Page 37 of Fated to the Wicked King

I was expecting the king to command his shadows to easily undo my binds. But instead, he took a step closer, then another, until his tall, forbidding figure towered over me. That deep blue gaze met mine, and my pulse quickened in response.

Nothing in his movements suggested urgency. I tried to focus on impatience more than anything else, especially the flutters in my stomach. “What took you so long to find me anyway? Those rogues had me tied up for hours.”

Head tilting down, his chestnut hair fell across his forehead. “Were you waiting for me?”

The husky timbre of that deep voice, seemingly laced with a trace of pleasure, sent thrills up my spine. Resist it, for god’s sake. I said to myself, before snapping out loud, “I am now.”

I thought a low chuckle escaped his lips. Reaching around my body, his fingers worked at the ropes behind my back, standing so close that the soft brush of his clothes grazed my bare skin. It sent an unexpected shiver through me as his warmth closed in, his arms caging me within something that felt less like restraint and more like shelter.

A soft tug set my hands free. They fell slack to my sides, but he didn’t withdraw. The intensity of his gaze held me still. “Did you really think I would let those bastards hurt you?”

At the likely feigned sincerity in his deep voice, against my better judgment, I was starting to heave. “I thought you would have been relieved.”

“I cannot abide anyone messing with what’s mine. Did you forget?” His next statement was more of a growl. “You are still mine.”

More annoyed that I liked the way it sounded, I shook my head—restating what I’d said at the castle earlier today. “You. Don’t. Own me.”

His eyes narrowed in pompous self-assurance. “You have been mine since I found you in the wastes and saved your life.”

Lifting my chin, I couldn’t help a pointed sneer right to his face. “As you so eloquently pointed out, we are now even. Twice.”

Fire burned in his eyes at my impertinence. “You are just as annoying as ever.”

“And you are just as arrogant as ever.” I shot him an enraged look, but he met my gaze head-on, withstanding the furious heat of my glare.

I was still acutely aware of how close I was standing to him. He was leaned in close so he could make his statements to my face.

The furrow in his eyebrows deepened, and his gaze dropped to my mouth.

I stopped breathing.

My eyes widened slightly as I sensed him move his head the tiniest fraction of an inch closer, but oddly enough, I couldn’t move. My heart pounded in my chest in fevered anticipation⁠—

With a short, frustrated grunt, he spun away.

A hollow feeling sank in my stomach at the sudden loss of his warmth.

If he had kissed me right then, I would have let him.

What the hell was wrong with me?

I already concluded that this was not my Rabb. That his soul had been irretrievably lost. That this was a different person entirely.

Irrelevant.

There were more important things at hand.

I shook my head, trying to regain my senses. I made my way toward the riverbank. “I thought I saw a bright glow through my blindfold earlier. Was this the source?”

His back was still turned. “I saw one of them activate that earlier, and then several of them disappeared.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Do you think this might be the powerful weapon that you heard about?” I stepped around the machine to assess it. “It must provide a way to cross the river, much like rabbit holes do.”

Turning around, his eyes narrowed. “Are you saying this machine lets those rogues slip in and out of places without notice?”

“Even more so than rabbit holes.” I nodded. “It’s possible they haven’t been able to penetrate the castle’s defenses, but they must have easy access to the forest surroundings and everywhere else. This machine must be how they’ve been getting across the river, despite—” I gestured toward the anomalous black haze covering the water.

Coming closer to crouch beside the contraption, he brushed some dirt away from one corner. His eyes lit up. “This marking.”