My wolf urged me to move closer, to kiss him, to bury my face in the crook of his neck and erase all my reason and logic in the delicious familiar scent of his sweat. I wrestled her into submission.
“We should talk,” I said.
The king pulled back with an interested smile on his face. “Sure.” He moved toward the crackling fire, then gestured toward the armchair across from his own. He hadn’t changed his clothes, but did roll up the sleeves of his fine shirt, revealing the tanned muscular curve of his forearms. He poured us each a bit of brandy, then offered me the glass. “Let’s talk.” “I know it’s our wedding night,” I said.
“You have a keen eye.”
I ignored that. “And I know what is—customary.”
“Right,” he said, that wolfish smirk reappearing on his face as his warm eyes tracked over my body.
“But I—I can’t forgive as quickly as some might be able to,” I said. “I need more time.”
The pleased expression dropped off his face. He raised his eyebrows. “This is about that traitor of yours?”
“He wasn’t just a traitor,” I said.
“I thought we discussed this,” the king said. “How can you still be angry after all he said? All he did to you? All the lies and the treason?”
“It’s not anger,” I shot back. “It’s grief. It doesn’t just go away because he lied to me. It doesn’t erase what we had before this.”
“It should,” the king said. “It wasn’t real. It was based on lies.”
“It was real to me.” I swallowed hard and looked into the crackling fire as my emotions sparked inside me just as restlessly. “He was the only friend I had for years. I can’t just get over something like that immediately. I can’t pretend it never happened.”
“What you have ahead of you is so much better,” the king said. “You’ll waste your life being trapped in the past.”
“How can you be sure of that?” I asked. “How can I be sure of anything you say? You’ve lied to me too. You hid the prophecy from me. There was always more to this competition than just the council’s opinion on my manners and your personal attraction. A marriage is about trust—how am I supposed to trust you?”
His eyes burned gold. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, gaze fixed on me and lips parted to show the tips of his canines. Instinctively, I pulled back in my chair, away from the show of dominance. But it wasn’t just authority in his gaze—it was more than that. There was hunger in his eyes too, hunger and desire.
“If you were more amenable to me,” he said so low it was almost a growl, “perhaps I would’ve been more forthcoming. But since the moment you stepped into this manor, my Choice has been nothing but a game to you. Even when I informed you I was not doing this for politics, but for a mate, you ignored me. Why would I be inclined to tell you more, if you didn’t listen to me when it mattered?”
“Of course I didn’t believe you!” My wolf flashed behind my eyes, and the king reared back the smallest amount. “You’re the Bloody King. Even if the Bloody King wants a mate, that’s an arrangement about power. It’s all about power—the power you hold over me, keeping me here, the power your pack wields over my mind, the power you wield over the country. You don’t treat me like an equal.”
He stood up from his seat so fast the legs scraped across the floor. I swallowed, cowering slightly in my chair. I’d let my frustration get the best of me again. Running my mouth in front of the king might be more dangerous than letting my wolf out.
Then, slowly, the king leaned down. He gripped the armrests of my chair, caging me in. I felt small underneath him. His golden gaze was unwavering. He leaned so close I thought he was going to kiss me; my lips parted in anticipation.
But instead he leaned so close his breath tickled my ear as he spoke. “Think carefully next time you call me the Bloody King, Ice Princess.”
I scoffed, turning my head to avoid him. “Don’t call me that.” I flattened my palm on his chest to push him away but he was unmovable as a stone.
“Then don’t act like it.”
“You are such a hypocrite, Elias,” I said, spitting his name like it tasted foul in my mouth.
Finally, he stood up and moved from the chair. I exhaled a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. The king grabbed his brandy glass and drained it. He seemed to be just as frustrated as I was.
I stood up and smoothed out my robe. I didn’t have anywhere to go; I just didn’t want to be trapped in this room with him. Surely I could make it back to my quarters. I hadn’t expected this to go great, but I’d thought I could at least have an adult conversation with him. About our future together. And yet as soon as I’d tried to make myself heard, he’d turned on me in anger, closer to a wolf than a man. He was so unreasonable—how could we be expected to lead together when we couldn’t even have a conversation?
Regardless of the vows we’d made, I had a feeling there wouldn’t be much of us ‘together.’ I was supposed to simply follow him. Just as my father had wanted me to follow him, and Griffin, too.
I needed air. I needed my wolf to calm down and I needed to get my emotions under control. I moved toward the glass doors leading to the balcony of the king’s quarters.
Before I made it, though, he caught up and caught my wrist in his hand. “Where do you think you’re going?”“Outside,” I said. “I need space.”He kept his hand around my wrist as he stepped close. “The last thing we need right now, Reyna, is more space.” He pressed his chest to my back and ducked his head closer, nosing behind my ear and inhaling. “I know you yearn for me.” His voice vibrated into my bones from the intimacy. “I can smell your desire.”I pressed my thighs together. It was no mystery that I wanted him. I’d made that clear the last night we’d spent together in this room. “My body and mind have two different opinions of you.”“Perhaps that’s part of the problem,” he said. “You’re so caught up in your mind that you ignore your body—and your wolf.”“I don’t ignore her,” I huffed, even as my wolf protested. Then I snapped my mouth shut. I didn’t need to justify myself to the king. I wasn’t an animal like the wolves of Nightfall. I had more selfrestraint than that.“We cannot
29When I woke up the next morning, it was to a brisk series of knocks at the door of the king’s chambers. I was asleep in his immense bed, but there was no indentation on the mattress next to me, nor any trace of the king’s scent on the sheets. He’d never come to bed at all.Last night, my exhaustion had overwhelmed my turmoil and I’d passed out nearly as soon as I’d hit the mattress beneath me. I’d never expected the king to give up his quarters to me though. It made my chest ache.I pulled my robe back on and stepped out into the main quarters to answer the door. Amity and Rue were on the other side, cheerful as ever despite the early hour. “Good morning, Your Highness,” Amity said brightly.“Wow,” I murmured. “Can we stick with Lady Reyna? At least until I’m a little more used to it?”“Sure,” Rue said. “This is a big change. I think you’ll love it, though.”I nodded. She had no idea how wrong she was. But, at least with Amity and Rue with me, it’d be a bit more bearable than it w
I wasn’t eager to draw too much attention to myself if I could help it.“Lovely choice, milady,” Amity said.We had a quick breakfast in my quarters, brought in by the kitchen staff, and then the two of them dressed me in the fine gown. Rue tied the laces at the back of the dress, while Amity brushed my hair into a plait resting over one shoulder. When she was done, she pulled another lacquer box from the drawers of the vanity and opened it. Inside was a plain, delicate crown, a simple band of gold like the one the king wore for most everyday ceremonies. She set it on my head with the same care and attention she did when she’d dressed me in the tiara that represented Daybreak during the Choice. But this crown, despite its simplicity, felt so much heavier.“Gorgeous,” she said with a smile.“Thank you,” I said. I didn’t feel gorgeous. I felt tired.Amity led me to the door. “We had best go send off the guests before the hour gets any later.”Outside, it was an icy cold day, with the s
My father sucked his teeth, then turned wordlessly and climbed into the carriage. Barion lingered for a moment, gazing at me. Then he nodded and walked toward his own wagon.With my heart in my throat, I strode back into the manor. Before the doors closed, the horses’ whinnying filtered in, and the familiar strike of hooves on the road as they began to move.With the carriages went the last vestiges of my life in Daybreak.I paused in the foyer, unsteady on my feet as that realization washed over me.Amity and Rue trotted in after me, then shifted back into their human forms. “Are you all right, milady?” Rue asked.I brushed a loose strand of hair out of my eyes and nodded. “Yes,” I said. “Perfectly fine.” I was the Queen of Frasia, and I was alone.30n my new quarters, I dismissed Amity and Rue and then stood by the window, gazing out over the snowy tree line. I needed space. I needed somewhere to sit and read and think—I had a couch in these quarters, but why not a desk? Did a quee
“You see what you want to see and only that.” I flattened my hands on his broad chest and shoved him backward; to my surprise he acquiesced and took a few steps back. “You barely know me. You only think you know me. Love me. I won’t bow to your desires just because you’ve forced me into this role. From now on, no one controls me, even if that means this marriage is in name only.”The king’s expression became suddenly, strikingly hurt—like I’d hit him. Then just as quickly as the pain had appeared, it was gone, replaced by a stony anger so powerful that when he bared his teeth, it made my wolf whine internally. I’d pushed him too far this time. I’d gotten cocky, and now the Bloody king was going to make his title known to me, just like he’d done to the traitorous Lord, and then to Griffin.Then, the air crackled like an oncoming storm.The king’s wolf burst forth.He shifted effortlessly, the clothes tearing from his back and landing in shreds on the shining floors of my quarters. He s
1“Y ou’re not going to believe this,” I said. I leaned towards the map I had spread out on the oak desk. We were in the library, a round stone room with high ceilings and books lining every wall. I loved to read, sure, but the court cartographer had uncovered this map from deep in the archives just for me.Barion sighed dramatically and looked up from the novel he was thumbing through. He sank deeper into the overstuffed armchair.“What now?”His lack of interest didn’t deter me. I was used to this kind of reaction from Barion — he’d been my tutor in sword fighting and strategy since I was knee-high. He’d been the one to first encourage my burgeoning interest in cartography when I was a little girl. Now he had to deal with the consequences. I smoothed out the edge of the parchment and traced the faded ink with the tip of my finger.The map didn’t look too different from the ones I was familiar with. My country, Frasia, looked similar to its state today. The capital of Efra was still
I paused and glanced at my reflection in the mirror hanging above the fireplace in the library. My father preferred not to look at me at all, but when he did, it was easier if I looked presentable. I tucked the strands of white-blonde hair that escaped from my long plait out behind my ears and removed my reading glasses, meeting my own sharp blue eyes in the mirror. There were ink stains on my fingertips, but luckily I hadn’t gotten any on my white linen shirt and long brown skirt. My father would’ve preferred if I’d worn a bit of jewelry to show my rank. But that was his fault for summoning me on a day when I didn’t have any court responsibilities scheduled.Vuk cleared his throat.“I don’t need an escort, Vuk,” I said.“It’s my duty to ensure you make this appointment safely,” Vuk said. This meant he thought I was going to run off to the market square by the docks instead of to my father’s study. Which was, honestly, not an unreasonable assessment. I sighed and followed Vuk out of t
“Constantine held the Choice because he already had a handful of fine suitors to choose from—the packs were scrambling to join ranks with Daybreak. The Choice was seen as a fair way for the king to choose between them. Elias is attempting to bring back what was a joyous affair for Constantine, but he lacks the Daybreak charm and panache.”King Elias isn’t the only one lacking that, I thought to myself as I glanced around the dim study.“The king knows the packs are losing faith in his ability to lead Frasia. If he doesn’t stabilize his court and kingdom, it won’t be long before another pack attempts to take the throne by force, just as Drogo did.”“He dug his own grave, then,” I said. “I say let him lie in it.”My father shook his head. “You should realize the opportunity we have at hand.”“You don’t mean to say we will be participating in this Choice?”“Of course we are,” my father said. “If we don’t send a suitor to the Choice, we will be openly insulting the king. And you know Elia