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It all made sense now. From his castle in the north to the animosity I’d seen between him and Valtimir, to the way the people of this city approached him, everything started falling into place.
“It was either him or you, Ella,” he growled.
“I understand,” I breathed.
He’d chosen me.
His chest rose and fell with his scarcely contained rage, and I pressed my palms against him. In an instant, he visibly relaxed. He wrapped his arms around me and sighed. For a few seconds, we remained in that silence, our fingers intertwined. His forehead pressed against mine, and the magic between us pulsed steadily. The fury within him calmed, and I felt the moment that the heat took a very different turn.
The tension between us spiraled out of control.
“Before I return to the battlefield, you and I are going to have a discussion about obedience in my chamber gardens,” he growled.
Without waiting for my response, he threw me over his shoulder and carried me up through the castle. I didn’t fight him, and I felt sort of relieved to have him by my side once more. With my bottom high up in the air, I couldn’t help but tense at his warning, knowing exactly how that was going to pan out.
“This is your chance, Ella. The only thing that will save the realm is your love. It is your destiny. Make him see reason and mend the rift.”
I recognized the seer’s voice now. I would have thanked her, but I didn’t want to speak out loud. Her meaning was clear. I’d seen enough death already. I may not have been born of this realm, but I didn’t want to see more of its people die.
I recognized the spiraling staircases as we climbed further up through the castle. The gentle hum of magic tingled through my veins as he carried me through the threshold of his chambers. Instead of turning right into the bedroom, he strode down the hall to the left. He didn’t waste any time as he sailed through the big rounded wooded door into a bright open room that was streaming with sunlight. He placed me down on the floor and met my eyes for a moment, before reaching beneath my chin and gently caressing me with his touch.
“Sir?” I asked, unable to quell my confusion as to why he’d brought me here.
“We’re going to have that discussion at the end of a switch, Ella.”
My pussy clenched hard, and my mouth went dry in an instant. Still grappling with his threat and trying to contain both my rising anxiety and my spiraling desire, I watched as he pulled a small blade of his own out of his pocket. I took a second to glance around, taken aback by the magical gardens that surrounded me. We’d been indoors only a moment ago, but this was a little piece of outdoors. The ceiling was completely open to the sunlight streaming down from above. There were trees, flowering bushes, and every manner of colorful plant growing up here in a secret garden meant for the king and the king alone. This place was tended to by whatever magic inhabited this place, and it was beautiful.
He walked over to a young sapling tree. Every flower was perfectly tended, each rose petal painted a vivid scarlet. It was simply the background that surrounded me, and I hardly took any of it in, focusing instead on Nykor’s hands as he cut a long, thin branch.
He whipped it through the air. The harsh sound was startling enough to make me jump. I watched as he sat down on a bench and started to whittle away the thin knobs and much smaller sticks until he had one long, narrow branch. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep my rising nerves quiet.
“I gave you an order before I left, Ella,” he began, his tone hard and stern.
I lifted my chin and crossed my arms over my chest. “I helped save many of your people. There’s more than three dozen men that would have died today if not for me,” I countered.
“You disobeyed me, Ella. You could have been hurt. You were almostkilled,” he continued, his voice rising a little.
I stopped for a moment, appraising him, and realizing that this wasn’t just about obedience. This was about much more than that. I sensed fear in his eyes. He was afraid of losing me.
The voice had been right. Either the two of us were going to come together in a clash before ripping each other apart, or we were going to finally unite as one.
I needed to keep pushing, even if it meant taking a punishment from his hand. Maybe he needed to let out that frustration. Maybe I needed to take it so we could move forward. Maybe I needed this, too.
“Whip me, then. Take me up to your balcony. Strip me bare and punish me in front of your people. Make an example of me.” I fisted my hands at my sides and lifted my chin, standing as tall as I could.
He scowled, turning his head as if I had slapped him with my suggestion, but I didn’t back down.
“No. I will not permit anyone to see you bare like that, especially not with your bottom stripped bright red. That isminealone to see,” he muttered.
I breathed in with a huff, his smokey, masculine scent overtaking me. I could see him still holding back. He’d balled his fists so hard that his knuckles had turned white. His entire body was trembling with restraint, and I decided to keep pushing, no matter what came next.
My core spiraled with heat.
I defiantly lifted my head and straightened, reaching behind my back and pulling the strings of my apron loose. I lifted it over my head and tossed it aside. My fingers wrapped around the ends of the cords holding my dress together. Slowly, I unlaced it. His eyes remained riveted on me as I purposefully stripped, taking my time to reveal myself slowly. The ravenous desire in his gaze only intensified, until at long last, I stood completely bare before him.
He looked like a wild animal on the verge of attack, which only spurred me on more. I could see his resolve beginning to weaken.
“Should I put myself over your knee? Bend over the bench for you? What next?” I pushed, my voice husky with resolve of my own. His eyes darkened as he glared back at me, his chest rising and falling.
