Page 87 of The King has Fallen

“We were just going to swim—”

“Shut up!”

And then Melek growled. The sound was so menacing, my blood ran cold. It was a harsh reminder that he was, at his core, acreature.

“Go. All of you. Back to your tents and your drink. I will forget I saw stupidity, but not rebellion.”

For a moment, no one moved and my heart froze. The young Neph obviously emboldened by drink and the thrill of celebration, sized up their General.

But then the one at the front dropped his eyes and his posture shrank.

“Yes, Sir,” he said, though there was an edge of tension in his voice. “We’ll go.”

He slapped his friend on the chest and they both turned, the others behind them following suit. I started to take a breath, butthen the one at the front looked over his shoulder and grinned wickedly at Melek.

“Enjoy the Fetch, Sir.”

Then he took off after his friends, all of them laughing and whooping as they crashed back through the forest.

Melek stood before me for the length of several short breaths, unmoving. Then suddenly came alive, whipping around, sweeping me up into his chest and running into the forest at a different angle than the young ones had taken, his jaw clenched and eyes on fire.

I squeaked in shock, but clung to his neck, though the reality of… well, everything was starting to set in and an uneasiness churned in my guts.

“We have to get back to my tent,now.”

“Melek, what’s going on? They left. Do you think it was a ploy? That they’ll try to ambush you?”

“No. I think they’ll run back to camp and tell anyone who will listen that I have you out here. And there are many,manyolder, stronger warriors in this camp that have been lonely too long. Under the influence of drink, they might see challenging for my female as a fun start to their Covenant Days.”

I clung to him harder. “Surely they wouldn’t… I mean you could beat any of them—”

“Your faith in me is gratifying, Yilan. But even I couldn’t take four or five of our strongest fighters if they came at me together.”

I blinked. “They’d challenge you for a femaletogether?”

He nodded once, his lips peeling back from his teeth as he spat, “And after they won, they’d take her together, as well.”

I stiffened and his hands tightened on my hip and back.

“If we are not under their eyes, they will be distracted. And they would never have the courage to challenge me sober. Do not fear, Yilan. I will not allow it. My female will never face—”

“I am notyourfemale!”I hissed.

His head jerked back like I’d slapped him. His eyes dropped to meet mine for a split second, but he ran on.

“Regardless,” he murmured a few steps later. “I’m going to get you back to the tent. If any of them come out there to hunt us, they won’t find us. Problem solved.”

We had to sneak past the guards again, though Melek came at the camp from a different angle this time and the guards in this spot were even less attentive than those we had ducked earlier.

When we were almost back to the tent, as we passed the campfire twenty feet from its door, Melek slowed to a walk, panting lightly from the run, while I panted more from fear.

Fear of these creatures who would take women as if they were little more than possessions? Or fear of Melek? Fear of being raped? Or fear of… what had been happening before we were interrupted?

I wasn’t sure which was more terrifying.

No. That wasn’t true.

Melek… Melek was by far the more frightening prospect.

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