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Hours later, I sighed heavily as I glanced up, my brain unable to retain any more information. I pulled the blanket closer around my shoulders, clasping to the warmth it brought. The sun started peeping through the frosted window, melting the ice on the glass. We must have been traveling more inland, away from the freezing borders of the shield. We were passing by more varying degrees of Advenian-made vegetation.
The door to my compartment shifted open, making me jump. My head slammed against the glass as I looked up and saw the Prince was standing in the frame.
He closed the door behind him and silently took the seat across from me. He couldn’t stop talking to me before I was picked, and now that I was going to be his wife, the silence was infuriating. I didn’t know what he was thinking. Did he know that I was the girl who fell on him before the banquet? Did he even remember?
He started to examine the raw zeroes that were now forever burned into each of my wrists. The blanket slid off my shoulders as he took my hands in his, completely engulfing mine. I tried not to wince as his fingers inspected the burns. It took every ounce of self-control I had to not pull them away.
I looked down at my wrists. The Prince turned my hands over so that my palms were facing up. The burn on my right was far worse than my left. Angry, red, raw flesh stared back at me. It was missing skin and was still bleeding around the raised zero. I couldn’t help but notice the five branded into his left, completely healed and forcing me into self-consciousness. The male that branded me did a good job planting self-doubt into me yet again.
Fury about this whole situation started boiling through me. Rage and frustration about being ripped from my home, about my family being burned alive. About my counselor not believing me when I pleaded with her as a child. How after I joined LakeWood, I was denied seeing her again when I asked for her. The way I was treated by everyone in Tennebris because they thought I was a nix. How all nixes were treated. And now, as if it was some cruel, sick joke, I would be forced to become the Dark Prince’s bride when there had never been a rank zero Queen before. So why me? Why now?
“He shouldn’t have done that,” he finally spoke. His voice was low and rough. He noted my confusion and added, “Burned both of your wrists. We questioned him after the ceremony. It wasn’t until I used compulsion on him that we found out his ulterior motives for hurting you were because of me. I’m sorry.”
I studied him for a moment, trying to process this newfound kindness from him as he smeared healing ointment over my wrists. Pity. He was only doing this out of pity. Not because I was going to be his future bride. Not because he cared. I’d seen the disgusted look on his face when my name was announced. I tried to pull my wrists away, but his grip on me only tightened.
“What were his reasons?” I asked.
He stopped bandaging my wrists for just a moment to meet my gaze. “His son was one of the males I fought during the tournament. Apparently, he suffered greatly on my behalf and hasn’t recovered yet. I broke his femur. He won’t be able to walk right again. He lost his position as a guard, and once he recovers, he will become a servant for the remainder of his life. That’s why he did that to you, vengeance for his son.” He started to bandage my wrists again, but his voice was laced with a cold sorrow he couldn’t hide.
“I don’t understand. Why won’t he be able to walk again? Lux has healers. I thought they used them after the fight?”
“They do have healers, but Tennebris refuses to use their services for the King’s Tournament. They claim it is a sacrifice you have to make if you want to compete. You must accept whatever outcome you get.”
“Why isn’t that talked about?”
“It’s not meant to be public knowledge. It’s a tactic to wean out some of the men. A ruler shouldn’t back down out of fear and he should be willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good of the Kingdom. There were a few males who dropped out once the document was in front of them. It’s also a custom that has continued from when they held the King’s Tournament on Allium. It’s been around since the first ever tournament. Tennebris likes to keep with their traditions.”
“But you were stabbed.”
“Still healing.” His lips formed a taut line as he lifted up the bottom of his shirt and revealed his abdomen. “Luckily, the King didn’t hit any vital organs. I just needed a few stitches.”
A few stitches seemed like an understatement. The white linen wrapped around his stomach was stained red from blood that had seeped through the fabric. The small amount of skin exposed through the wrap was bruised so heavily it was pure black. But it explained why they never healed the cuts and bruises on his face.
He noticed my prolonged, wide-eyed gaze, and pulled his shirt back down to resume examining my damaged wrists.
We sat in silence as he continued to work. I didn’t know what to say. I never knew that was the sacrifice for the tournament; that healers weren’t allowed afterward. A shudder ran through me, thinking back to some of the horrific injuries I’d read about in past tournaments.
Pressure pulsed through the wrist he was bandaging, and I flinched.
“Sorry, are you okay?” he asked, bringing me back to the moment.
“Yes,” I replied softly. Heat rose to my cheeks. It was foolish how trivial my wounds were compared to his many. He was still injured and far worse than I was. His wound made my burns seem like nothing. Yet, he was here taking care of me.
“Thank you,” I said once both my wrists were wrapped in fresh, white cloth.
“Don’t thank me when it’s my fault.” There was something in his voice that had me leaning closer.
“It’s not your fault,” I gulped, aware of every inch of his body and how close he now was to me. He gave me a defeated look, so I added, “You didn’t make him burn both of my wrists. And besides, everyone gets branded.”
“I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.” He leaned forward, whispering in my ear. Our lips were a breath apart.
Slowly, he trailed his hands up my arms, causing the hairs on my arms to raise. His rough calluses scraped against my skin as they moved higher and higher. His one hand glided over my collar bone before wrapping his fingers around the base of my neck, and pulled.
I leaned forward so slightly as a small gasp of air escaped my parted lips. He didn’t miss it. His lips formed a half-smile as my body reacted to his. I stilled, waiting for what he would do next.
Black eyes bored into me, his gaze unwavering and full of longing. My own blue eyes traveled down to his soft, full lips as I leaned closer and closer. I wanted to know what it felt like to kiss someone. To kisshim, which was crazy. He was a stranger to me, and one that had ignored me almost as long as I’d known him.
Any rational thought I had left me as I gave into the pure desire of him. I took in his scent, his broad posture, the feel of his hands around my neck. My core tightened in anticipation. I wanted this. I wanted him.
