Blood Oath (The Darkest Drae Book 1)(18)

Warm lassitude spread like heated honey from my head to my chest to my feet. A part of me was livid, but that small part had little voice now. As the kisses continued, the voice disappeared altogether. I wanted to crawl up into the Drae’s lap and kiss him forever.

He sighed, and I smiled in triumph. Though why I should feel triumphant was anyone’s guess.

I laughed at the thought as the door opened behind me, making me stumble forward. Irrik was the most handsome man-person I’d ever seen. How had I not seen it until now? So handsome and so sad. He’d tried to help Mum and me . . .

“Why are you sad?” I said on a sigh, reaching out to touch his face.

Irrik’s countenance shifted, and a cold mask dropped over his features. But I could still see the sadness in his eyes. He took a step back, and I followed, wrapping my arms around his waist and leaning my head against his firm chest.

“You got her good,” the captain said with a chuckle. “We thought you were losing your touch there for a minute.”

Lord Irrik pushed my hands away, grabbed the captain by the front of his aketon, and pulled him into the room from where he lingered in the doorway. The captain’s face met Lord Irrik’s fist with a resounding crunch. The captain fell to his knees, amid shocked murmurs from the soldiers who had a clear line of sight inside. Irrik wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me from the room, shoving the king’s guard aside.

I opened my mouth to tell him something. I wanted to say . . . something, but my mind was so fuzzy, like I’d been drinking the brew at Dyter’s. I knew what I wanted was in my brain. I just couldn’t access it. I looked up at Lord Irrik. His jaw clenched, and his eyes flashed fire.

He pulled me out into the night air, and I sighed as I looked up at the dark sky. So beautiful. I wanted to tell him how the night was my favorite. The warmth that filled me brought comforting peace. There was something particular that should be bugging me, but the feeling continued to elude me. Instead, a deep sense of security settled.

Lord Irrik was helping me.

I wanted to kiss him again.

“Where are we going?” I asked, snuggling closer. My arm was around his waist, my hip pushed to his as we walked side by side.

He looked down at me, and his eyes seemed to pulse with energy. He shifted his body, increasing the distance between us and said, “To the king.”

I furrowed my brow, something nagging at me. “Why?”

“A woman from your house was seen roaming the streets after curfew the last two nights. There have been rebel meetings, and the woman was seen leaving the suspected site of these meetings. There were several persons of interest captured tonight. The king is not ignorant of the revolutionaries.” He scrubbed his face with his free hand. “King Irdelron has asked anyone connected with these rebel peasants be brought in for questioning. You’re coming in because you were too stupid to listen and have forced my hand.”

“Will he hurt me?” Why did Lord Irrik feel so good? I tried to wind closer to him.

He glanced behind us, and I followed his lead. Two soldiers followed, and behind them, two more were half dragging the unconscious captain down the dry, dirt road.

“If you’re lucky, the king will see you’re not a threat.” Irrik studied me, his gaze flicking to my lips and then back to my eyes. “Because you’re not a rebel, right, Ryn? You know saying that will get you killed?”

The darkness of night cocooned us, and I knew Irrik had blocked us from view of the other soldiers. He tipped his head down and pressed his lips to mine. His warmth pulsed through me again, and I stood on my tiptoes to prolong the kiss. When we pulled away, I beamed up at him. “You don’t want me to die?”

“No,” he said in a quiet voice, eyes sad again.

“I don’t want to die either. Don’t worry. I’m not a rebel. I’m not a threat. I’m not a woman.”

He grumbled something under his breath about too much.

I reached up and patted his cheek. “You’re so much more handsome when you’re not scowling. You shouldn’t be so grumpy.”

Lord Irrik pulled away, pushing my arm down to my side when I reached for him.

The darkness dissipated, and the two soldiers dragging the sleeping soldier caught up to us. They were scowling, the same grumpy look Lord Irrik wore.

The three soldiers were like triples. I should ask the triples. “What happens if the king thinks I’m a rebel?”

The short man wearing a navy aketon raised his eyebrows. The one wearing green laughed. “You are dead.”

Irrik snarled and backhanded the young soldier. Then Irrik grabbed my arm, pulling me down the road with him. “Don’t ask them anything. If you want to know, you ask me.”

I swatted at his hand. “Don’t yank on my arm like that. It doesn’t feel good.”

He loosened his grip and said, “Come on. We’re nearly there.”

“Do you want to be happy?” I sighed.

We came to a stop outside the castle gates. I looked back, surprised we’d come so far in such a short amount of time. I didn’t remember passing through the fountain garden or the Quota Fields after leaving my house. Guards lined the top parapet, their bows drawn and trained on me.

“You know nothing of happiness. Your life was a lie,” Irrik said to me.

The words were a slap. Like my mind was snapping back into itself. How dare he? He dragged me across town, after kidnapping me, stealing me, and Mother . . . Horror doused me as pieces of memory came back, one image at a time.