Page 20 of The Horde King of Shadow

The thought of asking Sarkin for help—because he’d likely scoff at me, that telling disappointment entering his gaze—made me pull up the fresh pants, dry and clean, though they were much too big. I took the belt from my own clothes and tightened it around my waist, keeping the material from falling. I pulled on the shirt next, hunching over to shield my breasts just in case Sarkin poked his head around the tree trunk.

When I emerged, I saw Sarkin had a sleeping roll laid out. The outside was leather, but the inside appeared to be lined with black fur.

Alarm went through me, but I ignored the sleeping roll…for now. Instead, I slowly lowered myself down to the moss nearest the glowing egg. The heat had already dried it out there, and I sighed, feeling the warmth begin to seep into my chilled skin. I laid out my soggy clothes and satchel next to it, knowing they’d be dry by morning, even through the chilly night. I wasn’t worried about the satchel. It was made ofbverileather, and I’d made sure the seams were tight.

Across from me, Sarkin tossed over a pouch of dried meat, followed by a heavy water skin.

“Drink, so I can go refill it at the stream,” he ordered, watching me, as if daring me to disobey. Now that I was dry and getting warm, Iwasthirsty. And starving.

“What about Zaridan?” I asked. We’d left her on the cliff, though I’d heard her take off shortly after.

Sarkin paused, his hand stilling in midair as he ate his own rations. “She’ll be fine.”

I nodded, taking a long swallow, drinking until I nearly emptied the whole skin. Then I ate all the rations in the pouch, acutely aware of the burn of his eyes on me all the while. When I was finished, he handed me a thick slice of red-colored bread, the top dotted with what I thought were black seeds.

I polished that off too, wiping my lips with the edge of my thumb when I was finished.

“Where are we?” I asked when the silence stretched uncomfortably long. “In Karag? Is that what you call this land?”

“Karak,” he corrected, watching me. “Do I make you nervous, princess?”

He had his legs drawn up, his arms wrapped around his knees. A slice of the bread was dangling from his hand, and he brought it up to his lips for another bite. He was the picture of perfect ease, and I felt on edge.

I watched his strong jaw as he chewed.

“Of course you do,” I said quietly. His chin tilted back. Surprised? “Did you expect another answer?”

“I expected you to lie,” he said, finishing the last of his meal. “Most would.”

“I have nothing to gain from lying, only losing a bit of my pride,” I answered. “After today, that’s long gone with you. So what do I care?”

A gruff sound left Sarkin’s lips. A laugh? Perhaps as close as he’d come to one with me.

“What do you want with me?” I asked, cutting straight to the question that had been circulating in my mind since last night. Since I’d seen the red fog stream from his dragon and thought how bleak our future would become. Since I’d tasted the bitterness of theethrallwind its way down my throat, constricting it tight.

I had a million questions racing in my head—questions I hoped I could find the answer to in being here.

Tonight, however, was not the time or the place to ask them. Even I knew that, but I wanted to see what Sarkin would say.

“I want to use you.”

Hearing the words felt worse, somehow. They were honest, at the very least, but they really drove home howpowerlessI truly was with him.

“For what?” I asked carefully.

“For many things,” he rasped. A jolt went through my belly. “But mostly to find the forest of heartstones you spoke about.”

Dread spread.

“But…but you have that here. Youhavethem, don’t you? You know where it is!”

Had I misunderstood entirely?

“We have a good supply,” Sarkin replied, his eyes fastened on me tight. “But Karak is vast and our kingdoms are wide spread. Heartstones get depleted quickly because of the Elthika.”

I’d been very, very wrong.

Quickly, I asked, “How do you know I wasn’t lying?”

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