“Riley!” Conall dropped beside me. “What is it?”
“I don't know,” I whispered.
“It's the Understanding,” Drostan said smugly as he strode out of the shadows.
He had his pants on again, and there was a sword strapped to his waist. Unseelie knights surged up from behind him—also armed—and circled us.
“You son of a bitch!” Conall snarled. “You betrayed our agreement.”
“No, I didn't,” Drostan said calmly. “I brought Riley here and gave her to you. We never agreed on a length of time for her to be yours. Riley and I, however, made an Understanding that she would be mine forever; her life in exchange for her sister's.”
“You weren't supposed to actually bind her!” Conall shouted. “You were just to offer her the arrangement and cure her sister.”
“I know.” Drostan smirked. “It was a little leverage I put into place, just in case I changed my mind. And as fate would have it; I did. All I needed was some space to appreciate what I had and figure out what I wanted. I'm ready to rule my kingdom again, and I'm ready to settle on a single concubine; Riley. With the Understanding binding us, you can't take her away from me without my permission.”
“Conall?” I looked up at him in horror.
Conall's gaze was grim when he set it on me.
“No,” I whispered.
“You should have left her with me,” Drostan said as he strode forward arrogantly. “We could have proceeded without Riley ever knowing of our deception. But now you've revealed our secret—to Rileyandmy court—so you must pay with your life.”
Drostan pulled his sword and swung it in an expert arch. His muscles clenched, and I did not doubt that he could wield the weapon with deadly efficiency. But Conall was not entirely defenseless; he pulled a sword as well, and it swished through the air with a sharp sound of warning. He moved in front of me and prepared to meet Drostan in combat. But the Unseelie were drawing in closer, and I knew there was no way that Conall would live through this; even if he won, they would kill him.
“Wait!” I cried as I moved between the men.
Drostan and Conall both stared at me in shock.
“Let Conall return to Seelie unharmed, and I will be the most obedient concubine you've ever had,” I offered Drostan.
“I don't need you to obey me willingly,” Drostan growled. “I won't coddle you like Conall; you are mine, and I will make you obey.”
“But you prefer my compliance, don't you?” I asked as I sidled up to him.
“Riley, no,” Conall whispered as his sword lowered.
I glanced back at him and mouthed the word “run.” Conall shook his head adamantly and lifted his sword again. The damn honorable knight. I turned back to Drostan and draped myself over him; opening the cloak so he could take in my nudity. He began to smile as I slipped my hand into his pants.
“I can be very sweet when I want to be,” I purred as I stroked him. “Wouldn't that be better than constantly fighting me? You said that you'd prefer not to be cruel; so don't be. Let Conall go, and we can be good to each other.”
“All right, Riley,” Drostan murmured as he looked me up and down slowly. “It seems that we have another Understanding.”
“No!” Conall shouted as he lurched forward.
Drostan's knights intercepted Conall and quickly overpowered him. His sword fell into the grass, but then Conall's hands filled with light. I glanced his way in surprise; remembering a time when Drostan had used that very magic. Except it hadn't been Drostan; it was Conall in Drostan's body. That was why the assassin had been so shocked; he had known that the light magic wasn't Drostan's.
Before Conall could use his magic against them, the Unseelie soldiers bound Conall's hands behind his back with black manacles. The light winked out as soon as they were in place. As Conall fought and shouted, Drostan turned me so that Conall could watch him rub his hands casually over my body.
“Take him to the main road and release him,” Drostan said as he kept his eyes on me. “I need to explore this new arrangement with my concubine.”
Conall was pulled away, and Drostan led me back into the castle. I controlled myself and didn't look back. Nor did I cry.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“Show me what I've bought with Conall's life,” Drostan demanded as soon as we were alone in his chambers. “What is the sweet, obedient Riley like?”
“Come here, and I'll show you,” I purred as I led him to the bed.
