From the doorway came a voice so dark that it haunted my every nightmare. It was tinged with violence, pain, and death. “You’ll get off that bed and get dressed,pet. Right this second.”
I swallowed, keeping my eyes ahead as I whispered, “Please don’t make me.”
Tears filled my eyes once more. My hands shook as I refused to look at the doorway. Athim.
Footsteps rang on the stone floor as my heart pounded in my chest. A moment passed, then two, before he stood before me. The scent of sandalwood assaulted my senses.
“Look at me.” His voice thundered through the room.
I shut my eyes, trying to breathe normally through the fog of memories I’d long forced away.
“Look at me!” he bellowed.
I took a deep breath and obeyed. My stomach twisted in knots as I stared at High King Edgar.
“Yes, Your Majesty?” I willed my voice to be strong as I stared at the male who held my fate in his hands. His curly brown hair did nothing to hide the gilded caps covering his pointy ears. His eyes were filled with promises of pain if I didn’t obey.
History told me he wouldn’t hold back from any “training” his pet might require.
The king cleared his throat. “I will only say this once, Aileana, so you had better listen closely. Do you understand?”
I nodded, staring at the sword hanging off his belt.
What are the chances I could grab that sword and run it through him before he stopped me?
Not very high.
“You will marry Remington. Today. If you do not, I will tie you to the stake and light the pyre myself. This union is the only reason you are still alive. Refuse once more, and you are worth nothing to me. Do you understand?”
This threat was new. And new was bad. New things were unpredictable. I had no idea whether the king meant the threat or not.
For my entire life, King Edgar had told me I was being kept until the day I could be a good wife for his son. That when I reached Maturity, I would finally be of use. That was why he kept me all these years.
Tobreedlike a goddess-damned animal. That’s all I was to him.
Apet.
King Edgar had killed those who served me before, to prove a point. My tutor Orvyn had died for teaching me things outside of the king’s “approved curriculum”. I wasn’t sure that the high king would actually go through with having me burnt at the stake, but I also wasn’t sure hewouldn’tdo that.
Maybe he really was done with me.
Unwilling to completely throw my life away, I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment before nodding.
The king thundered, “Say it!”
I opened my eyes to see red sparks dancing around his fingertips.
King Edgar’s voice echoed through the room as the servants cowered behind him. “Say it now, Aileana, or I swear I will burn you alive this very day.”
The dam broke, releasing the treacherous tears as I opened my mouth. “I understand,” I said softly. “I will marry him.”
“Today.”
All the fight left me as I nodded wearily. “Yes, my king. I will marry Prince Remington today.”
* * *
They dressed me like a doll.