Ivan.
We still don’t know where he is.
A stab of anxiety torpedoed through me, but I forced it away.
Pushing the sleeve back down, I shrugged a shoulder uncomfortably. “They are.”
Matty opened his mouth again, but a knock came at the door and I took the escape, jumping up from the couch we sat on and running towards it. I didn’t hesitate in whipping it open, but I wish I had.
“Raven, exactly who I wanted to see.” Drago greeted cheerfully, looking over my shoulder at Matty. “I think it’s time you returned to your quarters, it’s getting late and we wouldn’t want anyone getting the wrong impression.”
Turning to Matty, I saw a conflicted expression score his face in tightened lips and a furrowed brow, but he didn’t argue, getting to his feet. “I’ll see you around soon, Raven. It was good catching up.” He inclined his head at Drago before walking back towards the hidden stairs that would take him to the dining hall.
I watched him until he disappeared from view and returned my gaze to Drago.
The King of Grypheem.
“May I help you?” I asked uncomfortably, shifting from foot to foot.
“Yes.” Drago reached forward, grabbing my hand, squeezing it tightly and dragging me out of the door.
I could have easily escaped his hold, but most likely not the consequences of fighting a king.
“Julian said he was coming back soon,” I advised as Drago continued to wrench me along.
We made it down one flight of the winding double helix staircase before exiting. I expected him to take me to a throne room, but instead we made our way to an enclosed patio. Food and drinks lining a large lavish dining table with an entire wall of windows to watch outside as the snow continued to fall. The sun was nearly setting, and I found myself in a trance as the trickling light caught on the flecks of white in the air creating a magnificent prism.
“There isn’t snow in Violencia.” Drago released me before shutting the door behind us. “Your men are preoccupied but I will return you to them soon enough.” He added cryptically, walking across the room to a chair, gesturing for me to take the one directly to his left.
It was just the two of us in this room, and it put me past the point of breaking. I didn’t know this man, didn’t trust him. And just a few days ago he had proclaimed I was pregnant.
But I wasn’t, I couldn’t be. The birth control administered in my Faction days was long-lasting and not easily removable and it hadneverfailed.
I decided the best move was to play this out, to see what Drago wanted with me. Walking swiftly across the floor, I found the chair next to him and leaned as far as I could. Before me was a plate of food and two cups. One was a crystal goblet filled with clear liquid and the other was a mug that smelled of fruit and herbs.
Picking up the mug, I took a better whiff and crinkled my nose.
It smells similarly to the High Priestess.
“Water and tea. Help yourself,” Drago encouraged.
I didn’t, setting the mug back down.
The window was directly behind my seat, and I could feel the cool air creeping through it, but I didn’t care. My eyes were trained on the door, waiting for whatever it was we were here for.
“I need you to understand Raven, this world is different. Women are our most importantpossession, but we must still follow the laws. And Cherished women, Sacred or otherwise, who break them must be sent to the Isles of Sacerdos. There are no exceptions.”
I didn’t understand what he was saying, but then the door was whipped open.
“Please!” A woman was held between two much larger men, she was sobbing. The long white robe she wore was covered in blood on the bottom. “It wasn’t my fault.”
My heart beat like a hummingbird in my chest, soft and quick, fluttering all the way up my throat.
Drago stood. “Silence!”
A man I vaguely recognized came through the door next. He offered a low bow, bending at the hips.
“Troy, please raise. Explain what has happened,” Drago commanded.
