Page 69 of A Tale of Treachery

Ryken rose and stood in front of me, shielding me from the ogling looks coming from the men in the room. A dark possessiveness rolled off him, stifling the air.

“Everybody out! Now!” Aiden’s voice cut through the room, and the guards trickled away, one by one, eyeing us warily, until only Brandon, George, Aiden, Ryken, and I remained.

“I meant everyone except Dahlia. That includes all of you.” He looked at my friends, and then his eyes sliced to Ryken. “Especially you. Leave now.”

Ryken laughed. He wasn’t going anywhere.

“We’re not leaving until he does,” George argued, pointing his sword at the large male blocking me.

I slid my hand along Ryken’s back, the tight muscles flinching beneath my palm. He was a snake, coiled and ready to strike, but he needed to leave. I couldn’t shoulder the blame for him being sidetracked from his plan. Too much damage had already been done. He was lucky to be offered the opportunity to leave this room with his freedom.

“Ryken, you should go,” I pleaded, softly sliding my hands along his back in reassurance. “I can take care of this myself.”

“No,” he snapped, cracking his neck from side to side, preparing for a showdown.

Frustration rose inside me. I could take care of this myself, but he was too busy marking his territory to care. Damn possessive male.

“I wasn’t asking, Ryken. You need to leave. This doesn’t involve you,” I said, wincing at how the words had come out.

He twisted in my direction, his head snapping back as if he had been slapped. His eyes darted between Aiden and me, confusion and disbelief warring on his face. “You’re not serious.” He wrinkled his brow and searched my expression, the irises in his eyes dancing along my tight lips and narrowed eyes.

Couldn’t he see that I was doing this for him? If he didn’t leave now, then he wouldn’t get a second chance at freedom. Aiden would go to his father, who would summon an army to take us both away in chains. It had to be like this. He had to see the reason behind my decision. He couldn’t afford any distractions.

I pleaded with my eyes, begging him to reach into my mind and understand my reasoning, but his expression bore no sign of comprehension. I grabbed his hand and softly squeezed in a manner that saidTrust me,but a look of cold betrayal set across his stony features.

“I’m serious…please.” I spoke the last word in a hushed tone.

Ryken snorted and whipped his hand from my grasp. He stepped back and sheathed his weapons, then waved his arm out and bent his waist into a mocking bow. He snapped up to his full height and rolled his shoulders back, marking me with a look that promised punishment.

“Of course,” he snarled, his lips curling to bare his teeth. “Have a good evening rolling over for your princeling, harlot.”

He stormed from the room, but not before admiring the look of devastation on my face, smirking in pleasure from the soul-crushing reaction his words had caused. My chest cracked in half, a hollow cavity forming where my heart should have been.

He’d warned me that he was a jealous male, but I never imagined he could be so completely blinded by the emotion, that he would refuse to see reason.

George followed him out, but Brandon remained by the door, watching as I rubbed my chest, willing warmth to flood back into the emptiness.

“Brandon, you can leave,” Aiden said.

Brandon’s gaze darted toward Aiden, and he rubbed the back of his neck, unsure whether he should leave us alone. His thin smile and glazed eyes stretched in my direction before he spoke to Aiden. “Just please, take it easy on her.”

Aiden responded with a single nod, and Brandon loosed a shuddering breath before departing. The door snicked closed behind him, leaving the two of us alone, the air thick with tension.

I didn’t speak. No words could fix what I’d done. It was my fault for not having this conversation with him sooner, but he had hidden things from me too.

Aiden was a barely contained ball of rage, his fists clenching and unclenching, his muscles straining with the need to strike out. My chin quivered as he stalked toward me, clearly on the brink of explosion. I tracked his path, my hands shaking.

He wasn’t the friend I knew and loved, not anymore. Someone I didn’t recognize halted before me, and dread rattled my nerves. He was breathing in sharp pants that hit the side of my face, and his chest heaved. I braced for him to strike but was reassured by the thought that he would never lay a hurtful hand on me.

I was wrong.

His arm lashed out, his palm gripping my neck in a tight hold as he choked the air from my lungs. He walked my body back toward the bed, his legs pushing and pressing against mine. My clasp on the sheet wrapped around me loosened in shock, and the material fell to the floor, leaving me completely exposed. He pushed me onto the bed, his eyes flaring at my nakedness.

“How could you?” he yelled, spittle flying from his mouth and landing on my lips. His arm snapped back to release the hold he had on me, and the mattress absorbed the jarring motion of my skull flying backward. “I broke a vow to God because of you. I’d been abstinent before you. I was saving myself for my wife, which would have been you. All you had to do was trust me. I had a plan. A plan to get out of my engagement. A plan to end my father’s hold over this kingdom. But you… you just couldn’t wait.”

Aiden retreated and squeezed his eyes closed, dragging his hands down his face as though to force the image of what he’d just seen from his head. I grabbed the sheets and clutched them around my body like a shield. When he opened his eyes again, his gaze burned into me, hatred burrowing a path into my soul.

“Things are going to change around here from now on. It goes without saying that you will be receiving a new guard. Multiple guards, seeing as you need to be monitored since you can’t keep your legs closed,” he spat. “In the mornings, you will come to my bedroom and bow to me, then get on your knees and ask my permission to go on with your daily tasks. If, and only if, I grant my approval will you be allowed to leave the palace and go about your day. I expect you to be in my bed every night when the sun sets. You won’t like the punishment for not adhering to these rules. Do you understand?”

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