Rylo’s brow furrowed. “Explain.”
“It’s where you start having empathy for your captor. Developing complex emotional feelings for them, even though rationally, it makes no sense.”
Rylo stepped back, and for a moment, she thought she saw something like hurt in his eyes.
“I’m not your captor. I was ready to let you stay with your sister. I’ve never held you against your will.”
Sure, she chose to stay with him, but she hadn’t had the choice to stay with him in the first place. He’d forced that on her, making her nothing less than a captive.
“You forced me and my sister to stay with you! You just demanded that I am yours, not only a few minutes ago, but also in front of your whole nation!” Morgan said, pulling back from him.
“There’s a difference. You chose to be with me. You chose this,” He said, tight lines creased his forehead.
“God, I can’t believe I’m even having to lay this out there. The night I arrived, you gave me no choice. None! It doesn’t matter that I chose you a month later. You are still my captor.”
Rylo’s heart was beating so quickly, Morgan thought she could hear it. His breathing seemed quickened, and the look on his face was anything but the bored mask he usually wore. He looked as if her words had stung him.
He turned his back to her, and she watched him press his arms against the stone wall, face turned away from her.
She climbed onto the foot of the bed, suddenly exhausted from the arrival in Onyx Caverns and the argument they were having. The leash clinked against the floor as she got as comfortable as she could.
Rylo turned, his swollen nose looked painful from this angle. “I chose you. I chose you because you are clever and talented. I saw it the moment you entered the Towers. I don’t regret that, and I will not let someone take you from me. I’ve had too muchtaken from me to lose someone else. But, Morgan, if you feel I am keeping you captive against your will, I’ll let you return to your sister. You can train with her and we can still work out an arrangement where you help me achieve my goals as I help you meet yours.”
Morgan shook her head. She stood up, walking slowly toward him. “I—I don’t want to go to Avery. Everything you say is a half truth, and I don’t know how much more I can stand. I just wish you’d say what you really mean and be straight forward with me. Especially in a place like this where you’re the only one I can trust.”
Rylo brushed his fingers along her cheeks, touching the cord of scars. “I’ll not let them harm you, pet. That I swear. I can’t help that I never say what I fully mean or that I keep information back from others. It’s how I’ve survived for decades, but I will try. I’ll try strategizing with you.”
Morgan sighed, placing her hands on top of his, tilting her head up to look into his amber eyes. “I’m not asking you to share all your darkest secrets. I’d just like to know before you make choices that affect my autonomy. Even if I am working for you, even if I’m choosing to be with you, I’m not something you can just use and discard. I have my own needs and opinions, and I just want you to respect them.”
Rylo closed his eyes, holding in his breath before he released it slowly and opened his eyes to look at her. “I’m a sovereign, pet. What you’re asking of me goes against everything I’ve done as king. But I will try to share information with you before it’s sprung on you, if that makes you feel less like my property.”
Morgan nodded. Rylo was making a compromise. She couldn’t even believe it. Letting go of his hands, Morgan pointed to the bundle on the ground. “Just to be clear, I’m not sleeping there. You are going to have to get your pillow barrier back up again or you can squeeze on the dog bed.”
Rylo let out a quick, hard laugh. “We’ll share the bed, pet. It’s the least I can do after collaring you.”
“What’s the deal with Goldoth treating people like dogs? It’s gross.”
“I think we’ve only seen the beginning of this. Don’t be surprised if I’m feeding you table scraps at supper tonight.”
Morgan shook her head and closed her eyes, hoping that the nightmare situation she found herself stuck in would disappear.
Chapter 31
Savine
Savine sighed, bored from his seat on the throne. He’d left his life of action, of always being outdoors and near the forest, for a mundane life atop a chair. The day to day inner workings of government were dull, duller than Savine expected. Thank the Goddess the war was over and he’d come out victorious, but Goddess damn him, what he wouldn’t give for an excuse to charge through the Middens on Jari or use his essence to defend his people.
At least he had Avery, and she’d jumped into life as his soulmate and queen better than he could have dreamed. She’d found her rhythm, knitting together a close group of womenfor support as she navigated her new world and new roles. She didn’t even seem too upset about her sister not being at her side. He couldn’t wait to show her the shared throne he had commissioned for them. A throne wide enough for two, with supple leather comfortable enough to sit in for hours side by side.
Savine motioned for a drink, and Darby was there beside him, carrying a cup of wine. The next citizen would be escorted in soon, under heavy guard after the mountain lion shifter tried to take his life.
A Latian with the woodsy essence similar to Savine’s entered the room. With guards on both sides, Savine understood why the court gasped when they saw the man. He was bruised and sliced open on his arms and neck. His leathers were tattered, nearly disintegrating on him. Unlike most fae, who naturally smelled like their essence, his scent was something dirty and rotting.
Those in the throne room made way for the man, leaving a clear path to the throne. When the fae saw Savine, he started shrieking with laughter; like a man lost in the madness of his own mind.
The guards on all sides of him drew their weapons, ready to end the wretch before he got too close to their king.
Savine felt Raikin’s quick, fluid steps toward him. He’d been hiding in the shadows, observing, as he often did when Savine held court. “This man was found wandering the forest north of here, rambling something about carriages without moose pulling them.”
