Page 81 of The King has Fallen

Whatever lived deep in my chest had come alive, even as I sat there, shaking my head, denying it.

I couldn’t breathe.

Itcouldn’tbe.

Shecouldn’t be.

Yet, everything in me sang that shewas.

God help me.

27. Why?

SOUNDTRACK:Lostby Ghost Nation

~ YILAN ~

I woke slowly, not immediately aware that the bath hadn’t been a dream. But the towel was cold where it had been wet against my skin. I shivered and came awake, blinking at the dark trees before I sat up quickly, mind racing, body tensed, clutching the towel to my chest and…

And there was no one on the shore with me. No one at the edge of the trees.

I was alone? Where—

The sound of displaced water rippling behind me tugged at my attention and I turned… but for a moment there was nothing.

It was still darkest night. The water black and gleaming like liquid metal, but the moonlight sparkling on its surface wherever it bobbed and rippled… Then suddenly it rippled a great deal twenty feet offshore.

The sound I’d heard of water moving must have been the moment Melek submerged.

Now, I froze at the sight of him, back to me, rising like a God from the lake, water sluicing from his head and hair—the length of which slicked down his spine. The water washed down his body leaving it gleaming in the moonlight, shining and wet, as he gasped at the cold and a shudder rocked through him.

Then he just… stood there, not quite waist-deep in the black, his hands extended and flat on the surface, his hair shining, reflecting moonlight like the flat of a blade. The muscles of his back seemed carved from marble, rippling and bunching with the slightest move. When he stilled, the water lapped at the hollow of his back, where his buttocks began.

For a moment I was taken by the sheerbeautyof him. It was overwhelming. But as the water trickled away and I continued to stare, slowly I became aware of his scars.

So many.

Some simple, fine lines that seemed silver in this light and would be easily missed.

Others, ugly puckers and bunches, marring the incredible perfection of his back and shoulders.

It brought tears to my eyes.

He looked the way I felt: Battle weary. But strong.

And as the events of the previous days came back to me, one by one, I was washed in a rush ofunderstanding. Understanding him. Feeling understoodbyhim.

I had never experienced that before.

With only one exception, the men among my kind had always either admired me from afar—too weak to approach with intention—or sought to dominate me. Conquer me.

In either case, it seemed like they saw a prize, not a person.

But Melek…

I was suddenly, undeniablysurethat he saw me. And moreover… that I saw him.

I knew he was a great General, a leader, and a great achiever.

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