The Horde King of Shadow (Hordes of the Elthika #1)

Chapter 24

KLARA

“Uncoordinated,” came Sarkin’s growl. One of his favorite critiques whenever I launched myself on the back of Zaridan, limbs flailing.

I was dripping in the wet night air. I’d come to learn that depending on the direction of the wind, the nights were either cool and damp or warm and only slightly humid. Tonight it was warm, but the humidity mingled with my exertion until I was constantly wiping my slipping palms on my pants.

“You’re not locking your legs when you land,” he told me when I walked off Zaridan’s wing again, his gaze cool and assessing. His arms were crossed over his chest.

“I’m trying ,” I argued, hunching over, dragging in breath. “I don’t have that much time to make the jump!”

Zaridan was so massive that she temporarily had to tuck her wing that was closest to the cliffside during the drills, using her other to keep herself airborne. Otherwise she’d be too far away for me.

Today Kyavor had pushed us on endurance. We’d run for miles over the terrain, dodging through thick forests and crawling over any boulders we could find, even if they weren’t in our way. It was a good way to get a feel for the surrounding land that rippled away from the village—the Arsadia was quite beautiful—but I couldn’t appreciate it enough given how out of breath I’d been, on the verge of losing my morning meal.

The archives in Dothik hadn’t exactly afforded me the physical endurance of the average Karag rider. Perhaps if I’d still been living on the wildlands, it would’ve been easier.

I’d been in instruction with Kyavor—and Sarkin—for the last four days.

And Sarkin still hasn’t returned to bed, I couldn’t help but think. I didn’t see him in the mornings or afternoons. He only came to collect me during the evenings.

“You perfected it with Kyavor yesterday, didn’t you?” Sarkin asked, letting me catch my breath. I could feel his eyes on me in the darkness as Zaridan flew away from the cliff briefly, stretching her wings. It was an exercise for her too, to keep herself stationary, just underneath the ledge of the cliff.

I thought back to the river exercises. Even my grumpy little partner, Vyaria, had been begrudgingly impressed when I’d nailed the harness landings three times back-to-back.

“Yes,” I answered, a swell of pride making me straighten. I wiped my arm over my forehead.

“You’re frightened,” Sarkin guessed.

I bit my tongue. He didn’t have to tell me that.

“I see it. The hesitation, right before you jump,” he said. “Every single time. Get it under control, Klara.”

Irritation made my lips press together. “Oh, I had no idea it was so easy. Thank Kakkari , I’m cured!”

Sarkin blew out a sharp breath at my sarcasm. “We’re done for the night.”

Even I could see his exhaustion. His kya’rassa , his most trusted riders, had been on patrol for days on end. I knew he’d had a meeting with the Karath of the North yesterday too—it was all anyone could talk about.

“We’ll take a break from mounting,” Sarkin said. Both relief and worry filled me. “Tomorrow we’ll practice commands and control on Elthika-back.”

“We haven’t reached that yet in our lessons with Kyavor,” I said.

“Then you’ll have an edge,” he snapped, and I nearly drew blood with the way I was biting my tongue. “But I assure you all those riders already know what I’ll be teaching you.”

We were both on edge and tired. I didn’t protest as we flew back toward the landing field. It was the same every night. Sarkin would walk me back to our home, and then he would leave me there. I didn’t know where he went or where he slept. All I knew was that every time I watched Sarkin walk away, I felt another little prick deflate something in my chest. Hope?

Tonight, though, I had a plan. This couldn’t continue. There was a strange tension between Sarkin and me, one that had truthfully started after Lishara’s temple, but one that had only grown since I’d hedged the conversation toward Lygath all those nights ago. Ignoring it hadn’t made it any better.

My whole existence in Dothik had been ignored except by my brother and Sora. I didn’t want to be ignored here too and certainly not by the Karag male I’d attached myself to, bound in blood and heartstone magic.

I watched Sarkin disappear, heading toward the waterfall again, and I took a deep breath before following after him. Past the quiet stone dwellings on the outskirts of the horde and the lined pathway that led to the entrance of the hatchery.

When I rounded the corner of a dwelling, I lost him and I frowned, trying to see where he’d gone. Then, right at the edge of the waterfall, which was barricaded with a stone wall, I noticed a break in the blue shrubs that grew alongside the cliff edge. A small set of stairs was carved into the side, leading down the length of the falls. From the top, I could just make out Sarkin, disappearing into the darkness below.

Where is he going? I wondered.

Carefully, I climbed down the slick, narrow steps, noticing how high up we were from the base of the waterfall. The forest to my right sloped gradually downward, but wherever Sarkin was going, it seemed like its own hidden cove, separate.

I stayed within the shadows when I reached the bottom, the sound of the waterfall helping to mask my steps. I half-expected to find Levanth here—that had been my fear, even though Sarkin had assured me otherwise—but it was only him.

It was the base of the waterfall, the stream of torrential water pouring down into the base of the lake, though it wasn’t as deafeningly loud as I thought it might be. Around the lake, to the right, the forest was high overhead on a rocky hill. But on the other side of the lake, I saw flat land, a dense jungle of wild trees just beyond.

Sarkin was nearly undressed when I maneuvered to the bottom step. His head jerked quickly to regard me, eyes narrowing in carefully concealed surprise, and I couldn’t help but admire the dimple on the side of his firm ass, the muscle there carefully defined.

Likely from years of Elthika mounts, I thought, my breath going a little shallow when I saw the swing of his softened cock when he turned to regard me.

He waited for me to speak as he dropped his pants onto the smooth rock floor that led into the lake. He was standing there in all his naked glory, confident and certain as he met my gaze in silence.

“I’ve been thinking,” I called out, my tone casual, as if I hadn’t just followed him and stumbled upon him naked at the edge of a waterfall. Though my voice did sound a little high pitched, and I cleared my throat, dislodging the lump there.

“By all means, please continue,” came his dry tone.

With the nerves bundling in my belly, I had the insane urge to smile.

“We don’t know much about each other,” I said. “And I think we should change that.”

A rough exhale emerged from Sarkin. “I’m not in the mood to talk, Klara. But you’re more than welcome to join me as I bathe.”

There was an edge in his tone as he jerked his chin toward the rippling lake.

“You don’t think I will?” I asked, my voice rising so he could hear me over the rushing of the walls.

He didn’t reply. He really was in an awful mood tonight—broody, quiet, like he’d been at the wedding celebration feast.

I thought of how he’d been that first night we’d trained together. When I’d pressed about Lygath, he’d shut down, but I couldn’t stop remembering the panic that flitted across his expression that night. He’d been so close to opening up to me.

Maybe I just need to be patient, I thought.

I pulled at my clothes when his back turned. I watched him enter the water as I stripped off my sweaty clothes, reasoning that it wasn’t anything he hadn’t already seen before, even if it made me feel even more vulnerable than what had happened between us in Lishara’s temple.

When the scar on his lower back disappeared beneath the water, I stepped forward until the waves lapped at my toes. My nipples were pebbled tight, the cool mist from the waterfall feeling amazing against my flushed skin and my exertion from the day’s training sessions. For a moment, I closed my eyes, savoring it.

“What are you doing?” he growled, having turned to find me naked on the edge of the shore.

Yet…his eyes were on my breasts as I walked into the lake, and my heart skipped a few beats when that gaze lingered . I’d never really given much thought to my breasts before, but the way Sarkin was eyeing them? I’d say the appeal was definitely there.

He ran a hand down his face as I drew closer. His gaze only lifted to my face when the water lapped around my neck and I treaded water toward where he stood.

“Since we are learning about each other,” I started, “one thing you should know about me is that I don’t like other people saying I can’t do something.”

“I didn’t,” he replied. “Did you hear me say that?”

“It was implied.”

“Is that how you learned how to throw daggers so efficiently?” he asked, eyes narrowing on me. “Someone told you you couldn’t?”

“Actually, yes ,” I answered. “That is exactly what happened. A boy who lived in the next voliki over dared me I couldn’t hit the center target. He thought I was too weak.”

“The same is obviously not working for your mounting lessons,” he pointed out.

“Yet,” I shot back. “Gods, give me time , Sarkin. I’ve been practicing for less than a week.”

I heard what went unspoken. I was running out of time. Even with my success in the river yesterday, it was obvious I was still way behind in skill among the acolytes.

“You’re right.”

I nearly jerked at that. “What?”

Sarkin splashed his face with water, scrubbing at his tired eyes. Had he been coming here every night? But where had he been sleeping? Certainly not down here .

“You’re right, Klara,” he said again. “I forget that you are Dakkari. That the first time you’ve encountered an Elthika, up close, was the shadow moon. I’ve been pushing you too much. I know I have. It’s only because I’m trying to help you.”

“I know that,” I said quietly, feeling my heart pick up speed in my chest. His words made me soften toward him, and I swam closer as I blinked the spray of the waterfall from my eyes.

“This is unprecedented,” he continued, gesturing between us. “A Sarrothian king taking a wife who hasn’t yet claimed an Elthika. It’s never happened before in Sarroth’s history. Perhaps in one of the other territories, yes. But never in Sarroth. That is why I’m hard on you. I have to be.”

I still remembered the solidness of his body against mine. I still remembered how it felt to dig my hand into his back, gripping the obvious strength of his shoulders, threading my fingers through his hair as we shared each other’s breath.

Underneath the water, my hands curled until my fingernails made little half-moons in my palm.

“I understand,” I said, my tone coming out a little breathless, almost sinking beneath the water.

“What do you want to ask of me?” he began, when the silence stretched and it was apparent I wasn’t leaving.

“Where have you been sleeping?”

“I told you,” he said, fire sparking in his eyes, “that I take my vows seriously. Despite…”

He was angry at what I was implying.

“Despite?”

He huffed out a breath. “Despite that we do not love each other. Despite that we barely know each other.”

“I’m trying to change that.”

He stilled. “The former or the latter?”

I flushed, but I hoped the darkness of the night hid the worst of it. Quickly, I said, “The latter, of course.”

He relaxed in obvious relief, and I didn’t know why I felt a thread of disappointment tighten within me.

“There are empty dwellings in the horde,” he told me. “Sarroth is vast. The majority of our people don’t travel with the horde. Only potential riders and those who choose to split their time between the Arsadia and our homeland. As such, there are always places to sleep here in Rysar.”

I nodded, believing him.

“Don’t ask me again,” he continued, walking closer to me, making my heart pick up pace. “I keep my promises, Klara, even to you. It’s an insult for you to continue to question my honor to our union.”

“I won’t,” I whispered. He couldn’t possibly hear me over the falls, but he inclined his head in acceptance nonetheless. Raising my voice, I asked, “Why bathe down here, then?”

I swore the edge of his lips quirked up. “Because I like it down here. It helps me focus. The wildness.”

“The wildness helps you focus?”

“For someone like me, yes.”

“You strike me as a very structured kind of person, one who doesn’t welcome surprises.”

“Then you have me all wrong. Or maybe you’re correct. Maybe this is who I am now, who I’ve needed to become,” he informed me, those eyes reflecting the silver light of the moon. I went a little dizzy looking into them, my legs treading water faster, despite my aching muscles. “Once, most would have called me reckless. Actually, everyone would have.”

A familiar feeling of intrigue pulsed through me like my own heartbeat. It was like the feeling of a brand-new book, one I’d never seen or touched before, but one that held so much promise. That giddy excitement as you peeled back the cover, as you thumbed through those first few pages of delicate parchment.

“But we’re not talking about that tonight,” he added, leveling me a raised brow that had my hope deflating once more in my chest.

“Then what are we talking about?”

I held my breath as his eyes dripped down the column of my throat and to the rippling water lapping just above my breasts. He wouldn’t be able to see them underneath the dark water, but merely knowing that he wanted to sent a dangerous thrill through me. My legs momentarily stopped treading water, and the lake came up to my lips, wetting them.

“I want to talk about you ,” he said.