Mr Fucking Bastard.
Finally finding the strength to speak, I rasp, “Move.”
“I’m sorry, Arienna, but I have –”
Jace’s fist slams into her throat, trapping her air like she has trapped mine. He kicks Irin in the chest before she can call on her magic. The witch slams back against the wall, then drops to her knees on a moan. Grabbing her head, he snaps her neck, then goes back to do the same to Marrabel.
I stare at him in shock. “Did you kill –”
“I knocked them out. Our bodies can heal broken bones as long as they’re reset.” Still holding Marrabel’s head, he twists it back around. “They’ll be up in a couple hours.” He moves to Irin, fixes her, then stands and opens the door to the Council Room.
He bows his head. “Your Majesty.”
Working my mouth, I stare at the two broken women, my legs shaking, my heart racing.
“She is not to come in,” my king says, slapping me out of my shock. As he starts to push his chair back, I hurry inside.
“Jace,” he snaps, standing fully now.
“Sorry, Your Majesty,” Jace says without a hint of an apology in his tone, “but guards aren’t allowed in there.” As the door slams shut, my king’s eyes narrow on me.
“Do not make me throw you out myself,” he warns.
Ignoring the agony clawing at my throat, I turn to the Court. “Has the annulment been granted?”Please say no. Please say no. Please say –
“No, Your Majesty,” Dragon Petre says. “You interrupted the vote.”
A tiny,tinybit of the pain inside me is soothed. But there is still a hel of a lot more choking me inside.
“Then I still have every right to be here.” Hoping that’s right, I head for the table.
Richard grabs my arm as I near his chair, his fingers digging tightly into my skin. Ducking his head to my ear, he growls, “You don’t know what you’re doing.”
“No,youdon’t know what you’re doing.” Pulling back on his fingers, I try to get him to release me, but his damn hand doesn’t budge.
He speaks even softer, so softly I have to strain to hear him despite his lips brushing against me. “I promise I will explain everything after, but you need to leave.Now.”
“No.”
“Arienna.”
Ignoring him, I turn to the Court. “What’s the reason for the annulment?” I ask, remembering that’s what he asks all the nobles when they come to him seeking a divorce. I am completely out of my element, grasping at the little bits of Razian culture I’ve picked up on the last few weeks.
“You married under duress,” Petre says. “A marriage is not recognised without the agreement of every party.”
“I agreed,” I say strongly. “I wanted to marry him.”
“Did you take more than ten seconds to say ‘yes’?” she asks, her words, her smile – everything about her making me shiver.
“I… I didn’t count.”
“I did,” Richard says. I glance at him, wondering if he’s lying. “I blackmailed her into marrying me, telling her I’d make her death quick. I also lied about her trying to enter the portal to Earth so she’d get the death penalty.”
“He’s lying,” I say desperately, trying to step forwards but unable to move with his grip on my arm.
Petre looks at me. “No, he’s not.”
I stare at him in horror and disbelief. He holds my gaze with a coldness that scares me. This isn’t the man I married, the one I’ve come to know these past three weeks. This one is cruel and indifferent.
