Madness of the Horde King - Zoey Draven Page 0,123
help you, Davik,” I whispered, pleading with him through my tears. He wiped them away.
“You can help me when you are well again, Vienne,” he said quietly.
“I need vovic,” I told him. I tried to smile, but it was sad. “And the Ghertun will never give it to you.”
“You are right,” Davik said. “Lozza will not give me vovic. Instead, he will give me the cure, to free you from this forever. He will give me your family. He will give me you. Until the end of our days, leikavi.”
His tone was so confident that I almost felt hope within my breast. “Davik…”
“I am sorry, Vienne,” he continued, a startling warmth in his gaze, one I’d only ever caught hints of during our time together, “but you will be stuck with the Mad Horde King for good after this. You will have to live out your life at his side and him at yours. You will have to warm his bed on the coldest of nights. You will have to be patient with him because his temper runs hot and despite what you believe, he is a little insane.”
The sound that came from me was almost a laugh. “And what do I get in return?”
His voice dropped, deepening. “You will have his love.”
My breath hitched.
“He will give you everything you ever wanted. He would lay the world at your feet if he could. Because you deserve that and more.”
The words he spoke would’ve been cruel if they hadn’t been so beautiful.
Because he was detailing a life that I wanted with him but might not get the chance to have.
I knew where he was going. And as certainly as I knew that, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to stop him.
“When do you leave?” I said, looking down at the Dakkari armor covering his chest.
“Soon,” he murmured. “The Vorakkar of Rath Kitala will accompany me.”
“Please tell me you will not go to war for this.”
“There is not enough time for that now, leikavi. War will wait. But it will come for the Ghertun in time,” he said. “My priority is you. I will return in two days, lysi?”
“Let me go with you,” I pleaded. “I can sway Lozza’s mind.”
Maybe I can see my family too, I thought quietly. One last time.
“Leikavi,” he rasped. “You are in no state to travel. Believe me, I have thought about it. About having you near once I got the cure. But we will ride hard. The Killup gave you a tonic for the pain but they do not know how long it will last. It will be quicker if I leave you here. A cart to carry you will only slow us down.”
I shook my head, but I knew he was right. I was a burden in this state. I could barely feel my limbs and my head felt heavy. And once the tonic wore off and the pain returned…my screams would echo around the eastlands. I would be a distraction.
Grief and panic struck my chest, more painful than the vovic. Would this be the last time that I saw him?
“Have faith, Vienne,” he whispered to me, leaning forward to brush his lips across mine. “For the first time in a long time, I do.”
Not long after Davik left, I felt something wake me. I jerked out of the dream I’d been having, though I couldn’t remember it.
Blinking my eyes open, I felt my stomach was cramped up, nausea building, the icy tendrils of pain beginning to return to me.
No.
“Kalles,” came a voice and when I flicked my eyes to the entrance, I saw Davik’s pujerak standing there. “I promised him I would check in on you often.”
He came inside. The healer had been here not too long ago to give me another dose of the Killup’s tonic but it was obvious that the pain was mounting.
“I—I thought you’d be with him,” I murmured.
“Nik,” he said, coming to my side. He lifted the cool cloth that the healer had left on my forehead and refreshed it in cool water before replacing it. “He left me in charge of the horde in his absence in case of…”
He trailed off but I knew what he meant.
“You think the Ghertun would attack while he is gone?”
“The horde is always weaker when its Vorakkar is gone,” the pujerak replied. “And the Ghertun have eyes everywhere, it seems.”
“A part of me wishes they would come,” I told him, my voice sounding weak even to my own ears. “Maybe it