Page 129 of Prize for the King
XXXIX Heat
He seems to think the same thing. His gaze lowers to my lips, and I gasp, pressing in.
The first touch is flighty, almost fearful. His lips are so cold, the silver hoop—the coldest of all.
Then his hot, pointy tongue is in my mouth, and he hoists me up higher, blunt nails digging into my bottom, throat vibrating with deep groans. I kiss him back with abandon, the piercing pressing into my lip. Soon, I’m breathless, humping him shamelessly, and Arvi sways on his feet. He pulls away with a curse and blinks rapidly, then lowers me onto the grass.
We embrace, and I stroke his shivering back, then pat his rump with affection. He snuffles out a soft laugh.
“Look at you, taking what you want. Good queen. The best.”
I breathe him in, leather and citrus soap, then pull away. “You don’t have to finish the story if you don’t want to.”
“Yeah.” He looks at the sky with a wry smile. “But then I’ll have to tell you some other time and I’ll dread it. I’ll probably avoid talking to you, and that would be plain stupid. Well, my father found out I disobeyed him, and he brought me to mylarunapond. He tied me up, fished out a dozenharvinasand threw them in. They were starving, because he hadn’t fed them for days. He was calculatingthat way. I never saw it coming.”
“Oh no,” I whisper, my heart breaking.
“He kept me tied up for fifteen minutes, enough for theharvinasto slaughter over a dozen of my fish. Then he released me and gave me my knives. I stood over that pond, my hands shaking, and I knew if I missed, I’d kill one of my fish. Yet if I didn’t throw any knives, theharvinaswould eat them all. My father didn’t have to say a thing, because his lesson was clear: if I had practiced like he’d told me to, I would have had much higher chances of saving mylarunas.”
“That’s so cruel.”
“I mean, it worked,” Arvi says with a snort. “Nowadays, I never miss. That day, I did a few times. It was excruciating. My father gave me exactly twelve knives for the twelveharvinashe let in the pond, and since I missed, I had to run to get more while I knew my fish were being hunted. We use special knives for hunting in water, so I couldn’t use the ones I carried on me.
“By the time I killed the last predator, only about ten of mine were left. I killed them, too, because I knew that if I didn’t, I’d always wonder what my father did to them after I was gone. Then I packed my things and left in the night. I went to a faraway army recruitment post so my father wouldn’t find me. Ironically, my knife throwing skills got me enlisted.”
He sighs and rubs his face, and I put my arm around the small of his back. “I’m so sorry, Arvi. That was a horrible thing to experience.”
“Yeah. And since you asked about what killing feels like, the answer is: not even half as awful as what my father did to me that day. I know they were only fish. Maybe that makes me a maniac, because logically, Agnidari lives, human lives, are worth more than some fish. And yet, my first human kills were easy compared to killing my sweetlarunas.”
“You are a bit of a maniac,” I say with a small smile, pressing closer. “But I don’t think it’s bad. You’re perfect, Arvi. I’m so grateful you are my knight.”
He pulls away, lifting my chin with a cold knuckle. His eyes are narrowed, lips twisting as he seems to prepare what to say.
“Look, I told you my worst experience. I trusted you, and you didn’t laugh, and now I feel better because you know. I am going to ask you what your worst experience was. Please, don’t run away or lie.”
I take a step back, heart launching into a fast, terrified rhythm. Arvi’s face falls, and he looks grim, but determined. I clench my fists at my sides, loyalty warring with fear.
We have a deal, Arvi and I. We don’t lie to each other. And right now, I hate it more than anything. I’ll have to tell him, won’t I?
I’ll lose everything, lose them all.
He nods, holding my gaze, and opens his mouth to speak. Something flickers in my periphery, a small spark somewhere in the trees. Arvi frowns, turning that way.
Next thing I know, I’m in the pond, my breath pushed out of my lungs by the freezing impact. I flounder, my coat and skirts weighing me down. The pond only seemed shallow. I work my arms desperately, my eyes squeezed shut. No matter what I do, I can’t break the surface.
Something slides over my skin, cold and slimy, and I tense in terror that’s even worse now. I’m in theharvinapond, am I not? And what does Arvi call me?
Hislaruna.
Doharvinaseat humans?
I don’t have time to work myself into a full-blown panic. The water bubbles from impact as someone else jumps in. I’m gripped around the middle and hauled to the surface. When our heads break it, I gulp air, wheezing. My teeth chatter violently. The cold is excruciating.
“Come on,” Arvi says through gritted teeth. “Up with you. Up. Onthe shore.”
He pushes and hauls me, and I climb onto the grass with difficulty, wheezing louder and louder. Arvi pulls himself up in one graceful movement, then picks me up and runs.
“I didn’t get them,” he says harshly. “Soldiers are looking, but we have to go.”
