Page 19 of A Bond of Fire and Roses

Huffing under my breath, I walk over to one of the tapestries for a much-needed distraction. It’s a farmer's village, nothing more than fields and cows, the odd chicken. There’s a blue light in the sky shining down on them and it could be moonlight, but it’s almost too blue, with not a drop of silver. I can’t see what is above the light. That part is damaged. Deliberately, by the looks of it. I feel Erax's eyes on me as I walk to the next one, briefly passing the mirror, catching his green eyes in it. Even the flash of his eyes makes my heart race, but I put it down to anger and go to the next tapestry. This one shows a castle built over farmlands and there are very clearly dragons flying in the sky above them. A black fire grows in the distance.

“Who made these? What history is this?”

I don’t recall seeing any of it.

Erax's voice is gruff when he replies. “I am not aware. No one alive is for that matter. Some parts of the castle were here before we built on it. My grandfather picked this area and only he would know that answer.” He glances around. “This is one of the older rooms. It needs renovating, but there hasn’t been time.” The next tapestries are even more confusing than the last. The farms are gone, and there are countless castles, guarded tall towers, and so many dragons that they fill the sky like a storm. They are all different colours, some that I’ve not seen before in the books I’ve read or the dragons I’ve seen fly the skies with their riders. The small black fire that had lurked in the distance now spreads over some of the grasslands.

“Why are you trying to run away from me?” The king’s voice creeps over me like an unbidden caress. “Did you think I would let you go?”

“I wasn’t running away,” I snap at him. “I’m well aware the only way to escape you is death.”

I don’t tell him all of the truth—the nightmare, the feeling of being trapped that sent me running from my room. He would just laugh. I walk past the mirror to the next tapestry, my traitorous eyes looking for him. My skin pebbles when I notice he’s only a few steps away from me, almost like he’s hunting me. I never even heard him move. I gulp as I look at the fourth tapestry. The dragons are burning the castle to ash. There’s fire everywhere, this time flickering up in shades of red, orange, blue and green until it looks like a rainbow. The black flames are still there but they’re not as strong in this one. The middle and top of the tapestry are torn. I can only see bits of this story. When I walk to the next part all the way past the mirror, curious about what happens next, I almost jump when I realise, he’s right behind me. He’s much closer now.

“Why were you running from me, Mist?”

I freeze, like a deer caught by a dragon swooping down over the forest. His deep, seductive voice all but breathes down my neck, sending shivers up my spine. “Wouldn’t you like to know? Then you could use my weakness against me.”

Turning around, I face him. I need to face him, to remember who he is and what he did. I lift my head as I do, making sure to look straight into his green eyes that are flickering to gold around the edges. He steps into my space and pushes me against the mirror with his huge body, and I gasp.

“You are going to be my wife. Mine.”

“I’m well aware,” I breathe out. “Now let me go.”

I’m barely able to get the words past my lips as I shove my hands into his chest. Erax grabs and holds them prisoner above my head, forcing my body to arch against his. We fit so perfectly together, and I hate it. I hate the way he looks at me. I hate the way my body responds to that look. I especially hate the way my pulse quickens when we’re close like this. I just hate Erax so much. His name is another I will never forget. I have burned it too deeply into my memory.

“I wasn’t finished, Mist. You are going to my bride and anything that scares you is my weakness too.”

I want to laugh at him. You scare me. Spending the rest of my life with the man who killed my parents and then stole my kingdom from me scares me.

“We will be married in title and nothing else,” I say. “I don’t love you. I will never love you.” I peel my lips back in disgust, sneering at him. “You’re a monster.”

He laughs once, leaning into me, our lips only a breath away. “Have you ever been touched by a monster, Mist?”

My fast breathing causes my chest to brush against his and my nipples peak with the movement. It’s anger, not arousal, I tell myself over and over like I can make it come true. I’m just so angry with him. Beyond angry. I want to hurt him like he hurt me.

He leans farther down, and when our eyes finally meet, his irises have bled away into pure gold. With him so close I can’t pull away. I can’t even breathe without his scent filling my lungs. I hate how nice he smells too. Fire and roses is fast becoming a scent I search for in every room. I add his scent to my list of all the things I hate about Erax.

“If anyone has touched you, they are already dead. Tell me.”

“No,” I angrily growl at him.

He only leans more into me, our bodies completely flush. I can feel his hard cock pressing into my stomach, and heat builds between my thighs. I clench them to stop it, but nothing works. I don’t understand why this is happening. Of all the betrayals I’ve faced in my lifetime my body was never one of them. Why is it set on betraying me like this?

Why am I responding to Erax like he’s my lover and not an enemy?

“What about with a man?” His voice is just above a whisper as he runs his fingers down the side of my throat. He pauses over my pulse and watches it flutter against him. “Answer me, Mist.”

I twist and try to pull away again. He tightens his grip.

“I may not have done anything before,” I gasp out, hating the moan that wants to build in the back of my throat, “but I’ve seen enough.”

The priestesses weren’t all virgins, and more than once I walked in on things I wish I hadn’t seen. Priestess Gabriella was the worst of them. It was another way for her to humiliate me.

His lips tilt at the side, and there’s a hint of amusement lacing his eyes that are turning back to green again. “So, the nuns were naughty, were they?” His fingers drift over my collar bones to the middle of my chest. They trail down until they reach the valley between my breasts, and his throat jerks as he looks at me, taking my body in. “I bet you used to spy on them.”

I gasp when he touches my nipple and a bolt of pleasure shoots through me. Horrified by my reaction, I try to pull away again.

Erax digs his nails into my wrist, his gaze darkening. “Don’t start acting shy with me now, princess. I’m going to be inside a lot more of you than just your head starting from tomorrow.” He slips a hand under my nightgown and slides it up my thigh. “Tell me the truth, Mist. Did you enjoy watching the nuns fuck each other? Did it make you wet…” He cups my sex and begins to tease me, his eyes never leaving my own. “...like you are now?”

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