The look in his eyes hardened. He flexed his jaw, grabbing my arm. “Oh, I’ll leave, Khala. I can’t wait to leave this wet, cold, gods-forsaken swamp. But I’m not leaving without you.”
“I’m not coming with you.” I jerked on my arm in a futile attempt to free it.
“You’re my wife,” he snapped with a scowl.
I shook my head with a short, humorless laugh. “I never agreed to be your wife. I wasn’t even present during the wedding ceremony you orchestrated. I never said yes to anything you did to me. In fact, I’ve been saying no for many years. But of course the word ‘no’ never meant anything to you.”
He curled his lips in disdain.
“The decade of widowhood has not been good for you, Khala. Look what you’ve become without the firm hand of male guidance. Without me, you’ll die alone as an old, obstinate shrew.”
The years of widowhood have given me a chance to learn who I was as a person and what kind of future I wished to have. Now I knew with certainty I didn’t want a man like Reizon, and I absolutely didn’t need his “male guidance.”
“You don’t love me, Reizon. You don’t care about me. You don’t even know me at all. All I am for you is just a stepping stone on the way to the Crown of Avilet.”
He jerked his head, tossing a glance at his guards over his shoulder.
“Leave us!” he barked, gesturing for them to go, and my heart sank with dread.
As intolerable as Reizon was with me in public, he became outright dangerous in private. Sending his guards away meant he was planning to do things to me he didn’t want to have witnesses for.
“Reizon…” I pleaded. “Please, leave the Wetlands. Go back to your estate. Be the duke you were born to be. Your plan for the crown will never work, anyway. The Avilet Kingdom already has a king.”
“An old, feeble, and dying one,” he scoffed.
“But he has a healthy legitimate heir.”
“Who is about to get married and probably have children who then would move your place in the succession line further away from the throne,” he retorted. “Khala, you have to realize that my chance to act is now. I’ve planned this for many years. Everything is ready to move ahead. And here I am, wasting my time in this gods-forsaken shit hole because you decided to play hide-and-seek on a whim.”
“You hurt me,” I squeezed through my throat.
The painful memories of his rough hands holding me down and his hard knee forcing my legs open rushed through my mind with a dizzying sensation.
“I simply consummated our marriage.” He brushed my words aside with a sweeping gesture. “I did what I had to do for our union to become legitimate. You fail to understand the importance of it, Khala. You fight me at every step, making everything that much more difficult. You have to realize that your resistance only makes things worse for you as well. I can’t deal with your childish outbursts. I have far more important things to accomplish, and I’m running out of time. The crown prince is getting married. If his bride is more fertile than you, thenext royal heir will be born soon, and I’ll have that many more obstacles to overcome.”
“You mean more people to kill,” I corrected gravely.
He gave me an unimpressed look. “It’s not like you care about your uncle or your cousin.”
I’d hardly spoken to either the king or the crown prince. After the king had approved my marriage match thirteen years ago, I hadn’t even seen him. But I wasn’t going to assist Reizon in their murder.
“You’ll never be the king, Reizon. I sent a letter to King Belin right after Roland’s funeral, warning him about your plans.”
His face paled.
“You did no such thing,” he gasped.
“Oh yes, I did. And I know he received it, because I got his reply thanking me for my loyalty just before you dragged me out of the High Lord’s estate.”
He grabbed my throat, losing all his decorum.
“You’re lying. Vengeful little witch.”
Fear exploded through me like a dark cloud, but I gripped his hand and squeezed through my teeth, “The king’s letter is in my silver jewelry box. This sham of a marriage was for nothing. No matter what you do to me now, you’ll never be the king.”
He drew his sword.
“You stupid wench. I would’ve made you the queen. I would’ve given you a life of luxury, power, and splendor.”
