering shut, relaxing in his unexpected hold. Kiran had touched me often enough. Dakkari were very affectionate creatures. But as Kiran aged, as the time had drawn closer and closer to his purpose in Dothik, he had begun to withhold his embrace, which had always come so easily from him.

I missed this, I thought quietly. I missed being hugged by him. Because whenever he hugged me, whenever I smelled him, or felt the tight squeeze of his large arms, I felt safe. Protected.

Loved.

Even though it wasn’t the type of love I’d wanted from him. He’d loved me like a sister. He’d told me so himself.

Which was what made tonight all the more confusing.

And I was so vokking tired of thinking all the time.

So, I let him hold me because it simply felt good and I was too tired to fight it, to pull away when I didn’t even want to.

When he breathed, warm air rustled the tiny hairs at the nape of my neck. I felt the sharp tip of his nose burrow in my hair and bumps exploded across my arms when he inhaled deeply.

Underneath the furs, his legs tucked against mine, all warm, hard flesh that heated me quickly. I wondered if he was naked and the thought jolted something deep within me.

“You were a child when we became friends, seffi,” he murmured.

My brow furrowed and I stared across the furs, across the bed, across the voliki to his chests that lay in a darkened corner. I wondered if they were his deviri, his gifts to