Captive of the Horde King (Horde Kings Of Dakkar #1) - Zoey Draven Page 0,46
of that sitting on my ass in a tent all day.”
Something rose from him, wild and quick. He advanced on me, lowered his head ever so slightly, and growled, “Your future is always with me, kalles. Do not ever say otherwise.”
My lips parted, not expecting that reaction. “Arokan.”
A sharp exhale whistled through his nostrils and he bit out a curse in Dakkari, looking away, past me to his camp.
“That’s…” I swallowed, trailing off. “All I meant was that we don’t know what the future brings. All I meant was that I’m here now. I’m not going to fight you at every turn anymore. I’ve accepted that this is the path my life has taken and if that’s so, I want to build a life here. I need a purpose.”
“Your purpose is to stand beside me,” he growled, “as my queen.”
“As your ornament?” I rasped, frustrated. “As your trophy? I’m not going to spend my life like that, Arokan. I can’t. It would kill me.”
His gaze flashed, his yellow irises contracted.
“I just want a job,” I said softly, hesitantly reached out to touch his forearm. His skin was hot from the sun, from his exertion. “However small it might be. Anything.”
His gaze went down to my hand resting against him and when he didn’t reply, I bit my lip and pulled it away.
In a flash, he caught my hand, keeping that connection.
“Anything?” he repeated, running his calloused thumb across the back of my hand. I’d never known such a simple touch could feel so…arousing. So intimate.
“Y-yes,” I replied, my head going a little fuzzy again.
He leaned close, those rapt eyes freezing me into place. Softly, he said, “Then you will aid with the pyrokis’ care.”
My eyes widened and I snatched my hand back, taking a whole step away from him, as if to distance myself from his words. “Arokan, no. I can’t do that.”
“You said anything. You wanted a job, this is the one I task to you,” he replied simply.
My breath hitched, my mind flashing to those red-eyed beasts, the same kind of beast that had mauled my mother, that had forced me to end her suffering.
“Please, I’ll do anything else but—”
“Do you think I have not noticed your aversion to them?” Arokan asked softly.
“I…I…”
“Pyrokis are the foundation of all Dakkari hordes,” he said. “If you wish to learn more about us, you must first understand them. The horde will never truly accept you unless you master your fear and open yourself to these creatures.”
I bit my tongue, looking at the ground between us.
“Will you do this?” Arokan asked. “For me? For the horde? For yourself?”
“I don’t know if I can,” I said softly, but then I looked up at him. Swallowing, I nodded with dread pooling in my belly, and whispered, “But I will try.”
He made a sound in the back of his throat, reached out to thread his fingers through my hair. A gasp of surprise left me when he cupped the nape of my neck, tugging me forward, and kissed me right there, on the edge of the training grounds, with over two dozen Dakkari horde warriors watching.
Lips parting against him, I clutched his biceps as he took his kiss with a ferocity and thoroughness of a horde king.
“Brave kalles,” he rasped against me, pulling back. He released me, so quickly that I swayed. “You are—”
Suddenly, alarmed shouts echoed through camp and Arokan’s head snapped up, towards the direction of the forest.
He jerked his head towards the horde warriors, bellowing out an order in Dakkari and they all ran towards the back of the camp.
“What’s happening?” I cried, as shouts of alarm rang out.
Arokan pushed me into the arms of my assigned guard. “Stay with him, kalles. Do not leave his side.”
In Dakkari, he said something to the guard, who jerked his head in a nod.
“Wait!” I said, confused and concerned. “What is—”
“Do as I say!” Arokan growled. “I will find you later.”
Then he turned his back and sprinted toward the direction of the forest, unsheathing his sword as he went.
Chapter Fifteen
Pacing the confines of the tent, I blew out an impatient, anxious breath for the hundredth time in the last four hours, give or take.
I was worried, frightened, irritated…and I didn’t know what else to do so I simply paced. Back and forth. The scarred guard wouldn’t let me outside, though I could tell that night had already fallen. There was still no word about what had happened in the camp prior to Arokan’s departure. And