Page 64 of Sold to the Nalgar
From anticipation.
She was changing. But maybe… just maybe… change could be her weapon.
She spun around at the sound. The breath locked in her throat.
Zarokh stood in the doorway.
It was still daytime.
He never came during the day.
And yet… here he was. Filling the room like a stormcloud made flesh. Regal and silent and terrifying.
He wore black—sleek, sharply tailored, etched with silver across the shoulders and chest. A high collar framed his neck, and a circlet of dark metal wrapped around his brow, catching the red sunlight pouring in through the high windows.
He looked like a king. A warlord. A god of violence.
As if he’d just returned from commanding armies or deciding the fate of a continent.
Her fingers curled tighter around the utensil she still clutched behind her back.
He moved no closer. Just stared at her with those infernal crimson eyes, taking her in—her flushed face, her bare feet on the stone, the way her robe had slipped open in a V at the chest.
She felt exposed. Like prey. But not helpless.
She took a step back.
His eyes narrowed. “What are you hiding behind your back?”
His voice was as calm as ever, but something deeper ran beneath it. A thread of curiosity. And perhaps… knowing.
She didn’t answer.
Zarokh stepped forward—slowly, deliberately. Then, with a tone like velvet laced with threat, he said, “Whatever you’re thinking… do it.”
He stood before her now, palms out, arms slightly extended—unguarded. Open.
It threw her off balance. His stance. His words.
And his expression—relaxed. Not mocking. Not furious. But something unreadable. Still. Quiet. Shadowed with thought.
She stared at him, heart hammering against her ribs.
Why now?
Why did he come to her like this?
He exhaled, deep and controlled. “I’ve been thinking about you.”
She blinked. “What?”
“About your strength,” he said. “How you don’t shatter, even when you should. Even when I’ve taken… everything.”
Her stomach twisted. She hated how his voice could do that—wrap around her, dig under her skin.
“I want you constantly,” he continued. “Not just your blood. Not just your body. You. The fight in you. The ice. The fury. I want to give you more. Let you see who I am. What I can offer.”
She stared at him, stunned, fury and confusion warring inside her.
