He seemed to remember that he needed to look at the letters written on the glossy black stone, flicking his gaze perfunctorily before beaming at the angry crowd. “Jasmine Chase.”
For a moment, everything seemed to stop.
Then Jasmine's head turned, slowly, deliberately, until her gaze locked onto mine. The eyes that had been defiant before were blazing with absolute fury now, promising violence if given the opportunity.
I didn't look away.
Around us, the world erupted into chaos. The crowd surged upward, chairs scraping and toppling. My warriors moved closer to the platform, forming a protective perimeter. Venik was on his feet, barking orders in Vandar. Kolt's hand had gone to his weapon.
But I kept my eyes on her. Not wrenching my gaze away as she stood slowly, her sisters clinging to her arms, both of them crying while she remained terrifyingly composed. Not looking away as my warriors began moving through the crowd toward her, cutting a path through the chaos.
She didn't break eye contact. She didn't look away or crumble or show any sign of submission. She looked at me like she was memorizing my face, so she'd recognize it when she carved my name into my tombstone.
And despite the chaos, despite the real reason why she’d been chosen, something fierce and hungry unfurled in my chest.
This woman was going to hate me, but she was going to be mine.
Chapter 7
Jasmine
My name hung in the frozen air like a death sentence.
Jasmine Chase.
The shock was cold and sharp, like falling through ice into dark water. But underneath the shock was something else. Something that felt disturbingly like inevitability.
I'd known.
I'd known from the moment the massive Vandar walked into my bakery this morning, his golden eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that had made my heart trip in my chest. I'd known something was coming. I just hadn’t known what. Now I did.
Around me, the world had erupted into chaos. My sisters clutched at my arms, their voices high and frantic, saying things I couldn't quite process. The crowd was surging and jostling me, but it was all a blur because I was staring at him.
I refused to look away from the Vandar on the platform who’d locked eyes with me when my name was called. The one who’d seemed to know it was going to be me. The one who satunmoving and in complete control while everything around him dissolved into pandemonium.
Now I knew that he was the Raas, the warlord, the leader of the horde that had made a deal with my colony. The one I'd been given to as a war bride. Raas Wrexxon.
After all my years fighting secretly against forces trying to control me and everyone else in the colony, my life was suddenly not my own. It didn’t matter that I’d successfully taken over my parents’ bakery when they were taken and stepped up to be the head of our family. It didn’t even matter that I was all my sisters had left. None of that had saved me from the Vandar.
The fury that crashed through me was molten enough to burn away the shock, and sharp enough to cut through the numbness. Rage settled into my bones and into my blood, transforming from fiery wrath into something colder and more deliberate.
Fine. The Vandar could force me onto that ship. They could use me as their insurance, their leverage, their living guarantee of the alliance's integrity. But they couldn't force me to like it. They couldn't force me to be gracious or compliant. I was the leader of an underground rebellion, not some placid female who'd accept her fate with a smile and a curtsy.
Sound crashed back into focus in an instant. Suddenly, I could make out my sisters' voices, register the crowd's protests, and shudder as boots pounded the ground as the Vandar approached.
I wrestled my gaze away from the Raas, turning instead to Kaya. My youngest sister was crying, wet trails streaking her cheeks. Gone was the flirty girl from earlier. Now I only saw fear.
I grabbed her hand, squeezing hard enough to make her focus on me instead of the chaos.
"You and Brielle need to take care of each other now," I said, my voice steadier than it had any right to be. "You have to keep the bakery running together. Can you do that?"
Kaya's mouth opened then closed, and the tears spilled faster. "Jas, no.” She shook her head. “This isn’t right. They can’t just take you.”
"Can you do that?" I repeated, more forcefully.
Her watery gaze sharpened before she nodded, the movement jerky. “Of course. Yes, I promise."
I turned to Brielle, who looked absolutely stricken, the book she’d brought to the assembly clutched against her chest like a shield.
