AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lily of the Valley
The vase crashed against the wall beside my head.
I force myself to hold still.
Don’t flinch.
Ignore the sharp bite of the new cut across my cheek.
Ignore the blood sliding over skin.
Shrapnel scattered the way my thoughts had moments earlier.
I’d fallen out of love with Jamus months ago, and now, as I plan my escape, he decides to demand we get married?
Demanded.
As if five years of faked orgasms was a streak I wanted to continue.
No.
He’s woven the particular trap I’m caught in tightly.
And the man with the Power gets what he wants.
But not from me.
I have more than enough money to leave him.
But no banker in the Valley would give it to me.
No landlord would offer me a lease.
No employer would consider my application.
Jamus had shitty aim with priceless vases, but he was descended from the old gods. His family ruled for generations.
They’ve been feared for generations.
But the rest of the Valley is full of people who don’t know him.
The Power is a faint glimmer behind his eyes, not the dangerous flash in those whispered stories.
He takes a deep breath, closing his eyes and shoving his hands in his pockets—as if leaving them loose will only result in more broken ceramics.
“You try my patience, Lily.”
“I’m not going to marry you.”
His eyes flash when he opens them again.
The inherent gifts in his lineage are watered down to the point I’m not afraid of his anger. He likes to use those visceral signs of the Power to keep the rest of us in line.
But I know better.
“Goodbye Jamus.” I turn my back on him and see the two men in the corner shift uneasily.
Maybe they think they’re about to witness a murder.
