“I can’t very well have you stabbing me in my sleep, can I? Especially not on our wedding night. What would people say?” Caiden looks so alert that I wonder if he was faking sleep the whole time.
“You were out late,” I accuse.
“If I’d known you were waiting for me, I’d have come sooner.”
“You know I wasn’t.” I sit back on my knees, not wanting to go any closer to him.
“Then you have no business worrying about my time of arrival.”
“Other than the fact that you want us to play the roles in this farce of a marriage.”
He leaves the bed, then walks over to where I’m sitting. “You and I both know this isn’t a farce. We were married in the eyes of the gods, and one day you will learn your place.”
I’m suddenly overly aware I’m on my knees in front of him. It’s a position I never would have taken willingly for this man.
He grins, looking down at me as if he’s had the same realization. “Or maybe you already have.”
His hand grips my chin, lifting my face. I knock his arm away, but shadows wrap around me, pinning my arms to my sides. I refuse to fight him. I know he’ll only enjoy that. He grabs my chin again and I close my eyes.
“Open your fucking eyes.” His fingers dig into my jaw.
I obey only so I can get this over with faster. “This isn’t how you win me over.”
“I don’t need to win you over,Taylan.” He spits my name out like it’s a curse.
My real name on his lips is like a knife going through my chest. I never want to hear him use it again. It’s too personal. It makes things between us too real. I glare at him.
“I only need you to see how much of a mistake you made by giving yourself to my enforcer.” He leans down so his face is closer to mine, and he studies me for several long seconds. The smile that forms on his lips is almost manic. “You think you know him. That he’s someone worth saving. That there’s a good person deep, deep down below that rough exterior.”
“It doesn’t matter what I think of him. He has nothing to do with how much I hate you,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Aw, but it does. Because there’s a part of you waiting for him to save you, isn’t there?”
“I don’t need saving.”
He lifts a brow. “No?”
I let his taunt hang in the air between us, willing his shadows to dissipate. He releases my jaw, then strokes my cheek, his fingers trailing along my skin to my neck.
His hand closes around my throat enough to make my eyes widen. He doesn’t cut off my airway, but it’s tight enough to serve as a clear warning. “You belong to me now. And if you so much as step one toe out of line, I will not only kill all yourladies, but I’ll also end Brevan’s life and that of his sister. You will play your role. You will smile and laugh and be the life of the fucking party. Because if you don’t, I will take everything from you, and I’ll make you watch while I do it.”
“I can’t wait to watch the light leave your eyes,” I hiss.
He squeezes hard enough that my breathing strains. “That’s the best part, my little raven. If you kill me, or you kill yourself, it triggers the end of everything. So, you can’t sacrifice either of us for your delusions. There is no winning for you. No way out. This is your life now. What you make of it is your choice, but you are mine. And you will always be mine.”
He releases his grip and his shadows all at once, and I collapse forward, forehead against the floor, gulping for air. Something dark and dangerous slithers through my veins but instead of fear, all I feel is anger. Caiden thinks he’s won, but I know this is the beginning of his end. I don’t know how it’s going to happen, but I can feel it in my bones.
I’m smiling when I sit up. I can already imagine how he’ll look as a corpse.
“That’s better.” He strokes my cheek. “You’re so much more beautiful when you smile.”
He walks to the door and I hear him sending someone to get us breakfast. I take the opportunity to shut myself in the bathing chamber. I don’t care how I get this dress off me, but it has to leave my body right now. Tearing at fabric and pulling on ties and laces, I manage to get the bodice off, then twist it around my waist so I can undo the back and step out of it.
Thankfully, there’s a robe I can slip on. After splashing cold water on my face and running my fingers through my hair, Ileave the bathing chamber. Caiden is in fresh clothes but before he can say anything, there’s a knock on the door.
“Come in,” he calls.
Servants enter with trays of food. They set it up on the small table near the windows. I notice a few glances at me, but eyes quickly dart away. I suppose I look the part Caiden wanted me to play. Torn dress abandoned on the floor in the bathing chamber, me in nothing but a robe. It paints a pretty picture of exactly how a wedding night is expected to go.
