Page 6 of Married By Treachery

“And Abecka?”

A few of those standing nearby shifted on their feet, and Marix’s gaze faltered. “She is not here, Your Grace.”

Something dark moved within the Bear Prince’s eyes. He took a step closer to his kith, who gathered himself as if to receive punishment. The Bear Prince completely dwarfed him. “What do you mean, she is not—” The Bear Prince glanced at Raquel and instead said, “Never mind. We will discuss this after you’ve escorted mybelovedbride to her bedchamber, for the journey has surely exhausted her.”

But Raquel had no interest in being left out of what would undoubtedly be a fascinating discussion, and she dismounted with gusto. “Oh, I assure you, the journey has left me quite invigorated. I could not possibly rest now.” Seeing that the Bear Prince was entirely unmoved and bristling to object, she changed tactics, flashing him a coquettish smile as she took a small step closer to him. “And…if I am being perfectly honest, YourGrace, I find my betrothed wholly captivating, and I do not wish to be parted from His Highness for a single moment.”

Truth be told, it had nauseated her to say those words, but she was here for a purpose, and she wasn’t above feigning the simpering maiden if it helped her fulfill that purpose. And thus far, that simpering seemed to have a positive effect: no one moved to escort her away, andeveryone looked astonished.

Except the Bear Prince.

He stared at her as if he saw right through her little display, then grabbed her hand and held it firmly—almost painfully. A display of his own. Tit for tat. “And you shall have me,” he said lowly. “Tonight, in our marriage bed. Until then, you will rest and save this…deliciousvigor for the night.”

He drew her fingertips to his beard and kissed them firmly, but not with any genuine affection. He was asserting his dominance. Rather than pull away from her, he slid his massive paw to one of the wide leather cuffs that she’d fastened around the end of her sleeves, flipped a clasp, and caught the needle-sized blade that dropped out of it. He winked at her as she gasped, and then he slid this, too, inside of his pocket as he turned and stalked away.

3

Raquel took inventory of her prison. It was a decent room, if she were being completely objective. The bed was full and soft and buried in thick woolen blankets, and the fur of an actual bear warmed the wooden floor. A fire burned in a stove, which kept the chill from settling deep, and dim daylight shone through the window opposite. In fact, she might never have guessed she was about to be led to the slaughter, but then again, neither did the pigs in her neighbor’s pen.

After sifting through the furniture and finding proper places to hide the weapons the Bear Prince had not found, Raquel made her way to the window and peered outside. It was difficult to gauge time in this place. Daylight never drew to fullness, as if the sun hadn’t crawled out of bed completely. Her view captured the very top of the watchtower, as well as two squat wooden structures and the dirt path squashed between them. A few Forest kith ambled, laughing merrily, while beyond, the mist swirled and churned like a cauldron, contained by forces Raquel could not see.

What a strange place this was! Not at all what she’d envisioned or what her people believed it to be. What would the elders think now, sending off brides to sate the prince of a rotting kingdom?

She recalled the speed with which the Bear Prince had disarmed her. Utterly humiliating and unacceptable! Lee was right: patience would be her greatest ally. Raquel inhaled deeply and wrung her hands. She and patience were not on the best of terms.

Light footsteps pattered just beyond her door and stopped. Raquel’s heart pounded, expecting the Bear Prince, though logic suggested his footsteps were not so delicate, and while being near the Bear Prince was precisely the path toward her objective, she wasn’t quite prepared to kill himnow.

Planning and executing vengeance were two very different things.

Raquel inhaled deep, readying herself as she tiptoed across the room to the stand where she’d hidden the smallest blade. Her palms sweat as metal jangled and one of her six locks disengaged. Then another, and another, until all six had been unlocked, and she’d just slipped the dagger into her skirts when the door pushed in.

It was not the Bear Prince after all. It was an elegant woman with slightly pointed ears, and she carried a tray of nuts and fruits.

Raquel nearly sighed with relief.

The kith woman regarded her curiously with eyes like Harran’s blue-tinged pines, then set the tray upon a table and started to go.

“When shall I expect my betrothed?” Raquel asked. Thankfully, her voice did not betray the nerves tangling inside of her.

“I will bring you to His Grace in the morning, and you will break fast with him.”

Raquel could not hide her surprise. “Morning? But he said—”

“Those are his orders, my lady. Good evening.”

“So am I to just stay—”

The woman shut the door, and one by one, each of her six locks clicked into place.

Raquel let out a puff of air and stared at the locks, feeling conflicted about this news. Tomorrow morning! She hated prolonging inevitabilities. Better to rip off the bandage and be done with it! Even more startling was that for all the Bear Prince’s scandalizing comments, he didn’t actually intend to share her bedchamber tonight.

Well.

Raquel pressed her fists to her hips.Nowhow was she to kill him? Her plan depended on him being alone with her, in their shared bedchamber, which should have been easy, given her position as his bride.

That was it. She would have to sneak intohisbedchamber, no doubt about it. But where was he sleeping?

Raquel snatched a handful of walnuts off the tray, then moved back to the window, where she ate, watching the comings and goings of the Forest kith and searching for the Bear Prince while trying to make sense of this strange place.

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