eyes flickered over my shoulder, looking towards the shadows. As if he thought talking about Devina would summon her. As if he wanted it to.
“I cannot promise—but I will try,” he finally said.
I blew out a small breath. I hadn’t realized how much I’d wanted him to confide in me about her until I felt my heart beating with anticipation. I wanted to hear about his sister from his own lips, not from his stolen memories.
“Last night,” I started, knowing that I would’ve told him regardless of whether he’d agreed or not, “I dreamed of when you and your sister—and your horde—were somewhere with these beautiful waterfalls deep in a valley.”
His chin dropped again. “The Trikki. The southlands.”
“You were older. You both were compared to the first memory I had of the ungira. You were leaving the…the Trikki soon, I think. You said you had to help your mother pack up chests. That’s what you and your sister spoke of. She said that she was tired of travelling all the time, that she wanted to get married and settle in an outpost, or maybe in Dothik. She said she thought a male named Jarun was handsome and thought maybe she would marry him.”
Davik stiffened underneath me, tension coiling tight in his body. He’d been protective of his sister, hadn’t he? Was that the reason for his sudden unease?
“She said she hoped he wouldn’t want to be a darukkar because she didn’t want to live among the hordes any longer,” I said quietly, looking at him, leaning forward to touch his scarred cheek in an effort to comfort him. He was still sitting rigid underneath me. “Though you did. You never wanted to leave the wild lands. Even still, you said you’d follow her wherever she wanted to go but begged her to settle in an outpost, not in Dothik.”
Just the thought brought a lump to my throat. That he would sacrifice his desires for his sister’s happiness. Didn’t that speak to him as a male? One who’d had great ambitions of becoming a darukkar, just like his father?
And now…he was a Vorakkar. Leading his own horde across the wild lands of Dakkar.
“I remember that night,” he said gruffly. “One of the last nights before everything went wrong.”
Dread pooled in my belly. Devina had said she’d wanted me to see that particular memory. Was that why?
“She…” I trailed off, wanting to tell him what had happened after they’d disappeared from the memory, only to have Devina take their place. A different Devina. An older one with blood pooling from her abdomen and her lips. I was a coward, however, and instead said, “She said that she wanted you to find a good female, one who would watch over you when she was gone.”
His jaw flexed and tightened. His brow furrowed and even I could see the pain blooming in his eyes from my words. But then my breath hitched when I noticed something else in his gaze…longing.
I was rattled by the realization that he wanted a female. A wife. So why hadn’t he taken one already?
Though that thought sent a surprising sizzle of jealousy to the pit of my belly—though I had no right to feel it—I knew that any female would be lucky to have him, despite his temper. Lokkaru had been right…he was the best of them. Others just couldn’t see it.
“Why…why haven’t you taken a wife yet, Davik?” I whispered to him, his cheek cool underneath my palm. “She wanted you to have one. Someone who would care for you.”
Like I do, I thought, the realization making a bubble of sadness well up in my chest.
Was that what Devina had meant when she’d begged me to help him? She said she wanted him to let her go because she wanted to be freed. But how?
I couldn’t quite meet his eyes but I knew he was looking at me intently.
“The other Vorakkars…don’t they take wives? Isn’t it your duty to?”
“Lysi,” he murmured and I sighed when I felt his hand come to my hair, when he ran his long, steady fingers through it. “But I decided long ago that I would not.” He added softly, “That I could not.”
“Why?”
I gathered the courage to meet his gaze. I suspected there were many females among his horde—beautiful, strong, bold Dakkari females—who would be happy to fill the position.
His nostrils flared. That longing in his eyes had never faded and the longer he looked at me, the more that look made my