What it would cost her.
The morning light played against her skin, lighting her hair, and stealing his breath. It surrounded her like a halo. For a moment, he could almost believe in love.
In the goodness of men.
But it was all a lie and he knew it.
People were savage. They didn’t care about anyone other than themselves.
Ariel wasn’t sure what to say to him. Words seemed so trivial now.
Useless, really.
She saw the war inside him that told him to run and the courage that kept his feet nailed to the floor in front of her. How could a man so incredibly strong and noble be afraid of someone as weak as she was?
Yet there was no denying it.
What had they done to him with their cruelty? He was unable to accept even a moment of peace.
A single act of kindness.
“I regret nothing,” she whispered.
He winced, then met her gaze with a steeled, stoic glare. “I regret it all.”
Those words stung her like a slap across her face.
Ariel started to respond when the door crashed open behind him.
She stepped back with a gasp at the same time Valteri turned toward her brother with a murderous growl.
“Do my eyes deceive me?” Belial arched a brow at them. His gaze went from Valteri to her and back again.
He curled his lips into a sneer. “What hoary game be this? The benefactor demanding his tribute?”
She recoiled again at the insult.
Valteri grabbed him by the throat, then kicked the door closed. “Are you trying to ruin your sister’s reputation?”
Belial raked her with a look of utter contempt as he struggled to remove Valteri’s hand from his throat. “How could you?”
Ariel lifted her chin against her brother’s scathing glare and refused to shirk. “’Tis no concern of yours.”
She refused to make any apologies to anyone.
Especially her brother.
Valteri shoved her brother against the wall, his entire body tense. “You will lower your voice,” he growled so low that his tone came out like thunder. “And if you ever lay hand to her, I will tear the offending member from your body and beat you with it. Understood?” The sneer on his lips was as unrepentant as she was.
Belial narrowed his gaze. “I demand restitution. You’ve made a whore of my sister and I will not stand for her to be mocked for your wanton lust.”
A shadow darkened Valteri’s eyes as he released her brother. He looked at her and she saw all the sadness that burned inside him.
Her chest tightened in fear that he’d abandon her to this scandal.
Instead, he nodded. “I’ll have a marriage contract drawn up anon.”
Shock poured over her as she looked from Valteri’s stoic face to Belial’s smug satisfaction.Don’t sound so enthusiastic about it.
