“Fine.” It didn’t matter if the rumors were true and theman was a murderer. The only thing that mattered was that my sister was in danger and I had an opportunity to save her. I would agree to anything if it would make them release Nadia. Then she and I could disappear tonight and never return.
“Take them both into custody, then,” Rahil said, and the arms of the guards tightened around me.
“No! I agreed! Let us go!” I shouted.
“I’m sure you can understand I need to keep you in custody until you hold up your end of the bargain. And she will have to remain in prison for a month for resisting arrest.”
The guards began to drag both of us away, Nadia toward prison and me toward the courthouse.
“I’ll get you out, Nadia!” I shouted after her. “I promise!”
CHAPTER 2
The click of my bridal chamber’s door closing sounded like a coffin being latched shut. The handmaidens left, and I caught sight of myself in the mirror, wondering how long it would be until blood stained my white wedding dress a deep, permanent scarlet.
Don’t think about that, I instructed myself firmly.You won’t die. You marry him, free Nadia, and get out. Nothing more.
To distract myself, I tilted my head, considering my appearance. The handmaidens my future husband had hired to dress me up had done their work well. The gown itself was a masterpiece of silk and silver thread, so soft against my skin that I barely even felt it. Tiny pearls traced my bodice in thin, delicate lines, pale as moonlight, and there were so many heavily jeweled necklaces around my neck that it felt like it would snap. My light brown hair was curled into glossy waves, pinned up with gold combs that were each more valuable than all my personal possessions put together.
There wasn’t much a street rat like me owned, anyway. I could scarcely believe that at this time yesterday, I was stillon the streets with Nadia, scolding her about her sloppy pickpocketing, and today I was marrying the man responsible for my sister’s imprisonment.
There was a faint clanking noise as the guards outside the chamber adjusted their position, and I glared at the door. They had already taken my sister to prison; did Rahil truly think I was so cowardly that I would leave her so I could run free?
My shoulders tensed and I momentarily closed my eyes, but all I could see was Nadia’s terrified face as they had dragged her away at Rahil’s command.
It still didn’t make sense.
No man in his right mind would trade a prisoner’s freedom for a bride. Rahil was richer than any man I knew. If it weren’t for the rumors of his long line of vanished brides, women would have been lining up to marry him. But once Rahil married a woman, no one ever saw or heard from her again. Was that to be my same fate? If so, it would be worth it, as long as Nadia went free.
I gripped the edge of the vanity. Samira, one of the women who occasionally hired me to make potions, had married Rahil two years ago, but then she vanished without a trace. Rahil had had her pronounced dead, but there had been no body to bury and no service had been held. The magistrate claimed it was a drowning while Rahil and Samira were vacationing near Coronis together.
What lies.
Samira had hated the water. She never would have vacationed there.
Rahil had killed her; I was sure of it. I was just as sure that he had killed the four wives previous to Samira, and now, I was to be the next. At least Nadia would be spared from that same fate.
There was another jostling of the guards’ weapons and armor as they adjusted position, and footsteps approached.
“Alia?” Rahil knocked at the door. “The magistrate is ready for us.”
I straightened and held my chin high.
“May I come in?” he asked from behind the door. His voice was a deep, melodious one that could have fooled anyone into believing he was a gentleman.
“You may as well. I clearly can’t stop you from doing anything.”
He turned the handle and entered. For a man in his early forties, he still looked fit and young, but there were the hints of gray streaked through his dark hair. His thick beard, however, was so intensely black that with the sunlight streaming through the window, it looked like the deepest shade of blue.Bluebeard, I kept calling him in my mind.
“Ah, you received my gift.” He reached around me to trail his hand across the necklaces at my throat, and my skin crawled. “They look stunning on you.”
My lips curled into a cold smile. “You chose well. They’re beautiful.”
“Perfect to match their wearer. Are you ready?”
“I don’t have a choice in the matter, do I?”
He looked slightly hurt. “Alia, I know you don’t love me and that we barely know each other, but you needn’t be hostile. As my wife, you’re welcome to anything I own. You don’t have to love me to have a life of comfort.”
