“But Your Highness.”
“Everyone out, now! That is an order by your king.”
I didn't dare move from her, not yet.
“As you wish,” the three priests said at once.
They quickly shuffled out, mumbling to one another, and once the door closed and I was sure they were all gone, I pulled the shadows back into me and rolled off her. Throwing my legs over the side of the bed, I hung my head into my open palms.
Anna was right. I couldn't do it. Ihatedwhen my pixies were right.
It wasn’t just the fear in Deirdre’s eyes, but an utter hopelessness that can only come during moments of unfathomable vulnerability. An emotion I knew too well. When I realized my mother was never coming to get me from the Dryad Realm, my world shattered. I would not inflict that same pain on my wife, no matter how much she hated me.
The bed shifted and when I glanced over my shoulder, Deirdre had the blanket pulled up to her neck, covering everything but her face and wavy hair.
“I don't understand,” she said, wiping away tears with the back of her hand. The drops splashed over the rose rune.
How could I explain this to her?
How was I going to explain this to the priests?
There would be consequences for not consummating the marriage. No one could hurt me, but Deirdre would be a target. If the court found out, they would scheme and plot for her removal.
Fear replaced the anger in her widened gaze as she gripped the blanket.
“Did I do something wrong?” Her question came out between broken gasps. “Why did you stop? Is it because……”
Why would she think this was her fault?
She shook her head, shoulders sinking. “They were right. The villagers, the girls. They were all right.”
Seeing her unsettled, I shifted on the bed so I faced her. “What are you talking about?”
Her chest heaved, and she breathed heavily, too many tears trailing down her face.
“When you didn’t show when I came of age. They said it was because I was ugly. That the King of the Fae could never marry someone like me.”
A sob broke out as if some deep emotional burden had burst forth.
“Listen well, little thorn,” I said, softening my tone. “I stopped for my own reasons, and it wasn’t because of how you look.”
Her lips parted, as if she meant to say something more, but she nodded once and looked away, blinking fast to hold back another wave of tears.
Needing to break the intensity of the moment, I glanced at the door.
“I'll bring you back to your chambers,” I finally said, needing to think without her in the room. “But you can't leave. No one can know that you didn't stay here the whole night.”
She sat up straighter.
“But…” She paused as if she finally understood what I was doing. “Won’t they know we didn’t…?” Her gaze went to the bed.
I knew what she hinted at. “I'll take care of it.”
“With another female?”
I scoffed and went to the door to lock it. I didn’t want to risk the priests attempting to come back in. “No, of course not. Would you like to return to your room, or shall we sit here and debate how I'm going to lie to my entire priesthood?”
Her bottom lip trembled. “Go back to my room.”
