It was clear the High Priestess was not enthused with his statement. That it had been the trump card he meant it to be. “Unless another can make a claim on her.” The woman tutted. “Perhaps you should get your future wife some clothes. She’s freezing.”
The High Priestess glided forward, appearing an inch away from my face. Griffin’s hand on my shoulder was the only reason I didn’t jump back.
“Raven,” the woman murmured. “You are sure that this man is to be your husband? The Prince of Grypheem? That there isn’t another with a claim to you? What of your soul sent from above?” The words wisped into the space between us.
Theprinceof Grypheem?
My soul sent from above?
I held my composure.
The wind kicked up, my gown dancing at my ankles, my hair freeing from behind my ears. The shocking frigid air was exactly what I needed, but with it came the woman’s scent. Sickly sweet, overpowering as if it were masking a revolting decay. My nose crinkled in disgust as I leveled the woman with a glare. I did not know enough to reject Griffin’s claim. Doing so could very well mean they would have a reason to take me. But I didn’t agree with her insinuation.
That Sacred Cherished didn’t get to choose.
They were chosen.
“He is to be my husband.” Speaking it into life put a bitter taste in my mouth. But I knew better than to fight on this point.
When she left, I could interrogate Griffin. See if this was just a ruse, force him to find another option, to take me back to Violencia. I hadn’t even stepped inside his country yet, and I already knew I would hate it. That if this was any indication, it wouldn’t be much better than where I had come from.
Is nowhere safe? Is the entire world filled with corruption where the evil feasts on the weak?
Will anyone remain intact? Us? Our families?
Our children?
My daughter’s face flickered into my mind and, with it, a deep well of grief.
I was grieving her childhood, which I missed. Time stolen from us. And then she was ripped from me again.
The Priestess’s lips curled upwards, but she wasn’t smiling. “I see you have made your choice.” She brought a hand up to my face, her robe falling back and revealing veiny porcelain skin. Just as her fingertips were to make contact, a hand tugged me back, out of Griffin’s hold and into the group of armed men. One of which was who held the back of my dress. I nearly fought against them, but then his scent wrapped up around me.
Even in the full gear that masked his appearance, the acrid poison was unmistakable and oddly comforting.
Oleks.
I couldn’t see the Priestess any longer, but I heard her sharp bark. “I see. We will leave her in yourcapablehands. But be warned that should another stake a claim on her, she will return to us until theagreementis settled.”
He isn’t lying. He aims for us to truly marry. I can’t do this. It’s too much.
Oleks put a finger to his lips, ducking further down and heading towards another part of the ship, pushing me ahead of him, blocking my figure with his.
We kept going until we entered a different door from before going below deck. Once inside, he took his helmet off, wiping his hair out of his face.
“Finally, it’s just us.” His head moved on a pivot as if he were searching forsomeonebut there was no one else around.
“Oleks?”
“Raven. Listen, we need to talk quickly. Before you are surrounded again.” He reached for me, pulling me into his arms, into a hug. He squeezed me to him.
I was still recovering, not up to my full health, but this time when I woke up I knew that I wasbetter.My stitched up side was no longer pulsating and red; it washealing.
I was healing.
Physically, at least.
“If this is too much. If you need to escape. You just tell me, I will make it happen. You do not need to be in the middle of all of this.” Oleks’s words tickled my ear as he placed them there. “And that woman? Do not let her touch you. She is poison.”
