Page 87 of Marked By the Dark Lord
“Huh?”
“Never mind. It’ll go over your horns.”
Kraw’ok tightened his grip on my arm, using it to shove me hard against the nasty walls. “You will learn to show some respect. I saved your life,half-breed.”
“My life was fine before you got involved with it, traitor. Killer of your own blood.”
The Fae snorted and started walking again, dragging me with him. “That means nothing in this world. Only humans cling to that silly delusion.”
I recalled how Korr’ok had reacted upon hearing his family had been slaughtered. Fae might not care to the same extent humans did, but he had certainly experiencedsomeemotion. Far more than Kraw’ok displayed, that was for sure.
Okay, so he’s a psychopath. Sociopath. Whichever the insane emotionless one is.
I could never remember. Labels didn’t matter, but it did mean I would be on a knife’s edge the entire time I was imprisoned there. Hopefully, that wouldn’t be long, but I couldn’t bank on it. There were bound to be defenses that Korr’ok had to bull his way through before he got to me.
If he’d even meant it.
Things between us were … well, confusing was a generous way to put it. Our relationship, such as it was, had started on dubious terms, to say the least, when he’d basically branded me in frontof his Jury peers against my will. Yet, despite those actions and his distinctly harsh outer persona, I’d be a liar if I said there wasn’t something more.
A spark that had pushed us both past the usual boundaries of what such a relationship should entail. He hadn’t punished me—not really—and I hadn’t come to hate him. In fact, just the opposite. Reluctantly, he showed me the new world I was exposed to, teaching me about it bit by bit.
Ensuring I wouldn’t break the law again. He was, in a way, protecting me.
It wasn’t until I’d lain dying in his arms, however, that I’d broken through. Seen the real side of him. A side that he never showed anyone. After all, if they knew he had emotions, if hecared, then how would he be seen as a monster?
But his anguish had been real.
I sighed heavily, understanding why he’d acted so betrayed upon seeing me. To him, he’d lost me … only to find out he hadn’t really known me to begin with.
As it turns out, I never really knew myself, either. A half-breed Fae-human mix?
It explained a lot, and I was glad to be alive, but I feared that in doing so, I might have lost Korr’ok forever.
Please, give me a chance to show you that I wasn’t faking any of it. Let me show you that I l—
“I bet you’re wondering why I went to such lengths to steal you out from under Korr’ok, don’t you?”
I was snapped out of my thoughts as we paused in front of a blank spot on the wall. The only sign it was different was it looked cleaner. Definitely still not clean, just not slime covered.
“Not really,” I sighed. “It’s fairly obvious.”
“Oh, is it?” he taunted. “Please, enlighten me.”
“Leverage. You killed your family, ensuring you could sit on the throne without any challengers with a better claim to it. Korr’ok turns up alive, and since he’s older, he has a better claim to it than you. He’s also not a known traitor, so he probably could have a lot of support from the rest of the House. You take me, threaten to kill me if he tries anything. Leverage.”
“That is certainly part of it,” he agreed. “But there’s more. You see, I do have support in the rest of the House. And I make sure to reward that support well.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
Kraw’ok chuckled nastily and pressed on a stone in the wall, causing the entire section to slide away. Inside, a glowing red entity turned to face me, giving me a very familiar lopsided grin.
“Hello,Mila,” Irrt’ok hissed, shooting toward me.
I stepped back, but Kraw’ok’s bulk prevented me from going anywhere. Irrt’ok reached the edge of the room beyond the hidden door and abruptly halted.
“Irrt’ok is confined to these chambers,” Kraw’ok explained. “Once he’s better, however …”
I retched at the implication that I would be handed over to the disgusting Fae. The last time I had seen him, he’d been inhabiting Victor the baker's body, and I couldn’t get that image from my head.
