“What does that matter? What we have is beyond time and such knowing. Don't let go.” His hand slid down my throat, then my arm, to take my hand.
“Vax, I . . . can't. I want to, but I can't.”
The Sea King's expression shifted suddenly, going from tenderness to barbaric fury. I gasped as bones moved in his face, his dragon emerging. His hand tightened on mine and he yanked me into his arms.
“Vax?” I pressed my hands onto his chest, trying but failing to push him away.
“You can't?” he growled. “You want to, but youcan't? Well, let me make this easy on you, Zixin. I claim your life as mine.”
“What?” I whispered in horror.
“You know the laws of the seas. I saved your life. Now, it belongs to me.Youbelong to me.” Vax leaned down to growl in my face, “And I am never letting you go.”
Shivers raced through me, and I couldn't figure out if they were born of excitement or fear. Both, I think. Because as much as Vaxarion's declaration scared me, I also rejoiced in it. I didn't want to leave him, and he had just taken the decision away from me. But then I realized what this meant. I wouldn't be his consort now.
I would be his slave. Forever.
“No,” I begged. “No, please, Vax. Don't do this to me. Don't take my freedom.”
“It's done.” He pushed me back toward the bed. “Now, get on your hands and knees. It's time to serve your master.”
I was right about him. Had been all along. This confirmed all of my fears. I could have had status in his court. I could have had his respect. Now, I was his toy. And the laws of my world demanded I accept it. I was a pirate. I broke the rules every day. But some laws were ingrained in me as a man of the sea. They were in my very blood. A life for a life was one of them. Tengven had never used that law on me. He offered me a new life out of kindness, without any ties, and I had taken it. Vax had made me a similar offer, but unlike Teng, he had no intention of letting me refuse.
Hearts sinking in my chest, I climbed onto the bed and got on my hands and knees. Vaxarion's harsh breath was the only sound in the room. I waited, but he just stood there. A teartrickled down my cheek, so I lowered my face and pressed it into the mattress. Never let them see you cry.
The sound of footsteps finally drew my head up and around. Vax had left.
Chapter Fifteen
Still trembling, I got up and shifted to sit on the edge of the bed. Where the fuck had he gone? Why say all that shit and then leave? I was baffled. After steadying myself, I pulled on the clothes and boots Vax had given me and went to find him.
I entered the stairwell and leaned over the railing. On our way up, we passed other doors. All of them were open. I heard a strange sound coming from one of them. Weeping? No. It couldn't be.
I crept down to the landing below. There were two entrances to this floor, the doors right beside each other, but only one of them was open. Only one of them emitted that sound. It was clearer there. Someone was definitely crying. No, not crying—sobbing. Great, gut-wrenching sobs. I stepped through the doorway and into a luxurious bathroom coated in pale blue marble streaked with swaths of cerulean. It was like stepping into a tidal pool; the water swirling around my feet. Except the only water in the room was streaming down the Sea King's face.
Holy fuck.
“Vax?” I whispered.
He'd been hunched over, sitting on the floor, his back against the low marble wall that encased the enormous, roundbathtub. At the sound of my voice, he flinched and turned away. I saw his hands swipe up and over his eyes as he cleared his throat.
“Vax, I—” I headed for him, hand outstretched. My chest was tight with something I couldn't name. He wept for me? Forme? Had he wanted me so badly that he'd done something abhorrent to keep me?
“Stop,” the King growled, cutting me off.
“Vax, it's all right.”
“Do not call me that!” Vaxarion roared as he surged to his feet. Even naked, he looked intimidating. Deadly. Maybe even more so. Naked, his powerful body was completely revealed, and the rapid rise and fall of his chest didn't bode well. “I'm your king!”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” I whispered. “I understand.”
He stomped forward and pointed a finger in my face. “You don't understand anything, Zixin. Now, go. Leave.”
“Leave? But you just claimed my life.”
“I renounce my claim. Go.”
“I'm not leaving.” I lifted my chin. “We need to talk.”
