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He gives me a stern look just as a small pale woman walks up. She’s a few inches shorter than me, maybe just under five feet tall, and has curly black hair down to her waist.
“Is she my charge?” the woman asks, sounding disgusted.
“Yes. This is Lake Norfolk. Please have her bathed and clothed for supper.”
“You’re not actually asking me to care for this thing, are you?” the woman sneers, her dark eyes raking over me.
“You will do as you are told, or I will snap your neck.”
The woman bows her head in compliance. “Yes, my king.”
The exchange was eerily like the one I witnessed between Alwar and Tiago. Order given. Push back. Threat of punishment. Acquiesce.
I take note. Maybe this back-and-forth is customary. I wouldn’t be surprised, given their objections to civility and politeness.
“I will see you soon, Lake Norfolk. And we will continue your education.” Benicio takes my hand and once again licks my knuckles, tasting me.
I hold back my discomfort, watching his quivering lips slide over my skin. I don’t know why, but I can’t pull my hand away. I can’t stop looking either. There’s just something about him that’s hypnotic, fascinating even.
Benicio drops my hand and walks away. I can’t take my eyes off his wide muscled back, covered in moving symbols, until he turns the corner.
“He will not have sex with you,” says the woman.
“Sorry?”
“Sorry is not a word you should ever use in this land. It is like asking a person to remove your head.”
“Thank you for the advice, but what did you mean about—”
“Thank you is also ill-advised, especially coming from someone as weak and pathetic as you.”
Of course it is. Politeness. Civility. Kindness. Bad.
“What the hell did you mean about sex?” I say, sounding as firm as I can. I have to learn to speak their language.
“Better.” She smiles. “I meant that if you wish the Blood King to fuck you, it will not happen.”
“What makes you think I want that?”
“I am no fool. I see the look in your stupid human eyes. And he will not take you even if you beg. Otherwise, it will be a vow broken.”
I put the pieces together. She means the king has promised not to…have sex with me? “I just met him today. He hasn’t made me any promises—not that I want him.” I don’t. Not really. He’s…terrifying. Just like everything else in this land.
“Not a promise to you, you fool.”
“Then who?”
“You are Norfolk. It is forbidden for anyone from our lands to bed you. Your bloodline must remain human. Pure. It is part of the Proxy Vow. It has been written.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Nine years earlier.
I’m going to confront him tonight. I have to. Not because I’m desperate or needy, but because I love him, and I know he loves me, too. The only thing I don’t understand is why he keeps pushing me away. I see how he looks at me.
I admit, when I was younger, my crush was probably a nuisance. “Hey, Bard. What are you working on?”
His upper torso would be hidden beneath his truck or a tractor, and I would pester him until he’d slide out and show me those shockingly blue eyes.
“Lake, I’m busy,” he’d say curtly. “What do you want?”
I’d give him some excuse about being bored, and he’d tell me to bounce. Honestly, I think it makes me love him more. He never once looked at me inappropriately or gave me the time of day when I was young and hormonal, fawning over him—a man who was much too old for me. Twenty-two years older, to be precise.
When I went off to college, he hardly said a word, and it broke my heart. I knew he cared about me. Just not like that, I guessed.
Then, last Christmas, everything changed.
I was home for the holidays. A freshman in college. A grown woman of nineteen. I brought Dave, my first real boyfriend, home to meet Grandma Rain. She was horrible to him, just like she is with everyone she meets, so that was no surprise. But Bard acted differently right off the bat.
The look of fury on his face when he saw Dave left me speechless. He was jealous, and he was letting me know.
Bard avoided me and Dave, and then he left. Bard always leaves the estate for Christmas. Where does he go? I used to assume he went to see family, but Grandma said that wasn’t it. Not even she knows where he goes for those three days every year.
Now I’m back. Alone. It’s spring break. Dave went to his parents’ house. What Bard doesn’t know is that I’ve been holding off with Dave. Something in my heart just won’t let me sleep with him. Not yet. Not until I know for sure where things stand with Bard. Does he or doesn’t he want me?
