Page 82 of Pretty Savage: Defy

Carrson smiles. “Sorry to tell you, but you failed. You look like the most beautiful queen ever to rule over this house.”

He holds out one hand, his fingers loosely closed around something that glitters between them. “I want to make one small adjustment. If you’ll let me.”

“Okay.” I crane my neck, trying to see what he’s holding, but he chuckles and hides it behind his back.

“Take off your necklace.”

Carrson steps behind my chair. I tense, worried he’ll see the brand. The dress covers most of it, and I concealed the small section above the neckline with makeup, but Carrson notices everything when it comes to me. I reach back to remove the heavy Ashford necklace, clustered with emeralds and sapphires and rubies.

His fingers work quickly, replacing it with a delicate gold chain he fastens at the back of my neck. Once he’s done, a small charm rests at the base of my throat.

I lean toward the mirror and read the letters backward in the reflection. It takes me a second to decipher them.

“Mine?” I twist to face him. “You bought me a necklace that says mine?” My hand goes to the clasp. “I can’t wear this.”

Carrson catches my wrists before I can remove it. I lower my arms, and he circles around to kneel in front of me.

“Please.” His expression is earnest. “I’m asking you to keep it on. Not as ownership. As a promise from me to you.”

“But how can anyone see this as anything other than ownership?”

“They can’t.” Carrson remains kneeling in front of me, his hands resting loosely around my wrists. “That’s the point.”

I pull my hands free. “You’re not helping your case.”

“Laurel, everyone downstairs understands one language. Power. They’ll see this and know you’re under my protection.”

“Your protection or your control?”

He pulls back, eyebrows slashing down. “I’m not trying to control you.”

“You’re deciding how thousands of people should see me before I’ve said a word to them.”

“I’m deciding how afraid they should be to touch you.”

The words make me pause, but only briefly.

“You don’t get to turn me into a possession because you’re scared.”

“I’m not turning you into anything.” He takes the pendant between his fingers, holding it away from my skin so I can see the small gold letters. “I know you aren’t mine like a house or a car or any other thing a man can own. But the people downstairs don’t think the way you do. They see an outsider wearing Ashford jewelry and standing beside the future leader of The Order. Some of them will want to test what that means.”

“This answers the question for them?”

“Yes.”

The surety in his voice makes irritation rise through me like a tidal wave.

“So I’m supposed to walk into that ballroom with your claim hanging around my neck and let everyone believe I belong to you?”

“You’re supposed to walk into that room knowing no one will risk dragging you into a corner and stabbing a knife into your back.”

“You’re being overdramatic.”

“I’m not.” His fist closes around the charm. “They don’t have to respect you yet. They only have to fear what I’ll do if they don’t.”

A chill passes through me, raising the hairs on the backs of my arms.

“That isn’t respect.”