The King ✓ (Zolan Book 3)

17 & 18

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DEE

No one speaks after Vadnar introduces himself. I can feel his gaze on my skin. He's furious, and all I want is to be in his arms, even if I get burned.

I'm locked in this cell with a naked stranger. A master that whispers to me, telling me to breathe and that I'm safe.

His face is blank, and although I don't dare to look at his groin, his chest is muscled. He's unconventionally attractive and has given me no reason to distrust him yet as he whispers soothingly to me, but he is not the master of my heart.

Vadnar looked at me with the same cautious, cold gaze when I met him, but I managed to melt him.

The master quits talking and remains seated. This seems to calm Vadnar, although he continues to ram his shoulder into the bars to make them rattle. I've never seen him this eager to be freed.

"Dee?" Trey calls for me.

I rub my wrist with the pad of my thumb, feeling stressed out.

How the fuck did Trey get captured, too? I thought he was still hiding at the farm.

"How are you here?" I ask Trey with my eyes locked on my cellmate.

"I..." he hesitates, and I have a feeling I won't like what the answer is.

"You can tell me, Trey. It's not like these guys can speak English. They won't understand."

"What is she saying?" the oldest master asks from his cell.

"The most important question is, what is she? She must be the same species as the little boy," says Vaine.

Vadnar interjects. "Don't worry about her. Just know that she's under my protection."

"Right now, she's under mine," speaks my cellmate.

Vadnar snarls, and the chaos makes me rub my wrist harder.

"Was she your prize for winning a match?" my cellmate asks, finally standing and revealing his intimidating figure. He looks in Vadnar's direction, as if I'm no longer present.

"I'm not a prize," I answer loudly.

He looks at me, eyes squinting. "Do you want to be?" he whispers, like he's giving me a way out. I'm not interested in it.

I breathe shakily, feeling small. Feeling like Vadnar is a galaxy away. For the first time, I wish the ringleader would hurry and appear, so that I can be removed from this cell and returned to Vadnar's arms.

The door creaks open and a new guard appears. "There's a rotten brawl breaking out in the bar. All of you have been summoned."

The guards groan. After they test that all of our locks are set and there's no escape, they rush out, leaving us behind. Finally, we get a stroke of luck.

"Vadnar," I call for him when the door shuts. "Focus. Tell them your plan."

He grumbles as he gathers his thoughts. "I'm going to break free. I must know if all of you will follow me."

The oldest master huffs. "I have been here for two years, Vadnar. There is no escaping this coffin."

"I will dig a way out," he says. His voice is so full of conviction that a shudder racks through my body.

It feels like he has... snapped. Over the past few days, he has mentioned burning everything down and overturning the rulers that betrayed him. He was just a farmer when I met him, but he has become so much more in a few days. A force to be reckoned with.