I grabbed another piece of the fried food at the center of the table, and a few others followed my lead. Leaning further against Espen’s side, I rested my head against his chest. Though I knew I probably should’ve felt excited about what we’d learned, I still just felt the same peace I had been swimming in since I woke up in Espen’s arms.
My body felt rested, and my mind did too.
I didn’t want to die or watch anyone else die. I just wanted to… live.
And maybe to spend a week or two in bed with my fated mate, without any other cares in the world.
But I knew that I did need that closure, like Diora. And if I didn’t see Horvis lose his life, there was a real chance that I would feel, at some point, like I hadn’t gotten the revenge I had craved at times.
I had hoped desperately that I could make someone pay for what had happened for me, and though I hoped that feeling was gone for good, I couldn’t realistically expect that.
So, I needed to move past my temporary peace and joy, and force myself to find closure.
By watching my mate and his brother murder the man responsible for the agony of my past.
Chapter17
We ate as planned,and then headed out. Jesh and Namir had asked around, and knew that Horvis frequented a bar near the castle, so that was where we all headed. Espen’s shoulders relaxed as the moon rose higher in the sky than it usually sat, and as he relaxed, he walked closer and closer to me, his hand resting on my hip, squeezing lightly with every step I took.
As much as I hated to admit it, it turned me on. I was dying to get him alone.
And naked.
Really, really naked.
The nakedest.
I needed to focus on revenge, though, my aching ovaries be damned.
We strode into the bar as a group, and my eyes immediately landed on Horvis.
He was seated at the bar—beside three men I recognized much too well.
I halted in the doorway, and Diora froze right beside me.
Our kings stopped at our sides, and realized why we’d stopped moving almost instantly. I could tell the moment they understood, because moonlight and shadows began to flood the room.
Every set of eyes in the bar landed on us, and I saw Horvis’s smirk—and the empty glass in front of him.
He knew what we were doing there.
“You’re closed for the night,” Espen told the man behind the bar, not removing his eyes from Horvis.
His fingers released my hip, and he strode across the room.
Namir followed.
My stomach clenched as I stood beside Jesh, Diora, and Lavee.
Those guards…
There were too many of them. Too many still alive. Diora and I had taken out so damned many of them while we escaped, yet these ones stood unharmed.
How many more of our torturers wandered free?
How many more women would they hurt?
“We can’t let them do this,” I murmured to Diora.