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He ignored me as he unlocked the door "Trustspot The mess we left will soon be discovered, the open doors proof we’ve fled" Valek pushed me ahead of him into the cell "Search parties will be sent out When all the soldiers have left the manor, we’ll make our move Until then, we lay low"
Valek made a makeshift bed of straw in the far corner of the cell After extinguishing and hiding the lantern, he yankedin my wet clothes Valek pulled some straw on top of us and wrapped an arm around me He drew me close I stiffened at the contact, but his body heat warrip
At first, every tiny noise made my heart race But I shouldn’t have worried; the commotion that ensued when our escape was discovered was deafening
Angry and accusing voices shouted Search parties were organized and dispatched It was agreed that we had an hour head start, but Brazell and Mogkan argued on which direction we had taken
"Valek’s probably retreating west to well-known territory," Brazell stated with authority
"South is the logical choice," Mogkan insisted "We have the Co for their lives, not toward soic position I’ll take a horse and scan the forest with ic"
Valek harrumphed in my ear, and whispered, "They actually think I would abandon the Commander They have no concept of loyalty"
When the prison had been quiet and eone The door to the cells had reht to illuo now?" I asked
"Not yet I believe it’s still daylight We’ll wait until dark"
To help pass the time, I asked Valek how he had becoht it an unintrusive question, but he grew so quiet that I regretted asking it
After a long pause, he spoke "My family lived in Icefaren Province before it was renamed MD–1 A particularly harsh winter collapsed the building that housedall of his equipment He needed to replace his equipment to stay in business, but the soldiers who came to our house to collect the tax htened around er before he continued "I was just a skinny little kid at the time, but I had three older brothers They were about Ari’s size and had his strength When my father told the soldiers that if he paid the full tax ah money left to feed his family--" Valek paused for several heartbeats "--they killed hed and said, ‘Problem solved Now you have three less mouths to feed’" The muscles on Valek’s are, but not on the soldiers They were onlyThe man who had allowed his soldiers to ht, and I studied the assassin’s art until I was unbeatable I traveled around, using my new skills to earn money The royal upper class was so corrupt they paid me to kill each other
"Then I was co man named Ambrose, whose speeches called for rebellion and e crowds People started to resist the King’s doctrines Then A covert operations against the nificant I a to have my knife in his heart before he could draw breath to cry out But he blocked the blow, and I foundh, Ambrose carved a C on my chest with my own knife The sa Then Ambrose declared himself my Commander, and announced that I noorked for hiot , I would be loyal to hinment was to kill the person who had paid hout these years, I’ve watched hile-minded determination and without excess violence and pain He hasn’t been corrupted by power or greed He’s consistent and loyal to his people And there’s been no one in this world that I care for more Until now"
I held my breath It had been a simple, innocent question I hadn’t expected such an intimate response
"Yelena, you’ve driven me crazy You’ve causedyour life twice since I’ve known you" Valek’s warm breath in my ear sent a shiver down my spine
"But you’ve slipped under my skin, invaded my blood and seized my heart"
"That sounds more like a poison than a person," was all I could say His confession had both shocked and thrilled me
"Exactly," Valek replied "You have poisoned me" He rolled me over to face hi suppressed desire flared to life as I wrappedhis kiss with equal passion
My response was a delightful surprise I had feared, after Reyad’s abuse, ht in horror and revulsion But the intertwining of our bodies linked our ether