Page 155 of The King has Fallen

The possibilities made my blood run cold.

No… We needed Melek. All of us. The Nephilim. The Shadekin. And all the peoples he had conquered. If he couldn’t see that, my only choice was to force all of us to brave the initial chaos—let him see the consequences of his choice—and pray he could be convinced in the wake of it.

Let him be the savior to solve the tribulation that was about to descend on the continent.

And that meant getting him and Gall the fuck out of here until the King’s death was discovered and the Nephilim were scrambling.

Turo wasverydubious. But I was in charge here.

I would take my mate and his son beyond the Shadows of Shade, into Theynor, my land, where he would be presented as the prize that he was.

They would try to use him for the sway he held over the Nephilim—and now the entire continent. I knew that. But there was no choice.

I would beg God to make Melek forgive me for forcing his hand. But Icouldn’tlet him martyr himself!

Still stroking his face, I was overcome in a wave of grief and fear. What if he truly denied me because of this? What if herejected the bond?

We were vowed and bonded, surrendered. But either of us could turn from that. Could choose to destroy what existed between us.

Severing a bond was painful and destructive to both mates, but it could be done. The question was, did he love me more than he hated the idea of being crowned?

God, I began to shake just thinking about it.

“Please, Melek,” I whispered, praying the words would take root in his subconscious. “Please… this ismyhonor. This ismyword. It is foryourgood, even if you can’t see it. There is no one on this continent who deserves to live, deserves acrownmore than you. No one better to leadeveryland. I wish you could see that.”

I had to swallow the lump in my throat. I hugged him one more time, burying my face under his ear and letting only one tear slide down his neck before I closed my eyes and prepared to move.

Turo and the others had disposed of the King’s body within an hour of leaving the tent. Then they’d found Gall.

At my orders, Turo had intentionally stayed, positioning himself at the edge of my reach, so I could call him when they were needed, but there was no chance they’d be discovered or drawn into… this.

Everything was going as planned, but now time was growing short.

Darkness had fallen. We needed to move while the camp was still busy with celebrations.

We had to be well out of the camp before things slowed—carrying two massive Nephilim—all while avoiding anything that would draw attention to the fact that the King wasgone.Itcould take hours.

Forcing myself to focus on the task, and not on Melek’s rage when he learned what I had done, I leaned my ear against his chest to check his heart and make sure I’d dosed him correctly. It was a relief to hear that massive thud, pounding away like a drum.

The sleep powder had slowed his pulse, but not alarmingly.

I turned my head to kiss the center of his chest, and then I reached for Turo in my mind.

‘It is time.’

‘Finally,’Turo responded immediately.‘What took so long?’

‘We had a visitor, and Melek took much longer to sleep than I anticipated.’

‘These fucking Neph bulls,’Turo muttered.‘We’ll be there in minutes. Half the camp is already passing out from drink. We need to move quickly.’

‘I know.’

True to his word, my helpers began to materialize within a couple of minutes. I motioned at them to keep their voices downjust in case, and had to turn away while they bound Melek before bracing themselves to carry him.

‘Where is Gall?’I asked Turo.

‘Already on his way,’he replied gruffly.

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