Tempting The Dark King [Enchanted World Series Book 2]

Chapter 4

Rhol flashed to his office and felt the presence of his second in command before he even saw her. Zafrina was leaning against the opposite wall with her arms crossed over her chest. Her dark hair came down her head in a tight braid that she had curled around her neck several times like a deadly whip. Her coffee brown eyes bore at him and Rhol saw the amusement dancing in them. Her caramel skin glowed in the dim light of his office and her tattoos slithered around her arms lazily.

“Don't even start.” He warned her.

Zafrina pushed herself off the wall and approached her king. “I wasn't going to say anything, my king.”

Rhol eyed her for moment then asked. “What do you want?”

“Permission to for more re-enforcements up in Quegal Cliffs Sector. The city of Garon is very much disadvantaged if the Ghouls make it there. They will have nowhere to run but to the human realm with one part entirely overlooking the cliffs and the gateway.” Zafrina stated.

“Can we afford taking any more warriors out of Karah? As it is, the Ghouls are more prone to Karah than any other sector in the Realm.” Rhol settled himself on his chair and leaned back.

“But Garon is a trade city, my king. It had over two hundred thousand citizens. It also has the largest the most stable gateway to the human world. Imagine what would happen if somehow the Ghouls found a way into the human world? It is much bigger and more scattered than the enchanted world and we are weak there.”

“Alright, get as many warriors as we can afford there.” He sighed and closed his eyes. It seemed as if the entire world was closing up around him. He was doing all he could to make sure his people were safe. He had all his concentration there but now the female he planned to avoid for as long as possible was somewhere in his quarters, her scent filling up every alcove of that room.

He was used to female presence every once in a while when the need arose. He shared his bed with them, specific ones that were brought for his use. Just the previous evening he had an erotic dancer spent the night with him. She was still around there somewhere. The feelings that were playing in him felt alien. He wasn't the type to consider what others thought of what he did and no one dared to voice it out but now having Lyrah there made his heart tighten in his chest.

“One more thing, my king.” Zafrina added.

“Yes?” Rhol answered without looking at her. To him Zafrina was his most trusted commander. She was strong, witty and very composed. She had a unique fighting strategy and when one took a quick glimpse of her, they would not believe that she was a deadly assassin. She was much taller than most females and had a better body build.

“Are you going to take the High Lady back to the Realm of Spells?” She asked quietly.

Rhol's eyebrow quirked up as he stared at her. Did he need to explain himself to his commander? But she was the only one who actually listened to him and gave him sound advice which he rarely used. “Yes, as soon as she is fit to travel. I will not have her life in danger.”

“So, you actually care for her?” Zafrina sank onto the chair opposite him and clasped her hands on the desk.

“I'm doing this for her own safety. I don't care about her. I no have the time for that with everything that is happening. She's a distraction and she needs to go.” He hoped he was quite clear about his intentions.

A smile quirked on Zafrina's lips. “For a moment there, you had me convinced.”

Rhol jerked up his chair and snarled at her. “Get. Out.”

Zafrina pushed off the chair and bowed lightly. “She's your mate. It's useless to want to run away from her. Sooner or the later, the mate pull between you will be intolerable.”

Rhol tilted his head and regarded the commander for a long time then quietly said, “I didn't tell you that information so that you could rub it in my face.”

Zafrina's eyes narrowed as a sly smile appeared on her face. “And I'll rub it on with every chance that a get, my king.” She turned around and walked out.

Zafrina was one commander that was not afraid of him. The other was Darius, the smart-mouthed captain of his special ops team. At that moment, Darius was seeking information around the lands for the Thyest Bow. Stories of that specific Mortal Lock was that it was corrupted by the Dark Energy and had the last king throw it in the ocean before committing suicide was utter non-sense. Rhol killed his own father after the Dark Energy was locked away because he was Aidan's ally and he planned on taking over the Ghoul Army and continue the war. Uzrel didn't have the Thyest Bow  when Rhol killed him and many believed that he had locked it away somewhere with the secret dying with him.

So far, there was no information of its whereabouts and Rhol knew he had to find it before the rogues did.

“My King!” one of his warriors burst into his office without knocking and bowed low. He was breathing rapidly as if he had been running. “We have caught...I have no idea what it is but I think you should come and see this.”

Rhol narrowed his eyes at the warrior. “It better be something worth my time or I'll have your head.”

“It is, my King.”

Rhol shifted from his chair and followed the warrior through the maze of hallways and passages until they finally ended up in the dungeons. A couple of his warriors were there, too, with their faces pale and their dark eyes shocked. “What happened?”

“You are...the one they call the...Dark King?” a raspy voice came from one of the dark cells.

Rhol's hand immediately went to his dagger as he scanned the empty space in front of him. His tattoos expanded from him to seek out the malevolent presence.

“Who wants to know?” Rhol asked.

“Someone who knows...the real Dark King.” As the male said he moved to the dim light and glared at Rhol.

Rhol was stunned when he saw who he was talking to. The last time he checked, Ghouls couldn't talk. They were mindless beings that only fed and caused havoc in their lands yet here was one talking to him!

“Boo.” He chuckled softly and ended up choking and whizzing.

Rhol narrowed his eyes and approached the cell cautiously. All his warriors stood on standby, their tattoos slithering from their skins, ready to attack and kill the Ghoul if anything went wrong.

“How is it that you can talk? Are you a new changeling?” Rhol asked curiously.

“A new changeling!” The Ghoul snorted in disgust. “New changelings are being born alright but I'm not one of them. I have been around for a long time. I have seen it all.” he turned to Rhol and eyed him from head to toe. “I have seen you.”

Rhol didn't have time to play that mind game with the Ghoul. “Give me a name.”

“Marcus.” The Ghoul hissed in contempt. “Remember now, Rhol of Uzrel?”

Rhol's eyes widened in shock as he recalled the Ghoul standing in front of him. “Marcus of Hawk.”

“Bingo.” Marcus' red eyes glowed and his pale white skin stretched around his scaly lips as he grinned revealing the razor sharp teeth inside his mouth.

Rhol ground his teeth. The f*****g traitor was still alive! “You unbelievable son-of-a-b***h!”

Marcus laughed again and started choking again but this time it was so severe that he was spitting out black blood from his mouth. He was wounded and Rhol knew it was only a matter of time before he died. It was not everyday that they captured a talking Ghoul. Most of them growled and snapped at them. Rhol needed Marcus alive for as long as possible. He needed information on what was happening.

Lyrah sat down on the large king sized bed and treated her wounds with as little energy as possible. She didn't want to pass out and let Rhol find her sprawled on his bed unconscious. The flesh was stitching itself agonizingly slow and her body heat had increased because her body was still fighting off the poison that was in her system. She wanted to go out in search of Tatiana but remembered Rhol's warning plus it was late in the evening.

There was a knock on the door and Lyrah jerked up thinking Rhol was back.

“Wh...who is it?” She asked nervously. He made her very nervous and not in the scared kind-of-way but that her body recognized him as her mate.

“Zafrina, my lady.” A sure voice came from the other side and before she could do anything, black smoke sipped in from the crack under the door.

Lyrah rolled her eyes. This was ridiculous. How was she going to keep anything out if it could slither its way into the quarters under the door?

Body female bodies solidified in front of her. One of them was taller than her. She had a lean body like that of a warrior with black lynak vest and pants. Her black hair was long and braided then coiled around her long neck in several thick loops. She had piercing icy-blue eyes and she was very beautiful. There was a hint of a smile on her lips and curiosity in her eyes. The other female was smaller. She had her head bowed down and was wearing a pale blue lynak sarong-like skirt and a tight camisole-like top. She was bare footed and Lyrah noticed the anklets on both her legs. In her hands, she had several blood-red fabrics and what looked like jewelry.

“Pardon us for our intrusion, my lady, but The Dark King has asked that we take care of you.” The taller female said. “My name is Zafrina and this is Leah. She will be your helper for the period that you will be here.”

“How do you do, my lady.” Leah bobbed down but didn't lift her head to acknowledge her.

Lyrah didn't know the last time she had a personal helper. “I don't need a helper.”

“You will as long as you are here.” Zafrina stated turning to the petite female beside her.

Lyrah noted the sinew muscles on her and the slithering tattoos against them. She also noted that the female was packing a gun on the small of her back. She was definitely a warrior. So, Rhol planned to get her a bodyguard?

“These are for you.” Zafrina placed the fabrics on the bed. “If there is anything else that you might need, Leah will be right outside your door.”

Lyrah's eyes widened. “It's in the middle of the night. I will not need anything and I will not feel comfortable if Leah spends the entire night standing outside my door.”

Zafrina frowned at her as if she didn't understand her then smiled lightly. “Jinns hardly sleep. We keep beds and sleeping chambers out of habit but we hardly use them. Leah will be alright.”

Still, Lyrah wasn't at all happy with the arrangement. “That is not how we do things back home.”

Zafrina nodded. “Alright. If it makes you that much uncomfortable then she'll sleep next door.”

Though Lyrah was still not satisfied by the arrangement it was better than having her standing in the corridor. “That's much better.”

Zafrina smiled softly and stepped back. “We better get going to leave you to rest, my lady.” she inclined her head lightly while Leah bobbed and they shimmered until they were smoke once more and passed out of the door-crack.

Lyrah sighed and settled back on the bed. She touched the fabrics and they were as cool as still waters. She was indeed exhausted because she used a bit more energy to try and heal herself while she was running low on it. She couldn't chance drawing energy from her surrounding because the dark aura was much more conspicuous in that Realm which meant the chances of getting corrupted drawing in tainted energy was high.

Lyrah collected the fabrics and limped to one of the chairs in the room then placed them there and went back to the tempting bed. She could see Rhol spending several hours resting on that bed even though Jinns hardly slept. He was a large male, towering over her like she was some baby. He would take up most of the space on the bed.

Lyrah crawled into the cool sheets and closed her eyes and sighed in content. She was glad her wounds prevent Rhol from taking her back home. She wasn't ready to face her brother yet especially when the aim of the trip wasn't yet achieved. She wondered where he was and what he was doing. Was he dealing with the Ghouls somewhere, or maybe he was conducting business in his office? Whatever the case, she was glad he wasn't there with her because he made her feel uneasy. She couldn't believe he was her mate. With a sigh, Lyrah closed her eyes and drifted right to sleep, barely noticing the Dark King standing in the corner, watching her intently.