Page 122 of The King is Dead
Jann coughed, grimacing and still trying to pry my fingers off his neck as his face turned a deep red.
“We’ve been watching,” he rasped, his voice thin and hoarse.
“Watchingdoesn’t show you someone’s invisible,” I pointed out. Jann huffed, but his breath was stuttering as fear and rage twisted together in my chest. “Were those your arrows, Jann?”
“No!”
“Did they fly at your order?”
“No! I told the others to grab her if they had the chance, not kill her. I had questions.”
“Had? Past tense?”
Jann nodded quickly as much as he was able with my fist clamped under his chin.
“What the fuck, Jann?” I growled, pulling him off the wall a couple inches and slamming him back against it so his skullbounced and he squeezed his eyes closed against the pain. “What thefuckhave you done?”
“I promise this is for your own good—and the good of all our people,” he croaked.
“What is?!”
Jann’s eyes opened and locked with mine. “We got her,” he wheezed. “We got her, and they don’t know.”
45. Make Your Choice
~ MELEK ~
I didn’t even think, but reached for the dagger at my back and had it up against his throat before he could blink.
“You have precisely one second to tell me where she is, and what state she’s in. If she’s dead—”
“She’s not dead,” he coughed. “Fuck, Mel—she’s safe. Shehasto be safe. She’s going to guide us back through those fucking Shadows of Shade.”
“Who iswe?!”
I loosened my grip a hair so he could breathe to speak, and Jann sucked in a deep breath before meeting my gaze reluctantly.
“Drek, Kran, and Hever,” he listed quickly.
“You broughtHeverhere?”I hissed.
“We’d all be dead without Hever,” Jann said, his voice rough. “That fucker knows everything—including how to get through the Shadows. But he’s not taking Gall seriously. He thinks we should leave him here and I told him you’d never—”
“I should kill all of you for trying to take her out. I can’t believe you didn’t tell them she’s my mate. I told you, Jann!”
Jannus’ lips twisted. “I’m unconvinced.” When I growled he raised his hands, but didn’t drop my gaze. “I’m just saying, there are a lot of questions. But now we’ll get answers.”
“Yeah, you will. Fromme.”
“Mel, I know you claimed her, and I know this is real for you. But she fucking drugged you and—”
“And you don’t have the last clue what you’re talking about,” I snarled, shoving him back hard against that wall again, before letting him go and stepping back, shaking my head. “Seriously, Jann. You areignorant.”
“So enlighten me,” he snapped. “All I know is that I came to save your ass and get you back where you belong to lead our people, and you’re acting like her fucking puppet. Were you just going to abandon us because she gave youtail?”
I snarled and stepped forward again, but my head went to war with my soul—they had her. I needed to get her out of their grip. Andtheyneeded to understand. So when we were chest to chest, and Jann was staring right back at me, I didn’t close my hands on his throat, even though I wanted nothing more. I snarled at him through my teeth and pinned him with my eyes instead.
“I don’t need to besaved,”I started. “I am not a prisoner here.”
