Page 23 of The Never List
I’ve seen no less than a dozen public executions over the years. Ashlanders and residents of other lower cities are forced to travel to the royal square whenever there’s acrime the kings think merits public punishment. They want us to watch and learn, to fully understand what happens to those who aren’t loyal to them, all under the guise of never wanting conflict between our people again.
The last execution I saw had been a young demi Ashlander who’d never warranted attention before. Then he fell in love with the daughter of a duke, and the couple begged the kings for their blessing to be married. They’d been denied, of course, and they’d gotten married in secret—a direct defiance of their kings’ orders.
Treason, they’d called it.
Baydel had made the young man bend his own body in grotesque ways while his new wife watched. Ways a body should never bend. A slow, painful, brutal death.
They let the wife go, thanks to her noble status, but I don’t know if her fate was easier than her beloved’s. Living with those images…
All because they fell in love. Two people from the same kingdom but opposites in every other way.
It takes all of my will to bury my power as Baydel continues to reach out with his own, takes everything in me not to fight back. I don’t know why they can’t sense it; maybe I’m burying too well from years of practice. Or perhaps they don’t suspect, so they aren’t looking for it. Either way, it’s a blessing I don’t take for granted.
“You are quite exquisite for a mere Ari,” Baydel says, shifting to lean one arm on the pillar right next to my face. The motion draws him so close, his chest threatens to brush mine. “I wonder which noble line of blood runs in your veins.” He trails a finger down my cheek.
A wave of ice flashes over my skin to settle in mystomach. Goddess, I know what he’s doing, why they’re all here. Baydel is trying to seduce me. No, seduce would imply romancing and consent and seeking out how to pleasure the other most. This isn’t that.
This feels like what Turner did after the first time—take and take and take, regardless of what I wanted, regardless of whether or not I saidno.
Can I say no to a king? To four of them?
He moves his fingers from my cheek to my hair, sliding them through the strands. Every touch turns my stomach, but I keep my face indifferent as I scramble to think through my options. If I fight it, he can just use his power and force me; if I submit, I’ll survive, but I can’t bear the thought.
I close my eyes, willing my mind to calm…
And for reasons I can’t even begin to explain, when I close my eyes, I see Jax. I hear his laugh and feel his hands on my body as we danced. I see Kal and the way he threatened the enforcer for touching me. Fire ignites in my core, burning the panic away.
I peel my eyes open, crashing back to reality with a newfound sense of confidence that is likely rash, but I can’t find the ability to care.
“You see, little bug,” Baydel says, his tone low as he continues to slide that hand out of my hair and down my bare shoulder, “we’re here before the Legends because it’s our right to experience you first, to test you and make sure you’re fit for our sons.”
That definitely wasn’t in the contract.
A wave of nausea bubbles up my throat. I knew what he was doing, but hearing him speak about me like I’m nothing more than a piece of property is impossible to swallow.How many people have the kings done this to? Not just the past potentials, but anyone else who has fallen prey to their entitled demands?
Just as that thought forms, another one follows. What if the others…wanted this? Sleeping with the four kings…maybe some said yes. Maybe some wanted them back, wanted to see what it would be like to be part of this much power. That’s fair and fine for them, if that was the case. But it’s not what I want.
I entertained the fantasy of being with the Legends. I accepted the pin, the Choosing contract, despite thinking I’d never be selected. I felt desire for Jax before he picked me.
This? The way Baydel is pressing, pushing… I don’t give a fuck that they rule the world I live in; they willnotrule my body.
Baydel’s hand travels lower, down my ribs and shifting across my stomach—
I gently grab his wrist, pausing him. Warning ripples through his eyes as they meet mine.
“You will not be experiencing me, your majesty,” I say as smoothly as I can.
Baydel tilts his head, and his grin transforms into something closer to a snarl. “You are my subject,” he bites out. “I can experience you in whichever way I wish.”
“I belong to Jax,yourson. He chose me. Just as I belong to Kal,” I say, flashing my eyes to Jullian, who has pushed off the pillar and stepped closer to us. I can’t read his eyes, but they’re nowhere near as evil as Baydel’s. “I belong to the Legends of Chaos, and they will be the only ones laying claim to me.”
Baydel’s mouth parts, genuine shock washing over hisfeatures. I’m certain he’s not used to being spoken to like this, just as I’m almost certain he’s killed anyone who has ever dared to try.
He presses right up against me, breaking my hold on his wrist, rubbing his cheek over mine. “Are you sure, little bug?” I cringe, trying to move, trying to push him off…
But I can’t.
I’m frozen. Not in fear or panic—though both are prevalent in my body—but byhim. His power.
