Page 15 of A Kingdom of Wild and Power
‘No,’ he said softly. ‘I do not.’
He could not help but hold her gaze—those purple eyes of hers, wandering the hall with a troubled restlessness before fastening on some distant point only she could see. She had been doing that more and more lately, as though glimpsing a world invisible to everyone else.
‘I feel…’ She faltered, frustration tightening her jaw. ‘I feel so much anger, Ash. Towards them. They took Haven from me. And Kage.’ Tears welled, bright and sudden. ‘My mother is barely clinging to life. I don’t know where Kai is, and my father is gods-knows-where, trying to rally an army.’
‘Kai is safe,’ he whispered.
Mal nodded, though her liptrembled, a single tear slipping free. ‘I want to—’
‘To what?’ Ash cupped her face with all the tenderness he possessed.
‘I want revenge. But I don’t want to become…’
‘The God-Killer?’
She nodded.
Ash exhaled, long and weary. ‘Mal, you are already the God-Killer. But you c-can—’
‘Can what?’ Her voice sharpened; her features hardened. ‘You know what awaits me. You know how this ends.’
Ash gave a small nod.
‘You told me what is to come and I—’ She broke off. Their gazes caught; her purple eyes dark and cursed, his golden ones burdened with hope he scarcely dared to hold.
‘I don’t want the future you described,’ she said at last.
‘It is the only w-way.’
Mal tore her hand from his and surged to her feet, a curse ripping from her throat. ‘Then find another way!’ she roared. Her eyes flared, the violet bleeding into black. Ash remained still, watching with quiet dread as the thing she had become, and the thing she feared she would become, surged closer to the surface. He knew she had not yet fully transformed; the presence she glimpsed in corners and shadows had begun to take shape apart from her.
‘Our d-daughter will end the curse,’ he said softly.
Mal stared at him, every muscle locked tight. And for the first time, Ash felt the faint chill of fear coil within him, fear of the woman he loved.
‘By endingme,’ she whispered, before turning on her heel and storming out, the greatdoors slamming in her wake.
The desert is probably one of the most magical places in the kingdoms.
But it can also distort the mind.
Tabitha Wysteria
‘Commander.’
Kai stirred but did not wake fully, not until fingers, or something like them, brushed his ankle. Then he jolted upright, rubbing at weary eyes. They widened at once when he saw Dawn standing at his feet.
‘What’s happened?’ he asked, voice rough with sleep.
She did not answer.
Dawn stood silent in the small tent—just tall enough for her to stand upright and for Kai to sit upon his bedding. Outside, the winds whispered and shifted the sands, the desert breathing in slow, ancient rhythms deep within the heart of the Desert Kingdom.
Kai’s gaze returned to her, unease tightening his chest. She wore only a thin nightdress, so sheer that the contours of her form were unmistakably visible. Her long white hair spilt loosely over her shoulders, untamed as moonlight againstshadow. And her eyes—those deep, unblinking purple eyes—were fixed wholly upon him.
Kai parted his lips to speak, but the words died in his throat the moment Dawn’s tattooed hands rose and tugged gently at the thin fabric of her dress. It slipped soundlessly to the ground.
His entire body went rigid, breath catching as he looked upon her, more radiant than he had ever imagined. She stood like something carved from moonlight and shadow, her dark skin a striking contrast to the wild cascade of white hair that fell around her shoulders. Those deep purple eyes held him captive. Her beauty was a quiet, devastating force, and in that moment he knew he had never beheld anything more arresting.
