Madness of the Horde King - Zoey Draven Page 0,125

return tenfold or that this was just a dream, that I would wake soon from this hopeful state.

But this was real.

As my strength began to return to me, I felt something rise with it. Something that I’d felt…at the tree of the heartstone. Something that hadn’t been within me before.

I felt emotions rise, emotions that I knew stemmed from the pujerak. His profound relief to see me well, his anticipation of Davik’s return, his inner turmoil over desecrating the graves of the Ghertun.

For a moment, I was paralyzed with disbelief because I knew I hadn’t used my gift. I hadn’t built up the energy between us, nor had I actively tried to delve into his mind.

Just then, the healer walked into the voliki and froze when he saw me sitting up in the bed. His emotions hit me like a wall, his baffled confusion at first followed by his tentative hope.

And I knew…I knew that this was Kakkari’s doing. Something had happened to me at the grave of Lokkaru’s father. Something had happened to me when I’d connected my mind with the mind of a goddess…or at least a remnant of her.

As a test, I looked at the healer and pushed the command into his mind without resistance.

Leave.

Immediately, he turned his back and walked from the voliki. The pujerak frowned after him, his lips parted in confusion.

I waited for the pain to slice through me but it never came. If anything, I felt stronger. There was no dizziness, no nausea, no pounding headache.

Davik.

My breath left me in a rush. He was hours ahead of me now.

“Will you take me to him?” I asked the pujerak, feeling my throat close tight. Lozza’s army was great. I didn’t know what Davik planned but I worried what the Ghertun king would do…or what Davik would give up to help me.

The pujerak frowned. “Kalles, you know I cannot do that. He would want you to stay here, safe, and to rest.”

I didn’t have time to argue. My power was already threading through his mind as I rose from the bed.

Take me to the Dead Mountain.

The pujerak inclined his head though he didn’t seem to know why.

“Lysi, I will.”

It should have frightened me…this new, horrible, powerful thing I possessed.

Yet all I thought was that I would use it to protect those that I loved.

Nothing would stop me.

I turned to Davik’s chests and opened one, dressing quickly. At the bottom, however, I felt something within, hidden, and when I rummaged through it, my hand grew hotter and hotter.

I knew what it was.

The heartstone. It was tucked within a pouch and it burned in my hand when it tumbled forward. It was smooth and small. It fit within my palm perfectly. The inside swirled, glowing gold and blue, the color mingling and floating within.

Davik must’ve taken it from the tree without my knowing.

He had hidden it here, kept it away from the Ghertun. I frowned.

Why?

But I knew.

He’d meant to use it…for me.

If he couldn’t get the cure from Lozza, he was planning to use the heartstone’s power to heal me…just like Lokkaru’s father had done, sacrificing his life in the process.

He would never give it to the Ghertun, so he’d hidden it here to protect it. Its power was too great and he knew just how dangerous it would be in the Ghertun’s possession.

I shuddered, remembering the remnants of that power. I shuddered, remembering that up until a few days ago, I had been hell-bent on delivering it to Lozza.

My palm clenched around it. I tucked it into my trews, finishing dressing quickly. When I turned around to face the pujerak, he was still frowning, confused.

“Will you tell me your name?” I asked quietly, keeping the command from my voice. This was his choice.

He stared at me, as if I was a strange thing.

“Hedna.”

I nodded.

“Hedna, take me to him. Please.”

Chapter Forty-Seven

The Vorakkar of Rath Kitala was looking at me…well, like I was mad.

“You will never make it out,” he rasped after I told him what I planned to do.

“You do not think I know what is at stake?” I growled. We were standing on a cliff overlooking the Dead Valley. The sun was high in the sky, though a thick covering of grey clouds were blocking out any of the warmth. There was a chill in the air, which the Ghertun detested. “My female’s life is at stake if I fail.”

I had left Hedna back at the horde in my absence and my darukkars were camped not