Page 44 of The King's Man
Eventually Jann fell asleep. I thought I’d feel better when his eyes weren’t on the side of my face, but I didn’t.
At least the darkness was quiet. Mostly. At some point Neph walked past our tent, laughing softly, their huge feet crunching on the path. Every muscle in my body went rigid. I couldn’t relax for an hour.
I closed my eyes to focus—to remind myself that I was strong and skilled. I’d been distracted. The circumstances under which that fucker had found me wouldn’t happen again.
But my mind whispered,wouldn’t it?
How was it that I’d evaded and defeated several of these men in the chaos of battle, but couldn’t remove one in a face-to-face encounter?
The image of Jann, whipping that thick, incredible body side to side as he swung a spear or sword, clearing the path andopening gaps for me to slide in and take men down, popped into my mind.
I wanted to dismiss it, but I was an honest woman.
Jann was most of the reason I hadn’t died. And when I did battle alone, it was withweapons.My weapons and speed gave me an edge. I needed to keep myself armed at all times.
But then that voice whispered again.Would even that be enough?I was as skilled today as I’d been any day prior. The difference was the enemy. Jhonas hadalwaystold me that a weapon was an extension of me—a skill. But that I needed to be capable of fighting without it.
And I had thought I was. But I hadn’t even been able to free myself from a truly aggressive Nephilim.
And these are supposed to be thegoodones?
I turned that over in my mind for hours—while the nightbirds sang, then the dawn made the ceiling of the tent glow. As Jann stirred…
The warriors here were supposed to be the best of the Nephilim. Yet this attack had happened inmoments.
When Jann woke I made myself move. Sitting up and turning so my feet hung off the bed. My eyes stung from lack of sleep, and my body ached with tiredness. But sleep wasn’t an option. Even in the light. Even if Jann stayed.
I couldn’t stop seeing that awful man, grabbing for me, smiling so wide his teeth showed.
He’d been utterly remorseless. Truly indifferent to my cries.Looking forwardto violating me. And now we were forging peace with these monsters? I was going to live the rest of my life surrounded by men who would turn to rape the moment they found an unattended female?
If something happened to Jann…
My mind showed it to me—me in this camp without Jann or Melek. And no hope of them arriving at the last moment. Allthese males with no commitment of their own to treating women with respect and…
My body rejected everything. I shoved off the bed and slid to the bucket in the corner barely in time, heaving. But there was nothing in my stomach but water and bile.
By the time I slumped, Jann was at my back, his broad hand splayed at my spine. He’d caught one side of my hair and now held it back over my shoulder.
When I was sure the nausea had passed I shrugged his hand off my back and pulled my hair from his grip. “I’m not ill. My body is only reacting,” I said darkly. “There’s no need tohover.”
“Diadre, I’ve lived the soldier’s life even longer than you. You think I’ve never experienced the shock that follows a battle almost lost? You don’t have to bristle. I understand,” he said quietly.
He handed me a waterskin, which I reluctantly took, then tipped my head back to pour into my mouth, swishing the water around to clear the bitterness from my tongue while he watched, then spat it out into the bucket. “I’ll be fine.”
“I know you will be.”
I swished one more mouthful around and spat, then wiped my lips and chin. “Let’s go get breakfast.”
“Are you sure?”
“Would I suggest it if I wasn’t?” I snapped, then cursed myself because his eyes shuttered. I took a deep breath and made myself meet his gaze. “I didn’t sleep, so I need to eat to keep my strength. I need to see if Yilan has returned. We need to make a plan. There are plenty of other things to think about. This isn’t the time for… whatever this is,” I said, gesturing between us.
Jann’s jaw went tight.“Thisis prioritizing. You’re in shock.”
“And it’s not going to pass by sitting here weeping,” I said through my teeth.
“Are you certain?”
