Page 43 of The King has Fallen

“Hello, Gall. Good morning to you,” I said warmly, winking at him when he beamed at the dirty plate at my side.

He’d been extremely pleased the day before to learn that I’d given up my spear and was eating again. Which was touching.

I found it interesting that Melek didn’t tell himwhy.

“What duties do I have today?” Gall said, coming to a stop next to Melek’s seat, his empty hands dangling at his sides.

Oddly, Melek glanced at me before answering his son. “I have need for a set of screens—similar to those I use,” he said, tipping his head towards the folding screens at the back of the tent. “But they must be short enough to fit inside the cage with our… guest,” he said dryly. “That may be difficult to find.”

“I can do it,” Gall said confidently. “And I’ll get her a new waterskin too.”

I was already receiving kafk, and sometimes cider or water with my meals, so a waterskin was far less important now, but I just smiled at him when he looked at me.

“Very good,” Melek muttered, taking a final bite of his honeycake, then wiping his hands on his thighs as he stood. “We’ll need to—”

“Sir, please pardon my interruption, I have a message from the King.”

We all turned as a tall, young Nephilim, much thinner and trimmer than any I’d seen before, entered the tent saluting Melek who hurriedly tugged Gall behind him and gestured for him to stay quiet.

The boy was wide-eyed and stiff, shrinking, as if he wished to hide behind Melek’s bulk.

Did he know the King was his father? Or was he only nervous now about anyone because he’d been punished?

“The King sends an urgent message, Sir,” the messenger said quickly, eyeing me warily. “He has determined that it is important for both him and you to be seen at the battle front. Toinspire the ranksas we embark on this critical maneuver. Hereadies his beast so that you can travel and return immediately and says you should do the same.”

Melek didn’t react in the slightest. Not a blink, not a freeze. He didn’t miss a beat, though I knew hehadto have at least a few misgivings about this. He only nodded and sighed. “Very well, please tell the King I’ll be ready in an hour—”

“He said thirty minutes, Sir…sorry,”the messenger added under his breath, his eyes apologetic on Melek.

The messenger apologized to the General for the King’s pleasure?

And Melek didn’t believe these men followedhim?

I shook my head in frustration and Melek caught the movement. As if he heard the thought, he shot me a glare but said nothing.

“Very well, thirty minutes. I will be ready. Please take the message to the stable-tent before returning to the King. I’ll need my beast groomed and watered right away, while I prepare things here.”

The messenger ducked his head and darted out of the tent, his long, loping strides evident even in this small space.

The moment the messenger was gone Melek turned to stare at me, his face grim.

I stared back. “Interesting timing. Separating you from the ranks—”

“Gall, please go find Jannus and tell him that unless he has orders from the King Himself, he is to find cover for all other responsibilities and come here to my tent. Immediately.”

Gall hopped like he’d been poked, running out of the tent with barely aYes sir!

Melek waited until he was gone before turning to face me. He stood in front of the cage with his arms folded in a posture that I was growing to understand he used any time he wished to assert his dominance.

“If you speak against the King in the presence ofanyNephilim again, I will gag you. Without warning. But particularly in front of Gall. He may be slower to learn, but he is not unaware of political… currents. His worry, if he believes I am present for something that iswrong,could end in a hurried, unfiltered word to someone else, at an inopportune time.”

I blinked. I knew exactly what he meant and hadn’t thought. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I wasn’t—”

“No, you weren’t. Do not do it again.”

I nodded, but didn’t drop his gaze. “Still… we are alone now, yes? Please don’t try to make me believe that you can’t see thecoincidenceof timing? He’s getting you alone with him, and presumably, his most loyal guards two days after an attempt—”

“The onlycoincidenceis with the timing of our attempt to split the Tuskarrian and Zaryndar ranks. I should have been at the front for this entire time. And trust me, Gault is far more intelligent than you give him credit for. He is filthy and selfish, but he sees far more than he comments upon, has great restraint with his tongue when he chooses to—and yes, is capable ofgreatcunning. Those who underestimate him, do so to their own peril.”

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