Page 15 of Façade

“Then perhaps a diverting story is in order.” He leaned back in his seat, his gaze flickering to the cut marring my cheek, which he’d been polite enough to ignore earlier. “I’m sure there’s an amusing explanation for…” He awkwardly gestured towards his own cheek.

“It’s impolite to comment on your wife’s appearance unless it’s a compliment.” Not that I cared; the topic of my attempted assassination was simply the last topic I wished to discuss with the likes of him.

“I’m merely fulfilling my husbandly duty. I hope I can be forgiven considering it concerns my wife’s well-being.”

I gnawed my lip as I searched for an explanation that could appease his curiosity, anything to prevent him from suspecting the truth. “We encountered a brief scuffle on the journey here, but my guard dispatched the problem.”

“But not before you got hurt.” His frown deepened, and if our marriage hadn’t been a façade I’d have reason to wonder if he demonstrated genuine concern.

“Considering the circumstances, I’m fortunate to have only received a single cut. My guards are well-trained.” At least they had been back in Estoria. I wasn’t certain how long I had before Ryland noticed that none of these guards had actually accompanied me. Unfortunately, likely not long at all.

“I’m grateful that despite the difficulties of your journey you still arrived safely.”

Of course he was; he couldn’t exploit me or my kingdom’s magic if I was dead. With this last cynical thought, the endless meal finally came to an end. Utterly exhausted by the tedium, I gratefully rose. Ryland’s own strained smile told me the meal had been wearying for him as well.

“Thank you for dining with me; I enjoyed getting to better know my wife.”

He gave his rehearsed lie smoothly and without any sign of insincerity, yet it took effort for me to contain my snort of disgust. Not only had we scarcely come to better know one another with our conversation limited to the most trivial of topics, but the only aspect of his new wife he genuinely cared about was my magic.

“I look forward to talking again soon,” he continued. “There’s much left undiscussed.”

Like my supposed powers?But I hastily disguised my annoyance with a tight, insincere smile of my own.

Ryland offered me his arm and led me to an adjoining door. It took me several steps to recognize it as the door leading to his bedroom. Suddenly my previous worries became the least of my concerns, leaving only panic as I remembered a duty that came with marriage, one my other pressing concerns had determinedly avoided.

No…no, no,no.Aversion prickled my skin at the thought of being with this man in such a way. While I’d willingly placed myself on the altar by giving up all my future happiness and likely my life to protect my kingdom, this was one step too far in my sacrifice, especially in a marriage that was nothing more than a sham.

I froze, yanking him to a stop. “No!”

He paused, puzzlement furrowing his brow as he glanced down at me. “Pardon?”

I was vaguely aware that my response was entirely inappropriate for an amenable wife, but in this moment, that was the last type of woman I wanted to even pretend to be. “I’ll sleep in my own room tonight,alone, as I will for every night in the foreseeable future.” I unwound my arm from his.

He raised an eyebrow and almost seemed amused at my response. He made to approach, but before he could move even a single step, I fumbled for the butter knife from the stack of dishes left on the table and brandished it in front of me. “No!”

His eyes bulged, not in fear but surprise and even amusement, seeming entirely unmoved by my threat. For a moment he looked as if he might smile, but any hint of it faded almost immediately.

“Is sparring a hidden talent that you failed to mention in our discussion about our hobbies?”

I’d admittedly given sword training a try, not that I’d ever admit such a thing. “It will become my hobby very quickly should you force yourself upon me.”

Despite the absurdity of my position, for the first time in our interaction intrigue filled his eyes, no longer soulless but almostalive, as if nothing pleased him more than to have an emotional woman wielding a weapon at him. I was too worked up to puzzle the possible reason for such an out-of-place emotion; the man was undoubtedly insane.

“I—that is, I wasn’t—or rather, I didn’t expect…” He trailed off, looking vastly uncomfortable, and might have garnered my sympathy if I didn’t dislike or distrust the cad so profusely. He took a moment where he seemed to be searching for the words that wouldn’t ruffle me further. “Despite our duty to eventually…” His blush robbed him of the words to finish that unpleasant thought.

“Duty or not, I will sleep in my own room with the door locked, and you will stay away.”

Offense finally eclipsed his fluster. “Regardless of what might be…expected, I would never enter your room without your permission after you’ve made your thoughts on the matter so abundantly clear.”

“Our relationship remains too new for me to value your word, especially when all we discussed at dinner was food and the weather, not the best topics on which to build trust.” Especially not with his plans to exploit my kingdom. My voice hitched and heat blotched my cheeks as my emotions escalated, immune to my attempts to quench them.

He blinked at me, seeming startled by my show of emotion—so different from the careful, polite mask I’d worn until now. He took a hesitant step forward, and in my swell of emotion I feared he meant to drag me to his room for our blasted “duty” himself…but in one swift move, he picked up his own butter knife and disarmed me with a rather impressive flick of his wrist. I gaped in shock as it clattered to the ground.

“Sparring is admittedly a much preferable way to spend this evening.”

I blinked at my fallen weapon in astonishment before lifting my stunned gaze to his taunting smirk. I didn’t remain defeated for long before I unsheathed the dagger I’d taken from the assassin and kept tucked beneath my petticoats and lifted it to his neck. “I saidno.”

One would think having a knife against one’s neck would rile any normal person, but rather than being put off by my feisty temper, he almost seemed…fascinated.

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