Page 12

Chapter Six

Zark

Two months later…

Ilifted my hair out of the creek when I felt a change in the atmosphere, almost like a shift in the wind. I grabbed hold of the hilt of the blade on my waist and looked around. Nothing made a sound, but I knew someone was here or nearby.

With my hair still dripping water down my back, I rose slowly. When the sounds of boots crushed the dry bits of straw as the person came closer, I turned toward the noise.

When one of the King’s other scouts revealed himself, I released my breath and return my knife to its sheath. The scout held up his hand and pulled down the cloth covered the lower half of his face. It was Duaqil.

I exhaled.

“Were you going to slaughter your own kind, Hvit’zark?” Duaqil challenged.

“I’ve seen the visitors from Xalxa 5 roaming about. I thought you were one of them.”

“You mean the Aurrakian ambassador and their Dravard horde commander?”.

“Yes. The Aurraks and whatever horde they’ve brought with them. Prince Anik says we are to make peace with them, but I don’t trust them.”

“They are just as weary of us as we are of them. They keep to themselves in their assigned huts. The King is still in talk with their commander.”

“I wonder what about. They’ve been here long enough.”

Duaqil shrugged. “I guess we’ll find out soon.”

“Why are you creeping around here outside the borders?”

“I should ask you the same thing. You’re a hard one to find,” he said, kneeling near the bank and filling his canteen with water.

“That is the point. What do you want?”

Duaqil took a healthy sip from his canteen before saying, “It’s not what I want, scout. The King has sent a message for you. He says it’s time to collect your mate. It’s been well over a month.”

“And what about her memories?”

“According to him, she has some of them.”

I picked up my sack and threw it over my shoulder. I walked off from the creek leaving Duaqil standing there.

“Where are you going?”

“Podhouse.”

Duaqil grabbed his things and hurried to catch up with me. “The King says you must claim her now or else you automatically forfeit your rights to her.”

I kept walking. “Now is not a good time. I have a mission to complete.”

“He sent me to cover all of your posts and complete the most immediate mission.”

I halted and turned around. “What did you say?”

“He’s freed you from your immediate obligations until further notice so you can have time to breed with your mate.”

I frowned. “I don’t need freeing from anything. I can handle my missions on my own.”

“You can defy him, Hvit’zark, but I won’t. His orders for me were clear. I saw your human walking through the market with her nurse just last evening. She has red hair, yes? And green eyes? If you don’t want your human, give her to me. I would be happy to bury my cock in a female as ripe as her and fill her with my fertile seed. She would beg—”

My anger escalated and before my better judgment kicked in. I grabbed Duaqil by the throat and slammed his back up against a tree. His ǔre dimmed the moment I cut off the blood flow from his jugular vein. After realizing that I may have acted out too violently, I let go of his neck.

Duaqil croaked and spat on the ground. “For the love of all the gods, Hvit’zark!”

“Stay away from my posts and my mate or I will tear your head from your body,” I warned him before walking off.

He yelled after me about my intentions and his given orders, but I didn’t care to listen to a word of it.