I don’t have the words to describe it. Partly because the shame of what I did keeps hitting me over the head like a hammer, and partly because…it wasn’t awful.
And that realization makes my skin crawl.
But he’s promised that Kai’s beatings will stop. If this is the price, then so be it.
Cuffed and collared, I lie awake beside Kylian, staring up at the dark panels stretched from bedpost to bedpost. He’s traded my rags for a cool silk nightgown; the frozen, damp floor of my cell for this cloud of a mattress. But despite the new luxuries, cold guilt nags at me, refusing to let my heavy lids close.
My stomach sinks when Kylian’s muscled arm tightens around my torso. He stirs, letting out a soft groan against the black pillowcase.
“Is my bed not to your liking?”
“Your bed is perfectly fine. Present company questionable.”
A slow, lazy smirk spreads over his face as he cracks an eye at me. He thinks I’m kidding, flirting. I allow him to read my words as he will.
“Questionable? Tell me, how can I remedy that?” He leans over, planting a lingering kiss over the fabric at my belly button. I fight the wild tingles that shoot through me.
It’s just a physical response, I remind myself, focusing on the ceiling.
“A personality transplant would be a promising start.”
He gives me a genuine laugh, his thumb smoothing over the dip of my waist. “You are the most maddening little thing, you know.”
This dick.
“Why is that.”
“Because.” His eyes gloss over me. “You’re far more dangerous than I gave you credit for.”
He runs a hand through his dark hair and flips onto his side.
“Why, Kylian?”
“Why, what?”
“Why do you want this so badly? And don’t tell me it’s because you’re madly in love with me. You want to take Aegar and the rest of the kingdoms? You have an army of undead marching under your banner. What do you need me for?”
He hesitates before answering. “I have my reasons. That’s all you need to know.”
“What do you plan to do with me?”
His gaze burns into me, an ocean-blue fire. “I plan to make you my wife. That has not changed.”
He slides out of bed, the taut muscles in his back flexing as he slips on a pair of low-slung sleep pants and turns to me, extending a hand.
“Come. There’s something I want to show you.”
We reacha long corridor in a wing that looks forgotten about—lost to time itself. I shiver at the draft in the air, staring up at the cobwebs stretched across the high ceilings.
A dark energy rolls through the closed door before us. Something powerful and ancient looms on the other side. I find myself involuntarily clutching Kylian’s hand tighter.
He seems to notice, too, glancing down at our joined hands and smiling. “No need to be frightened.”
“I’m not,” I snap, ripping free. His chuckle echoes down the hall as he pushes the door open for me.
The room is dark and musty, filled with a series of large objects hidden beneath dusty gray sheets. One by one, Kylian undresses them, removing their covers to reveal an assortment of mirrors in various shapes and sizes. They stir from an ancient sleep, each one vying for my attention. In their faces, I can see a thousand of myself, and each time I move, the gaunt stranger in the mirrors moves with me.
The effect is slightly unnerving.
