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I cannot bear to meet the eyes of staff, especially other women, who knew of my debasement at Xavier’s hand and said nothing. Saved their own asses at the expense of my own. In time I will replace all of the staff in this monstrous prison with employees who have never seen how low I was brought, little more than a caged animal, under Xavier’s control.
New jobs will be located for everyone who stood by as he tortured me. Saw the bruises and heard my cries but did nothing. I’m not so cruel as to throw them all out with no resources. But if I’m to submit to another monster, as kind as he promises to be, it will not be with the specter of Xavier and his household staff. So willing to ignore brutality when it suits them.
A rebellious urge in my chest pushes me to show up for my blackmail nuptials in anything other than the gown Hunter has chosen for me. Instead, I find myself tossing off the yoga pants and oversized sleep tshirt I’ve worn for days and stepping into the shower to make myself presentable in the dress my future husband has chosen.
I won’t wear the red for Hunter. I’ll wear it for myself. Hot water courses over my still sensitive skin tempts me to give myself the orgasm Hunter’s comments about babies destroyed earlier. Years have passed without my libido awakening, and that it’s done so now, in the face of yet another forced marriage, shames me. Perhaps there is something truly broken, wanton inside me that calls villains to me. Some intrinsic failing that calls to their predatory nature and paints me as easy prey.
I take my time drying myself off and putting on my makeup. I give my eyes a smoky shadow that helps to hide the bruised look lack of sleep and worry have caused. My lips I paint the deepest ruby I can find in the cosmetics the maids always replenished so I’d be prepared for whatever society event Xavier demanded we attend. Even dead, he consumes my focus.
I watch myself in the mirror, hands shaking as I dab perfume behind each ear and into the valley of my breasts. Not for Hunter, I remind myself. For Glory. For me. The phoenix forged in blood and agony rests inmychest. Xavier is nothing but dust and I will never allow Hunter to do to me what his predecessor did. I am the villain of the story now. Not prey any longer. Never again.
The red gown slips over my curves as though it was sewn to caress every swell and hollow. My curls bounce over my shoulders and into the exposed cleavage above the corseted bodice. For once, watching myself in the mirror doesn’t leave me feeling weak and pitiful.
Hunter offers a partnership. A chance to control my own destiny for the first time since I was hardly more than a child. I will give him a chance to prove himself worthy of the queen I have made myself. And if he proves unworthy, well, I’ll kill him just as surely as I killed Xavier. In far less time than it took me to find the courage to do so the first time.
Eight
Hunter
The officiant, a local judge the family has had access to for years, turns with me to watch Glory as she descends the wide staircase to the foyer. Her sparkly open toed heels catch the light from the chandelier overhead and make it look like she’s walking on diamond clouds. This is the first time I’ve ever seen her toes. That random thought strikes me and steals my breath with the simple knowledge that soon I’ll bare every inch of her striking body to my eyes.Onlymy eyes.
“Eyes on me, Williams. Glory is mine alone to behold.” Jealousy is not a vice I’ve ever indulged in before, but I find myself wanting to own every particle of air that touches Glory. Every scintilla of attention, every indrawn gasp of awe at her beauty mine alone to cherish.
“But sir, how will I complete the vows?” His splutter is an annoying distraction from the symphony of her footfalls carrying her to my side.
“Find a way, or you’ll find yourself a blind judge by the time you next preside on the bench.” There is no tempering this madness. It is emasculating enough that while I was making plans to rescue her, Glory had to save herself. Unspent fury and impotent violence rages inside my chest, searching for an outlet. I cannot re-kill a dead man, but my soul aches to do exactly that.
I cross to the stairs to meet Glory as she reaches the second tread from the bottom. Her hands are cool as I capture them in mine and lift them to rest on my shoulders. She wore the dress. I halfway thought she’d ignore it just to spite me, and seeing her in it gives me hope for the future. Hope that maybe she’ll see our union as something more than a blackmailed arrangement someday.
“You are stunning, little killer. A true vision to behold.” The nickname has her eyes darting to the magistrate, checking to see his reaction to my open acknowledgement of her crime.
“Don’t worry about him, my queen. He doesn’t matter. Tell me, are you ready to become Mrs. Allard? After today, the Kingston name is as dead as its patriarch. Everything that went before is history. Forgotten just as he is.”
“Hard to say it’s forgotten when we’re standing in the Kingston family home.” She scans the room over my shoulder.
“I’ve already contracted a firm to design a new home. Our home. They will break ground and begin pouring foundation as soon as you approve the floorplan. Any changes you desire will be incorporated. No questions asked.”
“You’ve accomplished a lot in two days.” She has no idea.
“Try two years. For two years, since the night I came to find him in your rooms and heard him hitting you, I’ve been making plans to do exactly what you did. Of course, I had intended a slightly more elegant, less panicked, method. Yours got the job done, though.” One day I’ll confess the ways I coveted her and snuck to make preparations for the day when I could topple Xavier’s kingdon and claim her as my own. But today, we wed.
“Where will the new house go?” It’s clear she’s not ready to address my revelation.
“Where we’re standing. I told you, the past is as erased as though it never existed. Once you’re mine, you’ll never need to hear the Kingston name again if you so wish. I’ll slaughter any man or woman who says his name in your presence. You have only to ask it of me.” I vow.
“Would you kill him if I asked?” She gestures over my shoulder at Judge Williams and I hear his choked gasp at the immediate draw of the revolver always holstered under my left arm. I turn to aim at the man, wholly prepared to end him regardless of the consequences if it’s Glory’s wish.
“Wait! Stop! I’m not asking you to shoot him. Just asking if you would.” Avarice joined with horror brightens the violet of her eyes.
“You told me a king bends the knee for his queen. There is nothing you can ask of me that I will not grant you.”
“Except my freedom.” Calculation gleams in the way she watches me.
“Except that. Don’t ask me to let you go, Glory. Even once things are stable and Snow is safe in her new life. Even when you no longer need my experience to gain legitimacy as the head of the family. You’ll have to kill me to be free of me.” Dread pools in my stomach, churning like a vat of acid, while I wait for her response.
“Then let’s see how powerful the Allard dynasty can be with the two of us partnered. If you give me no reason to long to be free, I guess you’ll give me no reason to end you.” Time and distance from Xavier’s fists is fostering confidence in Glory that I can’t resist.
I fit my hands to her hips and lift her down the last two steps, the top of her head tucking just below my chin as I pull her tight to my chest. Side by side we walk to where Judge Williams is shaking, his attention glued to the marriage license rustling in his clenched hands. I make a quick call to my lieutenant, Maxen, a man whose loyalty has always been to me directly.
