Captive of the Horde King (Horde Kings Of Dakkar #1) - Zoey Draven Page 0,83

moment and then said, his tone grave, “Luna, I’m so sorry. You’re here because of me. I can’t tell you how sorry—”

“Shhh, Kivan,” I tried to soothe, frowning. “It’s okay. I’m fine.”

“But that Dakkari—the horde king!” Kivan said, his voice hushed. “He—he—”

“He is…” I trailed off with a small smile, not quite knowing how to explain Arokan of Rath Kitala.

He was the strongest, most honorable male I’d ever met. He was everything a leader should be, needed to be, and more.

Finally, I said, “He’s not what you think, Kivan. He’s good to me. More than good to me.”

His expression told me he didn’t believe me. “Luna,” he urged quietly. “You’re confused. You don’t know these Dakkari. They—”

I was surprised by how defensive I felt, how quick I was when I argued, “No, you don’t know them, Kivan. You have no idea who they are. But I’ve lived among them for over six weeks now. They have accepted me as their own.”

Well, with the exception of one, I thought, thinking of Hukan.

Kivan looked at me, seemingly surprised by my tone. “Luna…I—”

“I’ve been treated well,” I continued. “I’ve been fed, I’ve been protected, I’ve been safe. I’ve lived here,” I whispered, “and not simply survived here. There’s a difference and I didn’t realize that until the Vorakkar brought me to his horde.”

“You…you like being here?” Kivan asked, disbelief in his tone.

“Yes,” I answered immediately. “So much so that whenever I’ve thought about the village, about you, I’ve felt guilty.”

Kivan blinked.

With a deep breath, I said, “The horde king…he means more to me than you realize, Kivan.”

“What?” he asked, in disbelief. “You cannot mean that.”

“I do,” I answered. “He’s my husband.”

My brother’s eyes bulged almost comically and he seemed at a loss for words, his mouth gaping open, making his cheekbones seem even more hollowed.

“When he took me from the village, he said he always knew I would be his queen,” I told him. “That was my purpose and what he wanted from me. And I’m not going to lie, I rebelled against it for a long time, struggled with it as I adjusted to my new life. But eventually, I realized that my feelings for him grew every day. He’s honorable and kind, but hard when he needs to be. He’s a better male than I could have ever thought. He’s protected me and strengthened me and cared for me. Now, I’m proud to be at his side. I’m proud to be queen of this horde.”

Kivan processed my words with a grim expression. He swallowed. “This is hard for me to take in, Luna.”

“It will take time,” I said. “Just like it did for me. What matters is that you’re here now. I asked my husband if I could see you again and here you are. You’re here because of him.”

“When the horde riders came to our village yesterday,” Kivan said, “I wasn’t sure what to expect. They had brought food—meat, actual meat—with them last time, which had surprised us all. We weren’t sure if they had come to collect some form of payment. Instead, they’d asked for me. They told me I could see you if I went with them.”

I smiled, pushing back a long strand of hair that covered his eyes. He needed a hair trim, which was something I’d always done for him.

“The Vorakkar sent that food to the village,” I told him.

“Why?” he asked, suspicious.

“Because I had refused to eat when I first arrived,” I told him, a little embarrassed about that fact now. How far would I have really gotten, not eating? “I felt guilty about having food, when I knew you were hungry.”

His expression softened. “Luna…”

“So he made me a deal. If I ate, he would make sure the village ate too.”

Kivan blinked and then looked down.

“He said he offered you a place here,” I whispered, tilting his chin up so he could look at me. “Please tell me you’ll accept.”

Kivan’s nostrils flared.

“You’ll be safe. You’ll always have food in your belly. You won’t have to live in fear anymore.”

“And what about the rest of the village?” Kivan asked.

I sobered. But then I asked, “After I left, did they treat you well? Did Polin?”

“That doesn’t matter,” he murmured. “It was my fault.”

My lips pressed together. “You were an outcast, weren’t you?”

He didn’t reply, but his shoulders sagged.

“Kivan,” I whispered, biting my lip. He must have been scared. He’d lost me and then he’d lost the respect of the village, what remained of it at least. They’d