Chapter 18
Chapter
Eighteen
Leda
A ferocious scowl spread across Bokkan’s features, and his black eyes took on a reddish tinge.
“Someone is coming.” He snarled.
He took my hand and strode around the side of the house. I had to jog to keep up with him.
“Could we slow down a bit?” I asked.
Bokkan glanced down at me, his vicious expression softening for a moment. Immediately, he slowed and shortened his steps so I could keep up with him.
“Are you expecting a visitor?”
“No.” His deep voice was little more than a growl.
When we rounded the house, there was a male daemon dismounting from a huge horse.
One of his horns was half-covered by dull metal, and he wore leather armor over a pair of breeches and knee-high boots.
He looked rough, as though he’d lived hard, and his harsh features had a cruel cast. There was an aura about him that sent a chill slithering down my spine.
This daemon was dangerous, and he wasn’t here for a friendly visit.
My hand wandered down to the dagger at my side, my fingers skimming over the pommel to the grip.
“Bokkan!” he exclaimed, coming forward with a wide smile on his face. But it didn’t reach his cold, black eyes. His arms were spread wide as though he intended to embrace the daemon holding my hand.
Bokkan stopped a few feet away and tucked me behind him. I stepped to the side so I could see around him, but stayed slightly back. If he had to defend himself, he needed room to move.
“Karaj,” Bokkan responded, his tone even. When the daemon tried to get closer, Bokkan lifted a hand. “That is close enough.”
The fake smile fell off Karaj’s face, and his arms dropped. “Is that how you greet an old friend?”
“Most of my friends do not try to stab me in the back for profit.”
I fought to keep my face placid. But my fingers wrapped around the hilt of the dagger, ready to pull it free.
“I had no hand in that, Stonesword.”
“So you say.”
Bokkan’s muscles were rigid as he stared down the other daemon. The silence stretched between them.
Finally, Bokkan asked, “Why are you here, Karaj?”
Those soulless black eyes flicked to me for a split second, but it was answer enough. At least for Bokkan.
“Do not look at her.” He snarled. His voice dropped into a deeper register, so low that I could almost feel the vibrations throughout my body even though we weren’t touching.
“I heard you acquired a human, but I did not believe it,” Karaj replied, sounding relaxed. Casual.
But his body language was anything but casual. His posture reminded me of a tiger poised to pounce. Only I wasn’t sure whose face he wanted to rip off—Bokkan’s or mine.
“She is my honored guest. Not an acquisition.”
Karaj stared into Bokkan’s eyes. “I heard that as well. That Lady Venna challenged her, and the human somehow managed to defeat her.” His head cocked to the side. “That she cheated in order to win.”
Bokkan released a harsh bark of laughter.
“If you truly believe the challenge was unfairly influenced, ask Guldan or any of the men who watched. I believe most of them were there yesterday. Leda was unarmed and won the challenge with honor. She even allowed Venna to leave with her life. Something I would not have done if a male had challenged me for Leda.”
I glanced up at Bokkan’s stiff back. Was that something that could happen?
Could another male daemon challenge him for me?
Anxiety washed through me at the idea. I needed another weapon.
Something small enough I could hide beneath my clothes, but still lethal to a daemon.
A smaller knife that would be easier to hide.
Maybe some poison. I’d love a sword, but most of the daemon blades were too heavy for me and balanced for someone with much longer limbs.
“Is that what you’re planning to do?” Bokkan asked. His question was little more than a growl.
Another fake jovial expression appeared on Karaj’s face. “Of course not, friend. Why challenge you for your property when I can buy it from you?”
“I told you, Leda is not my property. She is my honored guest.”
“From what I understand from the slave master, your commander purchased her at the auction a few days ago. I believe he said that your men had invested their earnings in buying a female to serve the barracks.”
“That money was returned to the men. Leda is not a slave here.”
“Then perhaps I should ask her if she would be interested in coming to work in my home.”
Those cold black eyes dropped to my face. I stared back at him, feeling the hair on my nape lift. There was no way in hell I was going anywhere with this daemon. He gave me the heebie jeebies with his dead eyes and false happiness.
Before I could not-so-politely decline by telling him to fuck off, Bokkan shifted in front of me, blocking me from Karaj’s sight. And Karaj from mine.
“What part of honored guest confuses you, Darkblade?” Bokkan asked.
“The part that she is a guest at all. Humans are either slaves or servants here. They have no rights as guests. So, which is she?”
I stuck my head around Bokkan’s side so I could get a clear view of the other daemon. Bokkan ignored me and took a deliberate step forward.
“I have answered your question multiple times. If you continue to ask, I will be forced to remove you from my property.”
Karaj snorted. “I hoped it would not come to something as crass as this, but…” He trailed off and plucked a large leather pouch from his saddle.
Even from this far away, I could hear the jingling of coins.
“I have enough here to pay off your commission to the king. The estate would be yours without the trouble of training males for his select guard. You would be beholden to no one. All you have to do is sell me the human.”
A low, vicious growl filled the air. I couldn’t see Bokkan’s face, but his thick arms and shoulders tensed as he crouched slightly. Based on his body language, I could tell he was ready to attack the other daemon. I inched closer to him, laying a hand on his bare back.
Karaj came closer, holding out the bag. “There’s more than enough here to pay the king and live well. All you have to do is hand over the human.”
Bokkan obviously didn’t intend to speak. He just kept growling.
I pressed myself against Bokkan’s back, putting my other palm on his hot skin. Karaj ignored the aggressive body language and came closer.
“The human can be replaced easily. You would probably break her soon anyway. Now, you can replace her with three or four more.”
Karaj took another step, bringing him within arm’s reach, his hand coming toward me. I glared at his outstretched fingers and reached for the hilt of the dagger on my thigh.
Before I could draw it and slice his digits off, Bokkan moved faster than I’d ever seen him move before.
Even when he was sparring with his men, he wasn’t this quick.
He roared and swiped his claws across Karaj’s face.
I nearly gagged at the sight of one of the other daemon’s eye bursting in a flood of black and purple.
I completely forgot about his eye when Bokkan followed up with another swipe, this one across the male’s throat.
Karaj’s remaining eye widened as he dropped the coin pouch and raised his hands to his throat. Deep purple blood poured from his neck. It was a mortal wound. I couldn’t move or speak as the daemon stumbled and went down on one knee, still clutching his throat.
Bokkan’s soldiers and his commander were all running toward us. Instinctively, I took a step back. Seeing that many huge, monstrous males sprinting toward me set off my self-preservation urges.
Bokkan turned, sweeping me up into his arms, and took off around the house.
We burst through the kitchen door, the heavy wooden panel slamming against the wall behind it.
Masu stood at the stove and leaped backward, whirling to face us as she wielded the large wood spatula she was holding like a weapon.
“Master? Whatever is the matter?” she asked when she saw Bokkan carrying me.
He didn’t answer. He kept running down the hall and to the stairs, which he took three at a time. I grunted with each step because it jostled me against the arms he’d wrapped around my abdomen.
His bedchamber door loomed in front of us as he sped down the upper hall. Within seconds, he’d thrown that door open as well and lunged inside. The heavy door slammed behind us, and he dropped the bar across the door.
Without putting me down, he walked toward the bed. When he reached the foot, he turned and walked toward the fireplace. Then, he paced back and forth, still growling slightly beneath his breath.
I tilted my head back to look into his face and saw that his black eyes were full of shimmering red veins. It looked as though lightning made of fire had flared across the black sclera. The web of pulsing flames that spread across his eyes was hypnotic. And terrifying.
“Bokkan?” I murmured.
He growled again and lifted me higher so he could bury his face against my neck.
His breath was hot as he exhaled against my skin.
The tip of his nose ran up my throat to the patch of skin behind my ear.
He inhaled deeply, his chest expanding to press against mine.
His grip was still so tight that I couldn’t even wiggle in his hold.
Still unsure of what to do, I lifted a hand, my fingertips hovering over the base of his horn. He tilted his head so his horn rested against my fingers. Though he couldn’t see my hand, he seemed to understand that I was offering him comfort.
Using light, gentle strokes, I ran my hand up his horn and back down again.
The low, feral growl in his chest grew softer.
I lifted my other hand and ran it over his shoulder and down his arm.
His bicep flexed beneath my palm, but his hold on me loosened infinitesimally.
He stood utterly still, letting me pet him for a few moments as his body slowly relaxed.
“It’s okay, Bokkan,” I whispered. “I’m safe.”