What evil lurked in this place?
Alora gritted her teeth angrily and searched for another weapon. Her eyes fell on the spindle resting on his bedside table. But then Rune emerged before her in a burst of smoke.
Alora gasped, lurching back. She dodged his hand and scampered to the other end of the room by the sofa.
Rune watched her steadily, his eyes glowing faintly. “Like it or not, we are married now.”
Alora clenched her fists, her chest heaving with wild breaths. Her mind raced to think of a way out of this.
“It wasn’t a real ceremony,” she disputed feebly. “We didn’t speak our vows.”
He smirked, coming toward her. “Vows…?”
“Yes.” Alora stumbled backward, moving to put the sofa between them as she stuttered. “If you want me as your bride, then I-I demand your vows and a dowry befitting what I’m worth.”
Rune laughed, the low sound rumbling in her bones. He vanished in a plume of smoke, appearing before her, and caught her wrist before she could dodge him again. “Hmm, I suppose that is reasonable.”
She stuttered as his shadows caressed her cheek, her heart racing at how close he was. “G-grant me this firstthenI will be yours.”
The God of Shadows chuckled, low and dark. “You’re already mine, little bird.”
Her heart pounded at the possessive edge in his words.
Alora yelped as Rune easily tossed her onto the sofa. He braced a hand against the headrest and leaned down, taking her chin.
“Very well,” he said. “Since I am feeling generous, I will grant you a dowry of your choosing. As for my vows, I will give those to you in time.”
The air behind him shivered, releasing a silvery sheen into the air. Before she could question it, a cloud of black smoke bloomed where the door had once been, revealing three horned figures cloaked in shadow. Their presence sucked the warmth from the room, but Rune didn’t notice, or care.
Alora froze as he dipped his head to the crook of her neck. His lips hovered above her pulse, brushing heat against her skin. He inhaled slowly, deeply, like he was committing her scent to memory.
“Are you finished making your demands?” he murmured. Her heart leaped at the graze of his fangs.
“Yes,” Alora gasped. Her thoughts were tangled between the very large. warm god pining her on the sofa—and the eyes watching them. “I meann-no. Rune, wait...”
“Then shall we seal this unholy union?” he purred, his leg prodding her thighs apart.
That snapped her out of her senses.
“Stop!” Alora blurted, trying to push him back. She managed to nudge him an inch, and only because he allowed it. “We are not alone.”
Rune glanced over his shoulder at the three silent demons with a dull frown. “Oh. Alora meet the Harbingers, generals of my army.”
The first was a woman with blood-red lips, pale lilac hair and ram horns. Her dress was sleek and dark, her beauty edged in danger. Her expression was carefully poised, eyes like molten coals.
Towering beside her was a male nearly as tall as the ceiling, with skin like warm clay marked with many tattoos, and vivid red eyes that never blinked. Spiked armor was fitted to his large body, his hands clawed. Large horns curved over his mane of ashen hair.
They had been disguised as fae, but she recognized them now as the Calveron soldiers who’d escorted her to the altar.
Last was a smaller male, with dark hair like midnight with small four horns above his brow. Behind him flicked a long thin tail with a single sharp barb on the end, small wings at his back. He was dressed in thin black leather armor, made for quick movement.
They dropped to one knee, bowing their heads.
“They will serve you now as they serve me. I can send them away if you prefer.” Rune’s crimson gaze returned to her, his mouth curving with a sly smirk. “Or they can watch.”
CHAPTER 19
Alora
