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We were shoved forward into a grand hall lined with floor-to-ceiling windows and multiple glass doors that led to terraces. Banners with the Kovak insignia lined the walls. The fresh mountain air mixed with the smoke of torches and became heavy and still. Shafts of sunlight streamed in, casting longshadows against the stone floor as we were marched toward the dais at the far end.
“Hail, King Atvek!” the three Kovaks sounded in unison, each dropping to one knee with a fist to the ground as their bears bowed their heads in respect. I wondered if they were the king’s personal guards. “We’ve brought you the Zavien girl, as you requested,” one of the guards said.
The king leaned back against his throne, scratching his thick beard as his eyes fell on me. With his bushy eyebrows and long, blunt nose, he almost looked kin to the enormous bronze-colored bear that stood at his side. Both were thick-set and muscular with the stature to command an army—or kill a captive with one blow. And both had their keen gazes locked on me.
“How do you know it’s her?” the king said, his eyebrows furrowing. For a moment, I thought he looked familiar. Had I met him before?
“Oh, it’s her.” Another voice came from the shadows as Commander Bloodbain stepped out from behind the dais and strode to the king’s side.
Acid rose in my throat when our eyes met. Without Sable’s potion clouding my head, there was no love between us. My memories of the kindness in his face and the gentleness of his touch were burned away by the vision of the dangerous, power-hungry man standing in front of me in his blood cape. A look of triumph twisted his lips into a sneer, like a hunter who’d just snared his dinner. This time, I knew he wasn’t here to bargain for my life like he had with Thrailkull. He was there to take it.
“Hello, Raven,” he said. “I’ve missed you.” As he spoke, dozens of Rathalan guards filed into the hall behind their commander.
“How did it come to be that the great Kovakian king shackles his allies like criminals and blithely entertains the brutality ofthe Rathalans? Surely my eyes deceive me,” Skyler said, without taking his eyes off Bloodbain.
“Silence, boy!” the king bellowed. “You are only here because I have chosen to spare your life thus far. Don’t think I won’t change my mind.”
Behind me, there was a commotion. Shouting and scuffling echoed from the doorway. “Let us through!” someone shouted.
I turned to see Jeddak and Kah striding into the great hall, the angled columns of sunlight illuminating the outrage on his face. My heart lurched at the sight of him.
“Father! What is the meaning of this?” Jeddak demanded when he saw Bloodbain standing tall beside the throne as if he was the next in line to sit in it.
“I believe you’ve all met my son,” the bear king said, his scowl indicating he didn’t like to be interrupted.
“The bear king is yourfather?” The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them. That’s why the king looked familiar. I couldn’t believe it.Your own father has been holding your betrothed for ransom?
Jeddak marched forward and shoved aside the guard who was detaining me. “Raven, are you all right?” he said, his gold-ringed eyes flashing with anger when he saw my wrists bound together. I noticed he ignored Skyler.
“I—” Before I could speak, two Kovak guards appeared from behind the dais, leading a girl into the great hall. When she saw Jeddak, she broke away from them and rushed toward him.
“Jeddak!” she cried, sweeping past the Rathalan guards like they weren’t there. Jeddak stepped away from me to scoop her up in his arms, hugging her tight, while still managing to keep one eye on Bloodbain. She buried her head into his chest. “Oh, Jeddak! You’re back!”
I didn’t need a formal introduction to know this was Lila. For someone who’d been held captive for months, she was a vision.While my clothes were covered in dirt and sweat, her silvery-blue dress shimmered in the light like she’d been gently dusted with snow.
“Is it really you?” Jeddak breathed into her hair. Putting her down gently, he glanced at Kah. The bear nodded and seemed to say something I couldn’t hear. Whatever happened, Jeddak looked strangely relieved.
“Of course, it’s me,” the girl said with a nervous laugh. With Jeddak there, she still didn’t seem to notice or care that the room was half full of Rathalans. “Your father sent the guards for me when we got news of your arrival. Oh, Jeddak, I never lost hope you’d come back for me.” Her fingers trailed across the stubble on his jaw, her eyes sparkling as she breathed him in. Her bear appeared at her side a moment later, greeting Kah nose-to-nose. The pure white of her bear’s fur elegantly contrasted Kah’s midnight-black coat.
Sharp waves of envy surged through my chest as I watched them together. They looked like a perfect, beautiful couple. I glanced away. I’d been such a fool to think Jeddak’s heart could ever belong to me. Every time we got close, he’d always pulled back, always kept me at a distance. It should have been obvious that he wasn’t interested in me. If only I hadn’t ignored the signs until it was too late to protect my heart.
I was grateful when the bear king finally cut into their lovers’ reunion.
“Commander Bloodbain has told me that you haven’t brought back the Zavien stone,” King Atvek said, his forehead creasing as he spoke to Jeddak.
Lila’s eyes rounded. “Oh, no. Is that true, Jeddak?”
“It’s true,” Jeddak said, stepping in front of Lila, as if to shield her from his father’s wrath. For a moment, he looked small in his father’s presence.
My eyes flicked to Commander Bloodbain. He was still standing silently at the king’s side, like a coiled snake ready to strike. A chill ran down my spine. Why was the king entertaining his presence here?
The king continued, “You disappoint me, boy. After years of the most elite training, you’ve failed to complete the first important task I’ve given you. You are unworthy of the Takkan title.”
Jeddak flinched before quickly recovering his composure. “Iwillfind the stone and?—”
“That’s enough!” the king bellowed. “Because of your failure, I have already made a new arrangement. Commander Bloodbain has agreed to provide our tribe with malarite weapons and immunity from the coming wars in exchange for the suli map that the girl carries. We will finally be able to defeat the Terrans and take back the lands they stole from our ancestors.”
Skyler met my eye. The king had just bartered me.
