Page 8 of Omission

“Anaya. Answer him.”

“What is the price I must pay, Sir Brice?” Low, and yet my tone reverberates as if I’d shouted my answer from the castle’s rooftop.

“You must wear my ring.”

Swallowing hard, I nod. “Can it be on a chain?”

“As long as it remains on your body, I do not have a preference, Anaya. Do you agree?”

“I do.”

“Good. Then you will start now.” Brice dips a hand into his front trouser pocket and pulls out a small velvet-covered box. It’s old and worn, the outside hiding a piece of jewelry that’s beautiful, but wrong. More so when he removes a chain from around his neck and slips the ring through it before placing it around mine.

A literal collar.

A sentence of condemnation.

“Well done, Brice. I approve of this union wholeheartedly.”

“That means a lot, my king.”

“What do you think, Daughter? Will you now cease this idiotic behavior…?” The or else silently hangs in the air, and instead of being given a chance to answer, I’m rewarded with another one of his attacks. A single lash lands right across where the atrocity sits on my neck, the pain forcing me to bite the inside of my cheek until it bleeds, but I don’t dare make a sound. “Are you satisfied, or do we need to baby another of your tantrums?”

They both look at me expectantly, as if I haven’t been abused.

“I am happy. Truly so.” Through gritted teeth, I manage the words and keep my voice as soft as possible. “Thank you for being so understanding.”

“Always, my child.” He gives one last tug on my hair before the locks are released and I can move my neck a bit. Enough to ease the mounting crick there. “Now. I’ll leave you two alone to talk.”

Immediately after that, Father takes a step away from us, and then another while heading toward his office door. He doesn’t look back or ask me to stand, much less warn Brice not to touch me—my nerves are fragile and shaken before the soft thud of both doors closing follows.

“You embarrassed me, ma princesse. Your denial won’t end well for you.”

“Is that a threat?” He extends a hand to help me stand, but I ignore it after that statement. My knees hurt—my entire body throbs, but I’ll never accept help from this man. No matter how much I teeter on my heels or how I shake from the pain, I’d rather eat iron than touch him willingly. “I don’t need your help.”

“Yet one day soon enough, you’ll beg me for it.”

“I won’t.” Resolute. A bit of my power comes through each word, but the leering smirk on his face tells me he doesn’t sense it. That, or I’m so far beneath him, he’ll never see me as a real threat. “I vow this.”

“Then I foresee a lot of pain in your future, Anaya.” With the tip of two fingers, he traces across one cheek and then the other before tapping me on the nose. “I’ll make you bleed on my cock and then force you to lick it clean afterward. I’ll fuck you in front of the entire royal court and tell your father it’s a punishment for disobedience, and he’ll allow it, might even clap me on the back because you are beneath us.”

Every part of my being wants to curl in on myself. I’m repulsed and scared and willing my trembling limbs to settle and not serve him this victory on a proverbial silver platter. Because this is what they want. My compliance and abject horror—to force me into playing whatever role they see fit and they wish.

So I swallow back the sob that’s building inside my chest.

I force myself to meet his stare, unwavering in my stance.

“You’re a pig. All of you are.”

This causes him to laugh, loud and boisterous. Brice looks at me as if I were the stupidest yet cutest thing he’d ever seen. “And you’ll fall in line, Anaya. Don’t make me hurt you, because I promise you, I’ll take great pleasure in your destruction. Play your part, and never embarrass me again.” The way his expression softens then scares me more than his words. It's eerie—unnerving how easily he can threaten me with rape and then act as if he truly has feelings for me. “I care for you, princesse. Always have. Why can’t you see that? Why force me to be cruel?”

“You’re not my mate.”

“Yet once you bear my mark, I’ll be your everything.”

“What about the day you meet your mate? Think about them—”

“I’ll kill anyone to claim what belongs to me, Anaya. My own family if it ever came to it.” There’s no mistaking how serious he is. The depth of his greed and the atrocities he’s willing to commit in order to mate with me.

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