Page 11 of The King's Man
“Iknewyou were like the rest of them withonly men can fightbullshit. Now the truth comes out!” she hissed, her eyes blazing with anger to match my own. “Who owes the life debt to whom, Jann? Who came crawling, begging to repay the saving of a life? Because it wasn’t me!”
“In battle,” I growled. “In battle you had my back, and I remain grateful. But we aren’t talking about the chaos and teamwork of battle, Dee. We’re talking about you against a man who is not weary, not watching behind and before, not at risk of taking a spear with a wrong move—if you walk into that camp,” I pointed back the way we’d come, “telling yourself that you’resafealone, you will bedestroyed.”
Her eyes narrowed and she leaned towards me from her saddle. “You want me afraid?”
“I want you defensive for your own protection—and fucking grateful for mine.”
She gave a cold little laugh. “Of course you do, that’s what this is really about, isn’t it? I’m not fluttering my lashes and shoving my breasts under your nose. The Great Jannus the Halfling—so accustomed to every woman opening her legs at the slightest look, he’soffendedby one who doesn’t fall to his charms!”
“It’s not my charms you’ll fall to if you keep up this idiocy!” I snarled. “It’s—”
“Don’t try to make me afraid so that I’ll play along with your fucked up priorities. You’re the monster here, not m—”
I wasn’t proud of myself for what I did next. But I also knew it wasn’t only my rage that drove me off that horse, to grab her before she could kick hers into a gallop, and drag her to the ground, then away from the dancing animals.
Was she a fucking harpy who needed to learn a lesson? Yes, yes she was. And I would be the one to teach it to her.
And she better be fucking grateful. Because with the exception of Melek, any other male of my kind would make it a much, much more bitter potion to swallow.
4.Learn the Lesson
~ DIADRE ~
I shrieked my rage when he yanked me off my horse—rage, and frustration. I’d let my guard down. He should never have had a chance to get hands on me. But it wasn’t until he dragged me away from the horses and into the trees that fear shrieked in my head and my hands began to shake.
“What the fuck—what are you doing?!”
Jann stalked through the trees, eyes blazing and jaw set. He had my hair in his fist again, the fucker. But the thing that gave me pause was his grip on my wrist. It was as strong as any manacle. For a moment I panicked, but then I remembered… no.No.I was not helpless.
Prying at his fingers, I bared my teeth and turned, looking for the opening to a soft, vulnerable spot—
“If you want to see how quickly I can disarm you—or break your bones—please, feel free to continue measuring me for anattack, Diadre. It will only serve to drive this lesson home,” he muttered.
I threw one elbow out and almost took him in the stomach, but the fucker’s arms were too long and he yanked me away so I was forced to turn the blow into a fist thrown wide—uncomfortable when I slammed it into his stomach, but not debilitating.
“Let me go,” I snapped. “There’s no other Neph here! You want me to believe you’re not a monster, yet you’ll drag me from my horse andthreaten me?”
But he ignored me. The fear in my heart ratcheted up another notch.
There was a blade in the sheath at my back, but his arms were far longer than mine and while he had a hold on me—and I knew how fast he could move—there was little to gain by even going for the knife. If he didn’t stop me reaching it, he’d simply disarm me while keeping himself at a safe distance until he could use it against me.
“Jann, let mego,”I hissed.
Jann dragged me over a low, fallen tree trunk that was barely half a step for him, but I had to lengthen my stride to make it over.
When my second foot was still in the air to clear it, he yanked me forward and around with such force I was already facing him,bothmy wrists now gripped in his iron fists, before I could find my balance properly.
“Why are you—?!”
Suddenly I was spinning, whipped around so my back was to him and he locked both my arms to my sides with one arm, while the other hand clapped over my mouth and he leaned down to snarl in my ear.
“You’re going to let your fuckingprideget you killed.”
Before I could respond, the world tilted and the earth was rushing up to meet me. Quick as a flash, I raised my hands, but the moment I caught my weight my feet were kicked out and I went down, stomach to the dirt.
Instinct kicked in. I snarled and rolled in an attempt to get out of his reach. It cost me a precious second to shove my upper body up and draw my knees up under me, but I reached for my blade in the same motion and leaped to my feet—only to find my wrist caught by a stone wall halfway there. We both froze for a moment—me absorbing the shock of him catching my wrist, him staring at that bladeso closeto his ribs. But the world twirled again and a heavy, steel arm circled my body, yanking me back against a hot chest. His knee shoved between mine, and he gripped my hair again, jerking my head back, his quickening breath thundering in my ear.
Terror and rage fought for dominance in my body as I struggled and snarled.But I was caught, only one hand free, and that one barely able to get a grip on his wide forearm as he threatened to scalp me.
