“My king, I’m sure these rooms are beautiful, but I would prefer to be closer to Eleanor.” I despised being separated. In a building so large and heading to opposite ends, we would be very separate.
“Your sister is quite safe within my castle. You need not worry.”
“I understand that, but I would feel much better with her close by. She can even stay with me.”
Terym spun around, the barely concealed rage splashed across his features stunning me into silence. His cold blue eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched. He had never directed that expression at me before.
“Do not question me, Adelia.”
I swallowed thickly and inclined my head, now wasn’t the time to make this argument. I could try again later. “Of course, my king.”
He started down the hall again, and I followed, barely taking in the beautifully decorated halls as we got farther and farther from Eleanor.
The castle was a maze of corridors. I wouldn’t be able to find my way back to the entrance hall, let alone wherever the Raven Wing was. I would have to enlist Wista’s help to keep an eye on Eleanor andHarkin. It seemed a little too convenient that he found himself on the same floor as my sister.
Ahead of us, Wista waited in front of two white doors beautifully decorated with intricately painted small golden birds. Some were mid-flight while others perched on delicate branches with equally delicate gold leaves. A plaque fixed to the wall beside the doors readDove Suitein elegant script.
She opened the doors at our approach, and Terym glided through without acknowledging her. I shuffled behind him, flashing her a tight smile as I passed. We entered a small foyer, a circular room opening into a large sitting room, bigger than the entirety of Port’s Tavern, with those delicate golden birds spotted sporadically along the crisp white walls. To the right, sat a table large enough to fit ten, and to the left, several gold chaise lounges circled a luxurious white rug.
I walked in on a daze, the back wall beckoning me closer. Made entirely of stained-glass windows, the center panel featureda beautiful red-haired woman, a color contrasting vibrantly against her deep-green dress, her face ethereal in her beauty, eyes closed as if in immense pleasure.
More golden birds dotted the glass, and every one decorating the walls flew in the direction of the window, flocking to the beautiful woman as if she entranced them with her presence alone.
I hovered my fingers over the birds perched on her outstretched arms. Sunlight streaked through the panes, reflecting dancing colors along the white walls. Making it clear why white was chosen; any other color and you would lose the beauty of the reflections.
“Leave us.” Terym’s command pulled me out of my admiration of the exquisite room. Three women, along with Wista, filed out the door, all of them dressed in neat blue uniforms. My pulse beat an erratic rhythm, and I counted to ten in my head. Did he finally want to discuss his plans for me?
The king joined me beside the window and nodded to the beautiful woman. “Ammoraelis, Goddess of Earth.”
I internally cringed away from the Giver of Love. She was the last thing I needed right now, not with my insane attraction to a mysteriously intriguing man currently residing in the humming lamp in my right pocket. To the king, I said, “She’s beautiful. It’s all beautiful.”
He hummed, gazing out the window to the manicured garden beyond, the flower beds set in a design of swirls and shapes. Men plotted between them, trimming hedges or pulling weeds, with some even picking the last of summer’s lingering fruit.
“There is something I wish to discuss with you.” He motioned to the closest lounge, and we settled onto it. He was close, far too close.
I shifted away from the heat radiating off his body. The sour scent of stale pipe smoke tickled my nose, and I tried not tosneeze. Terym pulled my hands into his, rubbing the inside of my wrist with his thumb. The unwanted touch soured my stomach.
“As I’m sure you know, I was married once, to my dear Jade. She fell ill several years ago, a terrible sickness that weakened her body until it eventually gave out.” His unreadable face settled on mine, and sweat gathered in our joined hands.Where was he going with this?“My greatest regret is that she could not provide me with an heir before Mobitus took her.”
If he noticed the way my body stiffened at his words, he didn’t show it. “Enough time has passed now that it is appropriate for me to remarry.” The gossipmongers were right after all, King Terym was indeed searching for a new bride. “Finding a suitable wife is important, as I still need an heir.”
My pulse throbbed loudly while my heart drummed against my ribs. He couldn’t mean …
“You are of ideal child-bearing age—”
“I’m not. I’m twenty-five.” And I refused to have a child. Not when my responsibilities were wrapped up in caring for my sister.
His grasp on my hands tightened, and he bit out through clenched teeth. “Do. Not. Interrupt me.”
My shallow breaths quickened and my body trembled. I was barely able to hear his words when he continued, “You control the power of the lamp. You command my new army. And youwillhave my heir.”
I ripped my hands from his, standing to put distance between us as hot tears stung my eyes. I had been trying to play this carefully, to give him what he wanted while I found a way out. For me. For Eleanor. But he had been making plans of his own. Plans that would tie me to him forever.
No. Notme.The lamp. Shade and the wishes he could grant. That was all Terym wanted, forcing me to have his heir was just a benefit of securing them.
“If I bear your heir, I won’t be a virgin, you won’t be able to make your wishes.” At least, that was a stipulation Shade spoke of when he was first released.
She who has remained true to the Giver’s virtue.
