Braze didn’t move until Kaitlyn gave a slight tug on the leash.
“You may accept it,” she murmured, since he seemed to be silently asking permission.
The big Kindred rose and stepped forward, allowing the Empress to lift the medallion and place it around his neck. It settled beside his leather collar—a symbol of honor against the symbol of bondage.
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” he rumbled, his voice perfectly respectful, but Kaitlyn could hear the underlying stiffness. It seemed to her that her Protector didn’t like submitting to the Empress. Maybe he only wanted to submit to her—to Kaitlyn. Could that be true?
“You are most welcome,” Shatezarra said, her fingers lingering on the medal, then trailing down to brush the leather of his collar. “You know, I need males like you. Loyal. Fierce. Effective. My own guards proved useless in the crisis last night.”
Her amethyst eyes lifted to Kaitlyn’s, sharp and calculating.
“So, I have a proposal. I am prepared to grant your request. You may take a cutting of the sacred Love Vine back to the Kindred Mother Ship.”
Hope leaped in Kaitlyn’s chest, swift and bright.
“Oh, thank you, Your M—” she began
“On one condition,” the Empress interrupted, her smile turning razor-thin. “You leave this magnificent creature here with me. To serve as my personal guard. And, of course, as my concubine.”
The words landed like a physical blow. A wave of pure, possessive fury swept through Kaitlyn so violently she actually saw a red haze at the edges of her vision.
Her fingers clenched around the leash handle, the braided leather biting into her palm.
Mine. He is MINE. And fuck you if you think I’d ever give him to you!
But of course she couldn’t say such things out loud. She bit down hard on the inside of her cheek until she tasted the sharp, copper tang of blood.
One. Two. Three… She counted, forcing air into her lungs, clinging to all her training and experience in diplomacy like it was a lifeline.
By the time she reached ten, she could speak, though her voice was tighter than usual.
“Your Majesty is most generous. However, I fear I cannot possibly give you my husband.”
A ripple of surprise went through the court. Anyone telling the Empress ‘no’ was clearly a rare event.
The Empress’s pleasant expression froze.
“Cannot? Or will not?”
“Cannot,” Kaitlyn repeated firmly, lifting her chin. “You see, Braze is Bound to me by a special Kindred Soul-Bond. It is a connection that goes beyond marriage. Because he is Soul-bound to me, he cannot form a true attachment to any other female. The bond is unbreakable, except by death.”
Shatezarra’s eyes narrowed and the concubine at her feet shrank back slightly, a look of fear crossing his face.
“Is that so?” she mused, her tone dangerously soft. “So the only way to have him is to break this ‘Soul-Bond’ by killing you?”
A low, warning growl vibrated through the air. Braze’s head snapped up. His golden eyes were no longer gold—they were bleeding to a deep, furious crimson as Rage overtook him. The growl deepened into a snarl—raw and bestial—his lips pulling back from his sharp white teeth.
The leash went taut as iron in Kaitlyn’s hand as he took an involuntary step forward. The Court gasped and several guards reached for their weapons.
“Braze,” Kaitlyn said, her command slicing through the tension. She pulled firmly on the leash. “Peace.” It took immense effort, but at last her Protector subsided, though the red Rage still smoldered in his eyes, fixed on the Empress.
Kaitlyn turned back to Shatezarra, her own fear buried under a layer of icy calm.
“No, Your Majesty. That wouldn’t work either.” She couldn’t believe the woman was discussing her murder so casually, but she was determined to keep calm. “You see, a Kindred male will almost always die when his wife does. The Soul-Bond drags him down into death with her. It’s a physiological reaction. So if you tried to kill me…” She shrugged. “You would lose him too. You’d get nothing but two corpses.”
She sent a silent thank you to her friend, Kat, back on the Mother Ship, who had explained the tragic tales of widowed Kindred to her. That little piece of knowledge might save her life!
The Empress stared at her for a long, tense moment, her lower lip jutting out in a childish pout.
