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He smiled at the look on my face. I could only imagine what he must see. Despite all my hatred toward him—despite how deeply I wanted to look strong—I was still afraid. He had my family. He had me.
I would fight my damndest against him, but deep down I knew it would be next to impossible for me to beat him.
I had no weapons.
I had no help from Kalen this time.
I had nothing and no one but me.
I tensed when he pushed off the doorframe and strode into the room.
“Well, you’re not looking much better, but it’s a start.” His voice scraped across me as his eyes dipped down. I did nothing to cover myself. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction, but his gaze felt like thousands of spiders crawling over me. “You have two weeks to sort yourself out. And then you’re mine.”
I would never be his.
He smiled when I didn’t answer. I knew what he was doing—trying to goad me into breaking his precious rules. “You can pretend all you’d like that you’re going to be a good little betrothed and do as I say, but I can see the hatred in your eyes. You did stab me, after all. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about my promise to you. You will pay the price for what you’ve done. Your mother and your friend will die.”
I flinched. Water sloshed over the sides of the bath and poured onto the timber floor, the soap like white paint across a dark canvas. My anger was a bitter lump in my throat, so thick I almost choked on it. Words begged to spill from my lips. I needed to speak. I needed to scream and shout and rage—anything to fight him—but I couldn’t.
I sucked them in and held them close. I’d made some terrible mistakes. I’d acted rashly. Awful things had happened because I could not control my anger, because I let everything that had ever happened to me drive me forward with no thought to the consequences.
The three most important people in my life were in that dungeon. I wouldnotgive him any reason to harm them.
He arched his brow. “You have nothing to say to me?”
I glanced at the guard.
“Your Highness.” The guard dipped his head. “I ordered her not to speak.”
“I know you did,” Oberon shot back. “What surprises me is her willingness to listen.” He turned his gaze back to me and narrowed his eyes. “You’re up to something.”
Oh, if only that were true.
With a terrifying speed, Oberon closed the distance between us and leaned down so that his glowing eyes were only an inch from my face. The scent of him flooded my senses, that sickly lavender smell that clung to him like the leeches from the sea beyond the mountains.
“What if I hit you? Would you speak then?” When I didn’t answer, he smiled. “What if I dropped your sister’s bloody head at your feet?”
My entire body flinched and I glanced away, my eyes burning. That memory flashed through my mind like a wild storm. Even though Nellie was safe and sound, the trauma from that day still hung around my neck like a noose, cutting off my air and branding itself in my skin. I hadn’t lost my sister, but for weeks, it had felt like I had, and that feeling wasn’t going to just vanish now that I knew she was alive.
And Oberon knew that.
He let out a low chuckle and flicked his finger against my cheek. It didn’t hurt, but I winced nonetheless. Anger punched my ribs, and a desperate need blinded me. I wanted to hurt him. Badly. So badly that I yearned to taste his blood and smile as the light in his eyes died.
So badly that I’d risked everything just to get my revenge, ruining my life in the process. My blind rage had landed me here. Now I couldn’t help my family. I was just as trapped as they were.
With a victorious glint in his eye, Oberon stood. “Good. It seems you’ve learned your lesson. Surprising, given our history. But make no mistake, if you put a single toe out of line, I have your sister, your mother, and your dearest friend. I spared your sister’s life once, but I will not do it again.”
A chill swept down my back, despite the heat of the bath. Oberon’s smile widened at the look on my face, and then he spun on his feet and vanished out the door. I gripped the side of the tub and stared down at the wooden floorboards coated with the water that had splashed over the side. I swallowed the scream of rage clawing up my throat. He was right. I couldn’t do a damn thing. I was well and truly fucked.
“Betrothed,” one of the maidservants whispered, her shaky voice cutting through my thoughts. “We need to finish your bath now. Can you…please let go of the tub so that we can wash you?”
I glanced down at my hands, at the knuckles growing white. Hissing through my clenched teeth, I relaxed my grip, but the rest of me wasn’t so lucky. Every muscle in my body was wound as tight as a harp string. I would snap if anyone plucked me too hard.
The maidservants finished washing me with gentle hands and then helped me towel off before leading me over to a chair situated just beside a window overlooking the small pocket of land that Oberon ruled. Bathed in light, the village of Teine looked cheery, hopeful, and glossy, despite the ramshackle homes. Happiness lived there.
I dropped into the chair and gazed down at the village while the maidservants got to work brushing out my tangled mess of hair. Every time they hit a snag, it reminded me of how Kalen’s hands had felt combing through my strands. When he’d braided my hair. When we’d been trapped in that onyx castle with no one but each other, and my heart had begun to soften toward him.
How little I’d known then. He’d killed my father.
