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Rylec froze.
“Good boy.” Her grip tightened on Inez’s wrist. “As for you, little dove, you will take your pill. Rylec will take his. You’ll go over to that bed and as my brother fucks you, you’ll think of all that time we spent together under those sheets. Once he’s finished, Doctor Camden here will perform his tests. When he confirms you’re pregnant, you and I will return to Sollir to prepare for our new baby. Together.”
Rylec growled, but the sound was lost under Inez’s shout. “There’s no way, you psycho—”
His mate’s voice cut off into a scream as Calanthe upped the pain. “If you don’t, I’ll kill Rylec.”
Inez stopped struggling. Those perfect green eyes found his. Gods, he was failing her again. The guard stood behind him and Calanthe still had her hands on his mate, so Rylec focused all his attention on his cuffs. As an archlord with a star-wife, he should be able to access his magic with great strain. He didn’t care if he hurt himself. Not if Inez was in trouble.
For now, he would take Calanthe’s wrath. “And how will you get me to comply,sister?”
Calanthe released Inez’s wrist. His mate dropped, her face flushed and her breathing wild, as the empress circled the table. “Inez will leave this room pregnant, no matter what, Rylec. If you don’t do it, I’ll find a volunteer.” She placed a delicate hand on his shoulder. “And before I kill you, I’ll make you watch.”
Rylec slammed forward with a roar. That bitch—
Pain radiated through his nervous system. Rylec almost dropped to his knees, but he kept his balance. He had endured worse.
It lasted only a moment before Calanthe lowered her hand and walked around him, putting her guard between them. Her fingers trailed over a gilded wristlet that flashed the time into the air. “You have an hour.”
With that, the empress strolled from the room, humming as she walked. The doors slammed shut behind her and locked.
Rylec rushed around the table, desperate for Inez’s touch. His wife moved, too, and nearly threw herself in his arms. Rylec wrapped her in his embrace. Gods, he never wanted to see her in pain again. They shouldn’t have done this. They should have run. A part of him knew that if they had they’d never have seen Soriya again, but he hated seeing her in pain.
Inez pressed her cheek against his chest. “How close are you to escaping that cuff?”
“I won’t have them off in an hour.”
She inhaled deeply. “I don’t want to give her another baby. She stole Soriya. Our little girl thinks that monster is her mother.”
He brushed a hand down her thick hair. “We’ll get her back, Inez.”
“But to get her back, we have to live.” Inez pulled back to look at him. “There’s no choice. If we both want to live, I need to be pregnant in an hour. If we do what Calanthe wants, I’m sure she’ll order her guard away. I’ll be alone with her and then I can strike.”
His star-wife had already made too many sacrifices in her life. He couldn’t let her make another. “We’ll find another way.”
“There’s no other way.”
“Inez—”
She pulled out of his arms and returned to the table. The doctor had left behind the two small pills. Inez swallowed one without a second thought. She tossed the other at him before removing her cloak. “Take off your clothes, Rylec.”
For a moment, Rylec didn’t move, but one look into her eyes melted his resolve. This was what his wife wanted. For her, he would do anything.
He swallowed the pill.
Rylec tugged his shirt over his head, his gaze on his mate. Her eyes watered. Rylec reached for his pants—
Inez grabbed his wrist. “No. Never mind. You’re right. If we don’t want to do this, then we won’t do it.”
He placed his other hand over hers on his wrist. Inez was right. It was their only way out. In an hour, he’d be closer to breaking out of his cuff. In two or three, he’d be free with his magic returned to him. He could help her in her fight against Calanthe. If this needed to happen for them to survive the next three hours and save their family, Rylec would do it. “I want this. I want you. I’ve always wanted you.”
“Rylec, I—”
Rylec drifted his hand up her arm to the crook of her neck. He tilted her head as he leaned down to claim her pink lips. The taste of her exploded on his tongue. Inez sunk into his arms. He pulled her closer until her warm body molded against his perfectly. They fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. He wouldn’t let anything tear them apart.
Rylec wrapped his hands around her waist and plucked her from the ground.
Inez moaned into his mouth. “Not the bed.”
