Page 62 of Prize for the King
There is, as always, guilt.
“Khay, I’m so sorry I punished you for so long,” I whisper. “I didn’t mind what you did. I just… You are too good to me. I don’t deserve it.”
“What a silly thing to say,” Khay whispers in my ear, hoisting me higher. “Don’t you know already? You’re my queen, and I love you. You deserve everything good I have to give.”
I gasp in shock, but Khay gives me no time to process his outrageous confession. I rock gently as he walks over to Raduna, who sighs with remorse, apparently still feeling bad about beheading the Unmentionable.
“Magnar was angry because he thought Caliane ran away,” Khay says, patting his shoulder. “He’ll come around. Don’t sweat it.”
Raduna’s wide, mournful eyes turn to me. “I disappointed you, my queen. Magnar is right. We can’t question them now. I should have stopped to think.”
My heart breaks for my gentle giant, who only wants me to be safe. The sight of the head Raduna chopped off doesn’t upset me this time. I turn to him as much as Khay’s hold allows.
“Don’t be sad. He told me he was sent by the Table of Kings, and I know who led me to him—a blue-haired Agnidari woman with a hump. The carriage was supposed to take me to a nearby spot, where they wanted me to marry Prince Piter, the only survivor from Serilla’s royal family. A woman by the name of Mahara was to help me prepare for the wedding. I think these are the most important parts.”
A moment of stunned silence follows my report, and then Khay laughs cheerfully. “Good job, clever little diamond. Here.”
He lifts me off him like I weigh nothing and dumps me in Raduna’s arms. I squeak from shock, though the warrior has no trouble catching me.
He glares at Khay. “The queen is not a bag.”
But my first knight only laughs, turning around. “Magnar! There’s someone you can question, but we’d better find her fast! And one Prince Piter is waiting nearby to marry our girl, did you know? I say we show him the error of his ways.”
“They are going to kill him, aren’t they?” I ask with fascination, watching Khay’s retreating back, his cheerful, eager voice so at odds with what he’s saying.
Magnar emerges from the carriage with a sheath of papers, and waves them at Khay. There are two more bodies at his feet, probably the driver and another thug. I look away. In the falling dusk, I can’t make out the details anyway.
We’re no longer alone—about a dozen soldiers are hard at work, searching the bodies and the area. Raduna cradles me in his arms with care, glancing at my face every now and then as he watches our surroundings, his forehead lined with concentration.
“I’d wager they’ll torture him first,” Arvi says with a wide grin, cleaning the knife he pulled out of the Unmentionable’s thigh.
He offers it to me. “Keep it,laruna.And take it out every time you forget you’re a fighter. It will remind you how strong you are.”
I smile at him, staring at the way his bald, tattooed head glistens in the light of torches the soldiers brought with them.
“What’slaruna?”
“My favorite fish,” Arvi says, his mouth growing serious, though his eyes sparkle with mischief. “And that’s what I decided to call you since you’re my favorite person. I can’t be worse than Khay and others, right?”
I blink at him, noticing for the first time that his eyes, which I previously thought were brown, are actually a deep amber with a reddish tint. Firelight brings out their true depth. Inevitably, my gaze lowers to his mouth, the gold light glistening in the fascinating hoop in the corner of his lip.
“How am I your favorite person?” I ask, confused. “We barely know each other.”
Arvi is the one I spoke with least, the scariest and most intimidating of them—even though I know he has Magnar’s absolutetrust, just like the other knights.
He snorts, laying his long-clawed finger on my chest between the tops of my breasts. “I just know,laruna.”
“Is it a tasty fish, at least?”
Arvi shakes his head, pulling back. “It’s not for eating, but I can tell you it’s the prettiest I’ve ever seen. All right, then. Since Magnar and Khay are hunting spies, we’re gonna get you ready for bed tonight. It’s double guard from now on, because the single guard failed.”
Raduna nods and turns away from the bodies, and I frown. “I don’t understand. How did this happen in the first place? What kept Khay so long? He was supposed to get me quickly, but he didn’t turn up.”
Arvi snickers like it’s the best of jokes. “Some local Agnidari pulled him away, lying Magnar needed him for an urgent matter. Khay went like a dimwit and got a nice, hard hit to the head. Two men locked him up and stayed to guard him, only, he woke up sooner than they expected, and he was livid. Wrung both their necks, screaming your name like a madman. That’s how we knew you were gone.”
“Oh.” I wince in sympathy. “Will he be fine? A hit to the head sounds serious.”
“Khay’s skull is thick,” Raduna rumbles with amusement. “And now that you gave us some information, maybe Magnar won’t strangle him for killing them before they could be questioned.”
