Page 20 of The Death King

King Talon shut the door behind him and entered my space, taking a quick glance around the bedroom as if he’d never stepped foot inside the place. After a quick sweep, his hard gaze landed on my face with a distinct thud.

I was still in the robe, and I absent-mindedly tightened it across my chest so he wouldn’t be able to see my tits down the opening in the front. I was petite in size and height, so everything fit me a little bigger than it should.

He continued his stare, as if he’d already spoken and awaited a response.

I stared back, refusing to speak first when he was the one who’d barged in here.

He was no longer in the beautiful armor that concealed his entire body except for his neck and face. Now he wore loungewear, soft black pants that highlighted the shape of his long and lean legs. He wore a black t-shirt that showed his arms, muscular and tight, covered in strained cords like little ropes tucked underneath his skin. His skin was slightly tanned, like he spent time outdoors without his armor, or he was just born with a beautiful complexion. His angry eyes were still glued to my face.

“What do you want?”

He took a couple steps closer to the couch, his unblinking eyes locked on my face. “That’s no way to address your king.”

He wasn’t my king. My king had been fed to his dragon once his kingdom and our way of life had been conquered. Innocents were randomly selected to dig in the desert. The strong were recruited to serve under his regime. Free will was stripped from all of us. “What do you want?” It was difficult to suppress my rage in his presence, the memory of my father’s dead body collapsed on the desk scarred my mind.

He stared for seconds, and like a blossoming flower, his rage slowly bloomed in his eyes. “I spared you from a life of forced servitude, and this is how you show your gratitude?—”

“Don’t act like you’re my savior. All men are out for themselves—and you’re no different. Now tell me what the fuck you want so you can leave me in peace.” I wanted to return to the silence of my bathtub, to my quiet night in front of the fireplace, where I could enjoy a night without shackles.

“Rise.”

“What?”

“I want you to rise.”

I got to my feet and faced him, a foot shorter, my head tilted back so I could meet his steely gaze.

His eyes dropped to the robe I wore, the deep vee that exposed the bare skin of my chest.

I wanted to tighten it further, but I thought it was best not to move.

His eyes lifted again. “Where are you from?”

My eyebrows rose, expecting a command rather than an interrogation. “I was born and raised on this continent. Where are you from?”

The anger was still in his eyes, like the flames that burned in the hearth. “Which kingdom?”

“What does it matter?”

“Answer the question, or I’ll make you answer it.” He didn’t raise his voice, but he made it sharper, like the tip of a knife.

I felt the energy in the room change, felt his hostility rather than watched it. “Scorpion Valley.” I almost lied and told him I was from somewhere else, but a lie was hard to maintain under interrogation, so I decided to speak the truth. It was to the north, directly next to the White Mountains, an area so inaccessible that no one resided in those lands.

“How did you end up in the Arid Sands?”

“Because your men dragged me from my home and forced me,” I snapped. “That’s how.”

“Diggers weren’t taken from Scorpion Valley, so you’re either lying or you lived elsewhere.”

“I fled for Crimson Tower after the kingdom fell.”

“The kingdom of Scorpion Valley didn’t fall. It was simply reclaimed.”

Spin it however you want. “Well, I chose to go elsewhere.”

“That was ten years ago. You must have been a child.” His eyes narrowed as he scanned my face for further scrutiny.

“What does that matter?”

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