Page 74 of The King's Man
How much time did I have?
A year? Four?
I didn’t know.
But as Melek stared at me, waiting for an answer, his expression growing more concerned, everything in me dragged towardsher.
I looked at her, hunched over and whispering and my heart raced.
Icouldn’tresist her, but if she couldn’t sense the bond, or wanted to deny it, what choice did I have?
My heart sank to my toes. I would have to do as much as I could to keep her safe until I either went mad, or the curse got me—
“Jann?” Melek said quietly.
I blinked. Then cleared my throat. “I need to speak with you… Alone.”
Melek’s brows rose. He looked pointedly around the empty tent, then to the women, then back to me. “By alone, you mean—”
“Alone. But I don’t want the girls at risk. Perhaps you could appoint a guard—”
“No need—we’re going to my tent to talk,” Yilan said quickly. Diadre’s back was still to me—her spine straight and stiff. Yilan’seyes slid to meet mine for a bare second before returning to Melek.
Melek frowned. “I don’t think it’s safe for you two to be alone—”
Yilan rolled her eyes, then took two steps back towards the deeper shadows at the back of the tent, then disappeared.
My skin crawled whenever they did that. But then, without looking back at me Diadre followed, blinking out of existence a breath later.
My heartleapedand I instinctively started towards that spot where she’d disappeared, but Melek caught my arm. “Don’t worry. They’re only across the trail. We’ve agreed Yilan won’t go out of earshot, even when she’s walking the shadows. Not after what happened to Diadre.”
What happened to Diadre…
My heart raced.
“Jann, what the fuck is wrong?” Melek dropped his voice, but leaned in, clearly concerned. “It’s obviously serious. What happened?”
I nodded, my eyes still on that spot where she’d disappeared. “It’s more than fucking serious,” I muttered. Then I blinked as my body jolted—if she misjudged that walk, if she appeared on the trail and one of the men was nearby—
I tensed, about to run and Melek caught my arm. “Jann, for fuck’s sake.Report.”
I shuddered, but drew myself up and made myself focus on him. On my King. “I have to ask you… about your bond—when you and Yilan mated, did the bond complete? Or was there… some resistance?”
Melek’s brows pinched in confusion. But he snorted. “The only resistance was before that,” he growled good-naturedly, his affection for his mate obvious. “By then I’d already found clarity—wait.” Melek’s eyes widened. “Wait.Why are you asking?”
I clawed a hand through my hair and Melek’s eyes grew round. He leaned in quickly, grabbing my arm. “Holy shit, Jann. Is Diadre your—”
I hissed and flashed him a warning look, glancing back towards the tent flap to remind him of the guards outside, though our voices were low.
“Yes, is your answer. But she doesn’t know,” I said through clenched teeth. “And I’m not going to tell her.”
“What?Are you fucking insane? The torment of a resisted bond—”
“I’m not resisting. I think… I think there’s a problem.” I trembled because saying that out loud was making it all feel very real.
Melek folded his arms and his brows pinched together over his nose. “What the hell is going on?”
I swallowed hard. “I took her.”
