Page 79 of Fated to the Wicked King

His grin widening, the king’s blue eyes shone with a challenge.

Chidingly, I shook my head. “Have you two merely been playing games all morning?”

Stretching back, the king braced his hands behind his head. The loose white tunic he was wearing highlighted the way the muscles on his chest and arms flexed, sending more butterflies to my stomach. With his dark hair loosely tied back, I wanted to run my fingers through the silky⁠—

Stop it.

As if he could read my mind, he spoke in a somewhat playful tone despite the serious matter. “As a matter of fact, Chez and I were comparing notes on the information we have gathered regarding this ‘general’ the villagers spoke of.”

I forced myself to focus. “And?” My eyebrows rose.

“Nothing much.” Chez flicked his tail. “For some reason, he’s a figure of authority these villagers seem to take orders from. His goals are unknown. We are not aware of his real name. He has only ever been referred to as the ‘general’.” He gave me a look. “Does any of this sound familiar? Is it possible that you used to know him? Here, or perhaps from your own world?”

I felt as useless as a broken furnace. I gave a helpless shrug. “I’ve never met anyone like that here. And I still don’t remember anything about my life before I arrived in Wünder.”

Chez mewled. “Then it is possible this general is someone from your home world?”

My stomach turned at the irony. I had always thought that if I ever found someone else from my world here in Wünder, it would be a relief. But all I felt was dread.

The king clasped his hands, propping them on the table. “I must find this general. I must ensure he stops whatever he’s doing to infect all the villages.”

This is all her doing…

The words kept nagging in my brain.

“If he is from my world, I would like to meet him too.”

He shot me an incredulous look. “He’s trying to kill you. I thought those villagers made that clear?”

“I want to find out what he knows about me. Why he’s threatening me.” I bit my lip. “They are saying I’m responsible for all this. That what’s happening is all my fault. I have to find out the truth.”

He threw his hands up. “How on Wünder could all this possibly be your fault?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I want to ask. I just want to talk to him.”

Groaning, he sank back in his seat. “Here we go again with your pointless pursuits for negotiation.”

I tilted my head. “This general must have a mission himself. What if I can help him instead? What if I can offer a different solution? Perhaps he will leave me alone then.”

The king’s blue eyes were pinned on the table. “What if he’s come here to take you back?”

My shoulders lifted. “What if he is?”

Chez let out a disapproving mewl, his tone nearly aghast. “You would leave Wünder?”

My gaze darted back to the king for a moment.

His face was blank, his jaw clenched. Still staring at the table, he didn’t say anything.

I turned back to give Chez a shrug. “It was always my plan to leave Wünder. I don’t belong here. This was never my world. We all knew that.”

Chez’s purple eyes were wide. “Well, sure, we all knew that. But if I’m being honest here, we all were hoping you would change your mind.”

I kept my tone even. “We don’t have any clues regarding the general’s intentions. It’s all still a bit too early to speculate.”

The king straightened in his seat, his tone brooking no argument. “More importantly, right now, we must get back to my castle. We need to find a way to cross the river again.”

I gave an emphatic nod. “Yes, and I don’t think we should attempt to go through that machine again.” I gestured to him. “At least, definitely not you.”