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Chapter19
Ember
“No!” I scream as loud as I can while Conary drags me down a hallway. His hand has a vice grip around my arm, though, so every attempt to pull away from him is useless. “I will not marry him! Let me go!”
“You were so amiable earlier, little bitch. What has changed?”
“I-I changed my mind.” The last thing I need is him suspecting I have another plan. One that will lead to him checking his now-empty pocket and discovering a certain key is missing.
“You don’t get to change your mind.” The double doors ahead are being guarded by two men in white armor, neither of which spare me a glance as they open them.
“Please,” I beg them, my eyes full of tears. “Please don’t let them do this to me.”
Neither spares me a pitied glance nor words of encouragement. My stomach twists with panic, the realization setting in. This is happening. In mere minutes, I will be married to the evilest man I’ve ever met.
The aisle is covered in white rose petals, and the bench seats are full of fae who stare at me. Some look genuinely uncomfortable with my clear-panic; others simply stare forward, stone-faced. Taranus stands at the end of the aisle, wearing white armor with golden plates, a shimmering crown atop his hair.
“No! I’m not doing this!” I scream again, kicking my feet out and yanking as hard as I can. Pain stings my arm where Conary still holds it; it burns my shoulder as I all but rip it free of the socket. “No! I don’t want this! I refuse!”
“Shut her up,” Taranus orders.
I’m expecting Conary to slap me, but when he simply delivers me to the aisle and leaves, I try to run—only to find myself frozen in place. Lloren glares at me while magic swirls around her fingertips from where she stands directly behind Taranus.
I open my mouth to scream. Nothing comes out. Not a sound, a single uttered plea. Nothing. He’s silenced me and taken away any chance I have at protesting.
Tears slip down my cheeks, flowing freely as a man wearing white robes steps forward. “It is my pleasure today to join together Taranus, King of the Fae, and Ember of Austin. She is a human, yes, but a human of prophecy. This union will bring about a new era beneath the one true king.”
Silence.
“Do you, King Taranus, vow to keep faithful to your mate?”
Taranus reaches forward and takes my hands into his. The contact is cold. “Always,” he replies, golden eyes glittering with delight as he stares at me.
“Do you vow to shield her with your body, spill the blood of her enemies with your blade?”
“I do on both counts.”
“Ember of Austin, do you vow to keep faithful to your mate?”
Never.“I do.” My eyes widen in shock at the words that sound so much like my own. Until I glance at Lloren and see her open her mouth in preparation for the next answer.
“Do you vow to do all you can to bring heirs into this world so your reign may live on once you’ve both passed into the Veil?”
No!“I do.”
The man in the robes reaches forward and takes Taranus’s right hand, along with my left one. My throat burns with emotion I cannot share even as my tears soak my cheeks and fall to the ground of the altar beneath my feet.
No. This is all wrong. Please, anyone, please save me.
“Hold out your hands,” he orders.
Mine raises without my consent, leveling right beside Taranus’s. A tear slips down my cheek as the man raises a dagger.
Taranus covers my hand with his own, and the man holds the blade up, inches from his.
“It is with great pleasure that I announce this union! May this be the only pain you feel.” He drives it down into Taranus’s—and then my hand.
I want to scream at the agony of having my hand opened by a sharp blade, something I was not prepared for. But no sound comes out.
