Page 22 of The King has Fallen

She had a strange but beautiful voice, and the eerie, raspy way in which she curled her tongue around the words strummed something inside me.

She stopped singing when I approached the cage, her large eyes scanning up my body until they locked on mine.

She was already pressed to the back of the cage, which meant there was no need to give her instructions to that effect, so I just let the warning rest in my eyes as I unlocked the door and threw in the blanket, pillow, and bucket for her.

She caught them easily, eyeing the bucket with distaste, but not commenting until I was already relocking the cage.

“Thank you,” she said carefully, her teeth clenched as if the words hurt her to speak.

“I told you—deal with me in honor, and you will be rewarded. Work against me, and you will die.”

She didn’t respond but looked at the pillow and blanket in her lap.

“Still… thank you,” she said carefully.

I shrugged and stalked over to the bed, throwing myself into its soft embrace for the couple of hours I had left before breakfast.

My body was well-trained to grasp sleep whenever possible, so I slipped into the dream immediately. A dream of shifting shadows, wicked smiles, whispered threats, and yet through it all that voice rose to dance with the clouds, singing of peace and love and safety in that eerie rasp that was somehow beautiful, frightening, and welcoming, all at once…

~ YILAN ~

I was woken from a deep sleep plagued by nightmares to the sound of marching feet and voices in the tent, speaking to Melek.

Startled and disoriented, I leaped to my feet in a defensive stance, aware only that I was caged and surrounded by huge,male bodies. But when none of them reacted to me, I blinked and the memory of the day before came rushing back.

Melek, only half-dressed in leather trousers, but with a bare chest and feet, stood at the end of his bed, arms folded across his massive chest. He barely glanced at me before returning his attention to the soldiers standing in front of him.

There were four of them this time. The first two, clearly older and more experienced, spoke quietly and with an efficiency of words.

But the two behind them surprised me.

One was a young lieutenant, trying very hard to be professional by submitting to the authority of the elders while attempting to hide his awe at the sight of the famous general—who was ignoring him. The other was very young. Barely twenty by human standards, I suspected. His eyes—pure gold—were wide, and his expression open and almost childlike. He beamed at Melek until his roaming eyes took me in and widened even further.

He stared at me like a child would, and I stared back, smiling in response when he smiled. My heart squeezed, because as soon as he was facing me and I could meet those incredible eyes, I understood him, and a part of me was deeply shocked.

I hadn’t been wrong about the childlike nature. Those eyes were pure and simple. Quite beautiful… and a little empty.

He’d been standing at attention alongside the other young soldier, but when I smiled he beamed and started towards me. His body and gait were all healthy, vigorous man. Yet his eyes… his heart… were something else entirely.

I liked him immediately and feared for him in this brutal place because I knew what he was, and that meant he was desperately vulnerable here.

“Hello,” he whispered as he got close to the cage. “What’s your name?”

My smile was genuine. “I’m Yilan. What’s yours?”

“Gall.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Gall,” I said sincerely.

His smile got wider, but as he opened his mouth to respond, Melek obviously noticed and growled from the other side of the tent.

“Gall, stand back. She’s a prisoner. She’s not safe.”

“But she’s very polite!” he said, pointing at me with the short-spear he was holding so the steel tip almost brushed the side of the cage.

My heartbeat sped up, but I didn’t move.

“What have I told you about enemies, Gall?” Melek growled and shot me a warning look. “They will pretend to be your friends until they have a chance to betray you. She is an enemy. You need to trust me on that.”

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