The Dread King: A Reverse Harem Fantasy (The Harbinger Book 3)

by Candace Wondrak

  He trailed them for a while. Night turned to day, and the cycle was repeated once before they reached their destination: a tribe of Malus in a trampled field of green. The smell of leather and piss assaulted Cam’s nose, and he hoped Faith and Finn couldn’t smell it. Sometimes having perfect senses was a bad thing.

  The Malus didn’t see him as the traveling passed, nor did Sellyn. Cam was soundless and scentless. An unmatchable predator.

  Faith and Finn bonded during the journey, which was expected. They shared many meaningful looks, due to the fact that during most of it their voices were stifled by rope. Once Light found out how Sellyn had treated Faith, he wasn’t going to be happy.

  Cam wished he’d be there to see it, but he couldn’t. He would have to linger outside of their camp, staying out of sight, until he was able to talk to him. After he lost sight of Faith and Finn in a tent, time dragged on slowly.

  Time was the one thing he had plenty of.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Light felt uneasy the entire time they were with the Malus tribe. They should’ve gone back the moment Nilda told them Sellyn had gone with a few scouts to retrieve some things from her old home. What if she returned to the tribe only to say there was no one in the hut? Or worse, that she found two Humans and an Ulen dead? Or…that she killed them?

  He did not enjoy thinking such sour thoughts.

  One midday, Light sat cross-legged near Jag. They were out in the open near a fire pit, eating out of stone bowls with their hands. The snobby Elf inside him hated it; utensils were created for a reason. The nearest river was a fifteen minute walk. No one, not even Light, wanted to walk for thirty minutes just to rinse off his hands before eating. He had limits.

  Nilda and some younger Malus sat across from them, chowing down. To Light’s surprise, they didn’t just eat meat. They also farmed when they were in an area for long enough; they picked berries and other edible plants. For some reason, based on Jag’s behavior and his childhood beliefs, Light never knew the truth until now.

  And, even though the bowls were filthy and his hands were not clean, the food didn’t taste so bad. It was actually good.

  As Nilda was busying herself telling the story of her last challenge to the children around her, Light surveyed the area. Living in tents was one thing he knew he could never get used to. In his peripherals, he spotted a pair of Malus bent over each other. A Malus male he would consider middle-aged with a quite younger female; both had stripes in their fur. And both seemed to be enjoying themselves quite a bit, regardless of the fact they were in plain sight of everyone.

  “I don’t understand you Malus,” Light commented, quickly averting his eyes. He didn’t want to see that. That was…not fun to watch, in spite of what others might believe. Light would much prefer to be the one doing the act instead of watching, and only with Faith. And, anyway, if they were being watched, Light wasn’t certain if he could perform well. He got anxiety just thinking about it.

  “What?” Jag glanced over his shoulder, a toothy grin spreading across his face when he found the mating pair. “Oh, come on. Like you Elves think the act itself is so sacred. Other Elves I’ve talked to mentioned the gatherings—the ones where you all strip off your clothes and go at each other’s every orifice.”

  Light laughed. He didn’t remember any gatherings quite like that, but then again, he made a habit of not going to them. He never was too comfortable around things like that, and the gatherings the Court held while Human students were around were much tamer than the ones they held when there were no one other than Elves around.

  “At least they’re doing it as nature intended,” Jag referenced their position: the female on her knees, bent forward, and the male entering her from behind. “Unlike you Elves with your twisting and flexibility.” He shivered, as if it were the worst, most disgusting thing he ever thought of.

  Light himself had a weird thought. If that position was normal in Jag’s eyes, did he mean it was how he and Faith did it? It seemed undignified, like an insult to Faith. He didn’t like the thought at all, and jealousy reared through him, the great ugly beast it was. Besides, who didn’t want to see Faith’s face during the act? She made the most attractive faces when he was inside of her.

  As Light was lost in his own thoughts, Azelia appeared, kneeling before Jag with a larger bowl of the gruel that was passed around not too long ago. She’d clearly recovered from learning Jag had a mate, and she was hopeful that her sudden change of demeanor would make Jag change his mind and return to her. Her golden eyes blinked as she asked, “Would you like—”

  Jag didn’t let her finish. “No, I’m good.” He could hardly look at her, and guilt washed over his features for the thousandth time. He was, undoubtedly, remembering the kiss they shared not too long ago.

  Grinning, Light would have to make sure he was there when Jag told Faith. And he had to tell her. It wasn’t a secret he could ever keep to himself. Would Faith be mad or disappointed? Would she yell at him or not want to talk to him for a while? Or would she simply nod and accept it because it was something she couldn’t change?

  Just as Light was about to broach the subject with Jag, to see what he thought she’d do, a tough voice carried throughout the camp, “I have no idea who they are or why they’re here, but it can’t be good. Nilda must be told about them.”

  Light nearly spilled what was left in his bowl as he jumped to his feet. Jag was quick to follow suit, ears perked at the sound of the voice. Nilda scattered the children around her, shooing them away, much slower to stand and turn to greet the owner of the voice.

  And, just like Light thought, the owner of the voice was his mother. Sellyn.

  “Sellyn,” Nilda spoke, “you will never guess who is here to see you.”

  Sellyn held a glare in her deep blue eyes. Her stance was more aggressive than Light recalled, her skin less vibrant. She’d grown tanner with the Malus, slight wrinkles around her eyes. She wasn’t nearly old enough to start getting wrinkles, was she? Even in old age, extreme old age, Elven skin didn’t wrinkle. Her blond hair was held back in a knot. She wore loose trousers and a dirt-covered shirt. Nowhere near the flawless perfection most Elves held themselves to. Then again, his mother was never really one for the typical Elven standard. It’s why she was more than willing—why she was happy—to live in a hut far from society.

  “You can show me the visitors later,” Sellyn spoke without even glancing at Jag or Light. Her gaze was hyper-focused on Nilda as she added, “There was…” Then, finally, her cerulean stare darted to Jag, and then to Light. Her mouth fell open, her voice halted.

  “Has it been that long, mother?” Light asked with an easy smile.

  Jag elbowed him. “Tell me you at least remember me.” He gave her a toothy grin as Light shot him an annoyed look. “What? Everyone loves me.”

  That was all too true.

  “Of course not,” Sellyn spoke slowly, addressing Light’s question and ignoring Jag entirely. “I just…” She shook her head, moving past Nilda to wrap Light in a hug. “Weylon,” she murmured his name, squeezing harder. “How are you? How have you been?” And, as she released him, “What are you doing here? I thought you were living in Springsweet?”

  “You haven’t heard any rumors, have you?” Jag said, earning him a gentle glare from Sellyn.

  “Jag,” she said, “I see you haven’t changed much.”

  “Hey, I’m a man now,” Jag huffed, feigning insult.

  “Yes, I meant intellectually.” Sellyn reached for the knot of hair on her head, undoing it. What used to be long, flowing, golden locks only fell to her chin. It looked like she took a dagger to her hair and cut jaggedly. It was a rough and wild look. She glanced to Nilda. “Forget what I said before. You two can tell me what’s going on after I take Nilda to the prisoners.”

  “Prisoners?” Light echoed. “If you mean the ones at the hut—”

  Her gaze narrowed as she whispered, “That is exactly who I mean. How did you…”
>
  Beside them, Nilda chuckled. “Oh-ho! This should be good. Sellyn, dear, you may have just dragged your boy’s mate in as a prisoner.” She clapped her craggy, furry hands. “Let’s go to the tent, then, and see!” She was far too excited, and she started off for the tent before anyone had the chance to respond.

  As they followed her through the throngs of tents, Light hoped his mother hadn’t overreacted too badly. Faith could handle herself; she’d stared down the Dread King without issue. Sellyn was just an Elf. His mother…who, if her hard looks had anything to say, was rougher around the edges than she used to be.

  “Your mate?” Sellyn hissed as she walked beside him. Jag was forced to walk near Nilda, who chatted merrily about how amusing this misunderstanding was. “But she’s Human. And I saw her embracing the Human she was with.”

  Light’s feet stumbled, and he nearly stopped right then and there. Jag’s ears were bent back; it was clear that he heard it, too. Faith embracing Finn? Did his mother mean they were hugging, or kissing, or…

  “I certainly hope she is not your mate. An unfaithful mate is no good for you.” Sellyn shook her head furiously. “Plus, she is Human. She smells and she is so…short. Things like that you do not want to pass onto children, Weylon.”

  Jaw setting, Light muttered, “It’s Light, now.”

  She harrumphed, saying no more.

  Ahead of them, Nilda chuckled and whispered to Jag, “Just wait till she finds out you two—”

  Jag laughed loudly before she could mention they were both with Faith, setting his arm around her shoulder and saying, “You are just too funny sometimes, Nilda. How does the tribe deal with you?”

  Nilda nodded once. “Okay, we’ll keep the secret for now. But you will have to tell me later how it all works. I am intrigued.” They reached the tent, and she was the first to enter, past the two Malus who stood as guards, their arms crossed over their thick, scarred chests. She ran her fingers on her long braid as she laughed at the sight before her.

  Light pushed past Nilda and Jag to view Faith and Finn, tied up, their backs against a shared pole that held the top of the tent up. Both looked massively uncomfortable, and both were so restrained they couldn’t even speak.

  Faith’s bright green eyes were relieved when she saw Light and Jag, while Finn sighed into the rope in his mouth. Light abruptly looked away, his mother’s words ringing through his head, echoing and refusing to stay down. Faith and Finn embracing. He knew he talked with Jag about it, but for it to actually happen…he wasn’t prepared for it.

  “I am sorry, child, for the way Sellyn has treated you,” Nilda spoke as she knelt near her, reaching for the rope in her mouth, tugging it out gently.

  “It’s been great,” Faith said, her voice cracking. There was a slight redness around her mouth where the rope had been. “So fun. I think I’d like to stay here, actually,” she added as Nilda went to untie the rope holding her to the pole.

  Nilda’s knowing eyes turned back to Jag. “I can see why you like her.”

  That got Sellyn to exclaim, “What? I thought you said she was your mate?” She glared at Light, who simply shrugged it off.

  Once Faith was untied completely, she stood slowly, stretching, rubbing her wrists, the skin there redder than the area around her mouth. She winced at the word mate, for she had some strange aversion to it Light still did not understand.

  Nilda moved beside Faith, chuckling, “Who wants to tell her?”

  Light, though, was not in the mood to joke. “Later” was all he said. He couldn’t look at Finn, and as he surveyed the tent, he found Cam was not with them. Odds were he hung back, scared Sellyn would not accept him as an Ulen.

  And, he realized as he watched her fume about Faith, she might not. She didn’t seem the loving mother she used to be.

  “Thanks for coming back, guys,” Faith said, wrinkling her nose. The metal dot in it seemed dull in the confines of the tent. “Unless you planned on staying here and forgetting about us?”

  “I would never,” Jag was too quick to say. Far too quick.

  “I…” Faith’s retort was interrupted by a series of groans, and a few kicks to the ground from the outstretched legs of Finn. Everyone turned to look at him, still tied to the pole, his mouth still gagged. “Oh, right. Forgot about you.” She smirked, moving to undo the knots keeping him quiet and down on his backside. “Thought we were missing someone judging our every move,” she spoke with a smile at Finn.

  After the rope was lowered from his mouth and he was able to formulate a frown, he gave her one, though it was half-hearted at best. The ends of the frown curved upward, as if he were doing his best not to smile at her.

  The, in Faith’s words, asshole.

  Light watched him as he stood, standing a bit too close to Faith for his liking.

  “Come,” Nilda spoke, gesturing towards the opening of the tent. “Let’s get you two some water and some food. I doubt Sellyn took good care of you during the journey.” She began walking out of the tent, Sellyn following her begrudgingly, tossing a glower at Faith before doing so.

  Light sent Finn a glare as he went by, his expression loosening only a tad when Faith stood near him, muttering, “That’s your mom, huh? Knew it.” There was a long pause before she finished, “Seems nicer than mine, at least.”

  Jag exited after Finn, leaving just Light and Faith for a moment.

  “How does that old woman know about us?” she questioned.

  “Her name is Nilda,” Light told her, averting his gaze as he went towards the flap. “And Jag told her.”

  “Huh. Nice to know I have a say in things,” she said, practically on his back as she trailed him.

  Light’s jaw tensed as he witnessed Finn turning to look at Faith. He immediately went between them, stepping into his line of sight. Might’ve been a childlike move, but it was the only one Light could think of at the moment.

  Faith had some explaining to do.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Faith’s jaw hurt. The skin around her mouth was sore and her wrists ached. Yeah, Sellyn, her lovely name was, was just a super nice woman, wasn’t she?

  As Nilda, the leader of the Malus tribe, judging by her age and the giant necklace of claws she wore, brought her and Finn bowls full of some red and grey slop, Faith lightly touched her cheek. It was the weirdest feeling. Even though there was nothing keeping her bottom jaw from her top one, it was like it just wanted to hang open.

  Insanely irritating.

  She sat in the middle of Nilda and Jag. Light and his mother stood off to the side, both scowling at each other. Finn sat on Nilda’s other left, begrudgingly slurping up what was in the bowl with a cup of water.

  “So, how did you wind up here?” Nilda asked, utterly ignoring everyone besides Faith. Maybe it was for that reason, or maybe it was the spunk she had even though she was clearly years over the hill of old age, but Faith quite liked her.

  “Oh,” Faith drew the word out. “You mean Light and Jag didn’t tell you? They seem to have told you everything else.” She shot Jag a knowing look, to which the Malus’s ears flattened a bit, and then the same look at Light. But Light didn’t meet her stare. He didn’t look at her at all. What had his panties in a twist?

  Nilda chuckled. “Don’t be mad at them, dear. I was giving them a hard time about being together.” The way she spoke the final word, the way she lowered her voice, made Faith realize what exactly she meant by together. “But, in a word, yes. They told me you’re the Harbinger—”

  “What?” Sellyn practically shouted. “You’re the…” She swallowed, unable to say the word. “Impossible. The Harbinger has always been a Human male. There must be some mistake.”

  Man, Sellyn wasn’t having a good day, was she? First she found out she basically kidnapped her son’s, uh, woman—not mate, never mate—then she found out Jag was also in on the relationship, and now…now she knew Faith was the Harbinger, too. She probably couldn’t wait for this day to be over.

 
“That’s what everybody said,” Faith spoke with a shrug, “but here I am, with an unexplainable desire to save your world from the Dread King.” And jump his bones, but that part she kept to herself. She’d keep it to herself until the day she died.

  Which would be sooner rather than later, if the Dracon in question had anything to say about it.

  She did have to tell them about her connection with the Dread King, but right now all she could focus on was the hunger in her belly and the hurt around her mouth.

  Her eyes darted around, spotting a crowd of Malus. They pretended to go about their daily lives, parents grooming their kids, women stitching together torn tents, kids running around playing a game that seemed very similar to tag, but Faith knew they were mostly interested in her. She might be the first Human they’d ever seen. Her and Finn, anyway.

  One thing Faith did not like about the Malus was their propensity to be naked, as nude as they were born, though it looked like the kids were born with too much hair and fur, that they grew into it as they got older. Still, most of their chests were hairless, like Jag’s. And the area around their privates. Faith had never seen so many breasts and penises all hanging out together like a great big party before. And not the fun kind of party, either.

  Nilda waved Sellyn off, saying, “Don’t mind her. She’s always like that. Jag tells me he’s risen.”

  He needed no name. Faith nodded. “He is.”

  “And what are you doing to stop him?” Nilda was straight to the point, no-nonsense. Her gaze bore into Faith. “We have his sword here, you know. The last Harbinger brought it to us before he died.”

  After Faith recovered from the blunt question, she found her gaze flicking around in search of Cam. He had to be around here somewhere. She was going to kick his ass when he showed himself. Being hauled like cattle for days wasn’t fun. He deserved a few punches to the gut, she thought.

  “We were actually in the area to find the Cave of Memories,” Faith told her.