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“I thought you said I could leave the ‘obey’ part out of my vows,” I whispered, but I was already walking towards him.
“Not in this case. Good—stand here—right in front of the mirror,” Liath directed. “Now take off your gown. I need you naked for this to work.”
I didn’t want to do it. But he was my husband. All my life it had been drilled into me that I would obey my husband—whoever he turned out to be. I might put on a show of rebelliousness, but in truth, I felt compelled to do as he said—even though my stomach was twisted in knots at the idea of letting him see me naked.
Slowly, I pulled the dark blue gown over my head. I clutched it to my bare breasts for a moment but Liath frowned and shook his head.
“No, Alira—drop it.”
I dropped the gown to the floor and stood there with nothing but my long midnight blue hair to hide me.
“Good.” Liath came around behind me. I tensed up at once but he only rested his big hands very lightly on my bare shoulders. “Now look at yourself in the mirror,” he murmured, leaning down to speak in my ear.
“Please, don’t make me,” I whispered. I had hated the sight of myself naked ever since Asfaloth and Calista had caught me swimming nude in a quiet pool in a forest glen one afternoon.
They had stolen my clothes and taunted me—saying I would have to go back to the Palace naked if I didn’t do as they said. They refused to give my clothing back until I got out and stood with them, looking at my reflection in the pool. And all the while they were on either side of me, laughing and mocking me—saying how ugly and fat I was and how it should be illegal for me to ever take my clothes off again.
The memory was a painful one—it brought tears to my eyes.
“Hey…hey…” Liath was suddenly on one knee in front of me—it was the only way he could get down to my level, since he was so tall. He lifted my chin with one finger and looked into my eyes. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“I…don’t like the way I look—especially naked,” I whispered, blinking as the tears burned my eyes.
His bronze gaze softened.
“That’s why I’m going to show how you really look, little bird. Trust me just for a moment—please?”
I still had no idea why he was doing this but he was my husband. I hadn’t managed to kill him, so he basically owned me. I nodded dutifully and whispered,
“All right.”
“Good.” He rose to tower over me and then came to stand behind me again. He was still wearing just a pair of black breeches and I could feel the heat of his broad, bare chest radiating against my spine.
“Now look at yourself in the mirror,” he commanded, putting his hands on my shoulders again. “Look and see yourself as I see you. See yourself as you really are.”
I made myself look, though I didn’t want to. I generally avoided my own reflection—especially when I was naked, as I was now. But I forced myself to examine my image anyway.
At first I saw what I always saw—the girl in the mirror was short and too curvy. Her breasts were too big and heavy, tipped with obscenely dark nipples. Her hips were too wide and her thighs were too thick. Her legs were too short and…
And suddenly things began to change.
Somehow, my eyes were drawn back up to my face in the mirror and I heard a voice whisper in my head,
“Such beautiful hair—so long and soft, like blue silk.”
The voice was deep and growling. Was it Liath? Was he speaking inside my mind somehow? It must be magic—once again I had the sensation of soft fur brushing my naked body. The light, sensuous touch sent a shiver through me. By the Shining Throne, it felt so good! How was he doing this?
I wanted to ask, but I felt unable to talk—all I could do was look at what the voice was talking about. And sure enough, my hair was beautiful and long and thick and silky.
“Such a gorgeous face—cute little nose…big gray eyes like quiet pools…a mouth any male would want to kiss,” the voice in my head went on.
To my surprise, I suddenly saw myself that way. I had never thought much of my face—it was agreeable, but not nearly pretty enough to make up for my unsightly curves. But now I looked at myself in the mirror and saw a girl with a gorgeous face looking back at me. I wondered breathlessly what else the voice would show me.
“Look at these lush, full breasts,” the voice growled in my head and suddenly Liath was reaching around to cup my breasts. They filled his big hands, just as I had thought they might earlier, during our ceremony. I felt a shiver run through my body as he held me in his big, warm hands.
