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“My heir will not be leaving Northgall, but you are welcome to do as you please after you’ve done your duty.”
Flaming ire shot up my spine.Done my duty.Spread my legs for the murdering wraith king and give him a piece of my body. My soul, too.
Flames of heat licked up my neck into my cheeks. Yet again, he noticed with that all-too-knowing gaze.
“You will not separate me from my own child,” I finally managed to say. Near panting now, I was furious and terrified he’d send me away from a child I didn’t even have yet.
He hardly seemed to be affected by this entire conversation at all, and that alone made me angrier.
“As you wish. You may stay in Northgall.”
“If it will save my people of Lumeria”—I licked my lips, my mouth gone dry—“I will accept.”
A transformation came over his face, slow and subtle, an expression of surprise. Perhaps he expected more tears and wailing and nonsense. I wasn’t that kind of woman. I would never refuse an offer to save my people, not even at the expense of my own life. My own will.
But this could all be a trick. There was no path now set before me that didn’t lead to ruin and pain and heartache. I had to find out if it was true that he had Issos under siege. There were high walls and gates around the city. It had never been breached before.
Since the moment of my captivity, I hadn’t once thought of Gael. But, of course, now I did.
“I am betrothed,” I added quietly.
He narrowed his gaze, his expression hard. “You are no longer betrothed.”
Papa had arranged my betrothal to Gael, our noble families a good alliance for Lumeria. We were to be bound in the Moon Temple in Valla Lokyr when the war was over. I respected Gael but had no love for him. Still, the sting of betrayal at breaking our betrothal without a word to him cut deeply. But my kingdom mattered more.
“Don’t bother crying over whatever light fae your father chose for you.”
“I’m not crying,” I snapped with defiance, though I was still trembling with emotion.
He unclasped his hands, veined and claw-tipped, now hanging loosely at his sides. He stepped closer, well into my personal space. I moved back, suddenly afraid of the look in his dragon eyes.
“Tell me, Tiarrialuna Elzabethanine Hartstone,” he crooned softly, as if to calm a wild animal, but speaking my full name only made my heart speed faster.
He continued forward. “Have you kept your promise to your goddess and kept yourself virtuous?”
My spine hit the tapestry against the wall. I flattened my palms against it, holding myself steady.
He eased forward, though his movements were deliberate, not casual. “I’ll know if you lie to me.”
Only a few inches separated us.
“Why would that matter if I’m only to be a vessel for your heir?”
“It won’t matter in that regard. But it will matter tome.”
I couldn’t understand the sudden fury dancing across his face, the possessive madness in his eyes.
“I’m a maiden,” I snapped, a heated blush filling my cheeks.
He examined me closely and then seemed to finally believe me. But he wasn’t done.
“How many times did he touch you?” he asked silkily. “Your betrothed.”
“What?” was all I could manage to breathe out in shock and panic.
One of his clawed hands threaded into my hair and cupped the back of my head, holding me captive. Then I felt his other hand on my thigh, his fingers inching up the fabric of my gown.
“Tell me how many times he touched you, Una.” My name lingered on his lips like a velvet caress.
