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Annalise stepped closer to me, her hips swaying hypnotically. “As he slumbers, would you take advantage? What will you do when he wakes? This woman is cattle, no better than a slave. At best, she is food. Perhaps dessert since you seem so fond of this weak, breakable thing.”

The Queen’s husband hadn’t crossed my mind. I had only recently awoken from my own slumber, and he went to sleep before me. It’d been so long that I couldn’t recall the precise reasons why either of us had chosen rest. I was uncertain whether he would approve of my decision. Perhaps on a personal basis, but very likely not on a professional one.

“My decision is final,” I stated. The crowd’s voices rose and fell, fascinated by my defiance.

“I’ve made it this far, haven’t I?” Cassia’s voice rose; despite the fact she hung from my arm like a dead weight.

Annalise moved quicker than the eye could detect, whirling around to face my bride to be. “Perhaps we should fatten you up? There isn’t much to carve. Your persistence will surely spice up your flesh.”

Unbelievably, Cassia pushed herself up, using my side for leverage until she grasped my arm and straightened. “He stabbed someone,” her voice caught, “in their eyeball and I’m still here. You don’t need to be such a bitch.” She trembled, her hand lifting slightly as if she were about to cover her mouth. She gripped me again, instead.

Quiet fell over the room, the absence of sound complete in its finality. No one had ever spoken to our Queen in this manner. Not and managed to live to tell the tale.

Annalise’s eyes widened and her lips separated, her sharp inhale the only audible sound. Cassia’s fate hung like the sharpest of blades. There wasn’t anything I could do if she decided to strike out, she was just as quick as I. It would be a miracle if Cassia survived, a last minute interference of the fates.

“Excuse me?” Annalise took a step closer.

Cassia’s nails dug into my flesh. “You heard me. I said you’re being a bitch and you have no reason to. You don’t even know me. It's not like I asked to come here.”

It was either bravery or a death wish. Maybe a little of both.

“Strike her down!” I heard a man call out from the distance. Once I found him, I raised a palm in his direction and waited for him to collapse. The crowd would have to be satisfied with merely the one sacrifice, for now.

Kiam gave me side-eye and then a small, closed lipped smile before glancing at Cassia. We all awaited Annalise’s verdict.

The Queen ran a hand through her long, cornsilk hair, her gaze perusing the woman I refused to let go of. I stilled when she stretched a long, slim finger tipped with a razor-sharp tapered nail towards Cassia’s face. I felt her stifle a flinch, the muscles in her back contracting although outwardly, she didn’t move.

“Kiss her, Lord Lukas. Mark her. Right now.”

My ears rang, her words swimming around in my head, taking their sweet time to form a comprehensible sentence.

“Now!” She roared, her feminine voice taking on a lethal edge.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to kiss her. I’d fantasized about this very moment many a night. My hope had been circumstances less dire than this. My hope had been that her affection for me would arise naturally after we’d been able to spend some time together.

Her rebellion had prohibited any meaningful interludes. It was odd that she held next to no desire for me, and I had no idea how to overcome that fact. I’d felt her physical attraction toward me on occasion, but that was to be expected. I’d never met a woman who didn’t hope to join my bed. Not until Cassia.

I had to hope her fleeting attraction allowed her to submit to the display.

Beads of perspiration dotted Cassia’s hairline and her gown clung to her curves. Her aura was murky, and I couldn’t quite read her. It was unusual for me not to be able to read a human like a large-print book, but it did happen. It was strange in the same way my magical wards didn’t operate in full strength around her. She refused to be trapped or overcome.

Briefly, I considered spelling her to seduce her into the kiss, but I might as well sign her execution by doing so. Every being in this room would notice and call me out on my subterfuge.

The woman raised on her tiptoes, surprising me, and pecked me on the lips before turning to Annalise. “There,” she said.

As if that were enough.

Someone in the crowd snickered and as much as I wanted to make their head roll, I kept my attention on the two women before me.

“Lukas,” Annalise’s voice warned me.

My hands reached for Cassia, gripping her hips and pulling her close. I lifted a hand to smooth her hair back over her shoulder before I cupped her cheek. “It was inevitable,” I said to her.

She gazed up at me with a look of trepidation but didn’t touch me. “Cassia,” I whispered, hoping she would get the message.

She did and loosely circled my waist with an arm. Tilting her face up, she waited.

My hand slid down to collar her neck, and I sealed my lips over hers. Her mouth was firm, unyielding at first, but then she granted me entry. The softness was all I needed.