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SCOTLIND
I didn’t realizeI’d fallen asleep early until I heard a knock on the door.
“Come in,” I yawned as I stretched my arms over my head. Abherham strode into my room with Kole behind him. Dread crept up inside me as I knew what Abherham was going to say.
“Have a good night, milady.” He bowed deeply. “I am off shift now. I will see you at five.”
I wanted to beg him to stay but instead said, “Have a good night, Abherham.” I could do nothing as he walked out the door, leaving me alone with Kole.
Kole waited until the door shut behind him before strolling over to an empty chair adjacent to the bed. “Well, well. Look at you, little nix. If I didn’t know better, you might have actually convinced me that you were a higher class. You look like a female for once with all the makeup and gowns.” He looked me up and down slowly, and I pulled my sheets over my chest.
“Go away, Kole,” I snapped.
“I can’t. In case you don’t remember, I will be with youevery single nightfrom now on. So you better get used to me.” I winced at his enunciatedwords like it was a purr on his lips. Like I had forgotten what Synder had said this morning.
“You should ask for a reassignment.”
“Oh? Why would I do that when I get to spend my time watching you sleep, making sure no one hurts you?” He sprung from the chair and lunged toward me. “It would be a shame if someone were to bruise your pretty face.”
I bucked backward, my back slamming against the wooden post of the bed. I revolted at his nearness as he hovered over me. His fingers just grazed my lips as he reached out to touch me.
“Why don’t you do us both a favor, and at least leave my bedroom so we can pretend the other doesn’t exist.”
He laughed, the sound dark and haunting as he walked back to the chair.
“No. I don’t think I will do that either,” he said, leaning back further into the seat, making himself comfortable. “You see, this is my job now, to protect you. So like it or not, I’ll be staying right here.”
“You don’t have to stay in my room, though,” I pleaded. I knew I sounded desperate, and I hated begging, but there was no way I would be able to rest with him here. “You don’t need to watch me sleep. Can’t you at least sit on the chair out in the hall?”
He smiled, showing all his teeth, knowing full well how uncomfortable he was making me. I was thankful that I hadn’t changed into my nightgown yet. Annabel, Roslyn, and Ashley seemed to think a nightgown meant the smallest silk dress—if you could even call it a dress. It barely covered my thighs. The flimsy thing was so thin my nipples peeked through even when I wasn’t cold.
“You think you can order me around now? Do you think you can tell me what to do?” he spat. “Just because you have a title now doesn’t mean anything has changed between us. I am better than you. I’m a rank four, and all you will ever be is a nix with a pretty face. It would be wise for you not to forget your rank. I can make you do whatever I want behind these doors. I could compel you to obey me, then compel you to forget. Or better yet, I could let you remembereverything. Maybe I would just compel you to never speak of it. It could be our little secret.”
Sweat clung to me, dripping into every crevice of my body. He really would compel me. Then what? If I didn’t do as he compelled, Kole would know I had an object of Alluse. It would ruin Sie’s plans. I also didn’t doubt that Kole wouldn’t stop until he found whatever object I possessed and ripped it from my body, then compel me anyway.
My fingers clung around the long clasp, the cold pendant biting into my sweaty palm. I couldn’t part with the necklace. Even if I hated the reason Sie gave it to me, I felt protected for once in my life. I didn’t walk around wondering what someone would force me to do. I had a choice. I didn’t have a choice of my situation, of being Sie’s future wife, but I at least had a choice with my free will.
“My future husband is a rank five. I think it would be wise for you not to forget that,” I said carefully as I pushed off from the bed. I tried to mask my terror as I stalked over to him. I tried to hide any ounce of fear Kole held over me. This felt different than when he messed with me at LakeWood. At school, we were never alone together. Now, there was no buffer, no professor looming over our shoulders.
“Wow,” Kole blew out a breath. “The nix I knew wouldn’t hide behind someone. I never once thought that you would be someone to cower behind a male’s protection. Interesting how a title changes people.” Kole rose from the chair. I didn’t flinch as he towered over me. “You’re pathetic,” he spat before storming out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
His words hit a nerve. He was right. I wasn’t one to hide behind someone. I didn’t want anyone to come to my rescue. I wanted to be competent. I wanted to protect and defend myself.
I locked the door and sprinted under the covers, but as soon as I was lying in the bed, I realized the lock was pointless. I knew it didn’t matter. Kole could turn the lock with his mind by controlling his telekinetic ability.
I didn’t fall asleep.
Three weeks had passedsince I first arrived at the castle. The days started to blur together. To my surprise, I still hadn’t seen Sie since our kiss. Peter informed me that he was engrossed in learning from Lunder. I wondered how that was going for him, having to learn from the male who tried to murder him during the tournament. Although it felt like Lady Applebee wanted to kill me on numerous occasions, he probably was having a worse time than me.
I was kept busy during the day with lesson after lesson. Various instructors were brought in to teach me some trivial knowledge about the Kingdom, the villages, and the rule. It was hard to act like I cared.
The only teacher that remained the same was Lady Applebee, and she hated me.Hated me.Her classes were the longest part of my day, or at least it felt that way. She was all too aware that I would rather be running outside in pants than sitting with a stick taped to my back, sipping tea.
The only part of my day that I looked forward to was the early morning. Not only was it when Abherham replaced Kole, but Peter would wake me up every morning to train.
And he kept true to his word, his training was brutal. I left every morning groaning and limping in pain. My muscles were stiff and sore on the inside, but he was a controlled fighter. My bruises were confined beneath my dresses and never anywhere my skin was exposed.
It felt so good to finally be doing something I was familiar with. Every morning Peter started our session off with a long run. It felt so similar to my days at LakeWood, only now I had an attractive blonde smiling next to me. I was convinced that he never stopped smiling. Even when we were sparring, both drenched in sweat, even when I kicked him in the face, or if I pinned him to the ground, he was smiling.
