Page 13 of The Dark Prince
My heart pounded in my chest, and I subtly gripped the edge of my chair. Surelythiswould be when he pressed his advantage; after he fed me and I was comfortable. It was gallant of him to see to my needs first. Many men wouldn’t have bothered.
Lord Tyr cleared his voice once, then twice. “You should get to bed. It will be the last time you have one for a few days.”
He held his hands out and I took them, confused. Lord Tyr helped me hobble over to the loft, then his hands went around my waist and picked me up, placing me halfway up the ladder.
I turned around to face him, confused. “Aren’t you going to …? I mean …”
“I will sleep with my men,” he said firmly, withdrawing his hands and already backing away.
Shame and embarrassment coursed through my body. This was proof he didn’t actually want to marry me. Was I that plain and hideous? Why had he said ‘you’ll do’ if I wasn’t to his liking?
None of this made sense. Even men who didn’t like the woman they married still took part in the … other aspects of marriage. Was I so ugly to him?
My despair must have shown on my face, because he took a step forward until we were face to face. Halfway up the ladder, I was level with his tall height. Light from the fire bounced off his mask, and again I wondered what was so horrible about his face that he tried to hide it. Most men wore their battle scars as a mark of pride.
His large hands cupped my face gently, his golden eyes aflame. Before I could react, he crashed his mouth to mine.
My mouth opened in instinct as I gasped against him, his tongue diving into claim me as I didn’t resist. I’d shared small kisses with a few of the other boys who served in the household, but nothing like this. Fire erupted from him, dark and needy. I let him consume me, his need sparking my own as a warm ember stoked to life deep in my core. His tongue claimed me viciously, stroking and delving as his teeth nipped and bit at my lower lip.
I groaned, and he pressed my back into the hard wood of the ladder.
I kissed him back, the edge of his mask digging into the skin above my mouth. I didn’t care. I moaned against him, letting him have me. A small thrill went through me as I realized my husband had aroused me.
As if the sound was a catalyst, he tore away from me as viciously as he’d started. My chest heaved as I touched my red, swollen lips. His eyes held a myriad of emotions, ranging from need and anger to utter terror.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice laced with despair. “I’m so, so sorry.”
Before I could utter another word, he fled the cottage, the door slamming behind him.
Six
TYR
Idon’t know why I kissed her, but it was a mistake; a momentary lapse of judgment that I paid for immediately when I saw the hope and lust burning in her eyes.
And then I’dapologized.
The Dark Prince never apologized. Not when I made my first kill at seventeen, or any of the countless others after it. And certainly not now.
So why had I done it?
Because this isn’t fair to her and you know it.
Fairness. That was a laugh! As if any of the king’s enemies suffered from ‘justice’. While I’m sure some of them were murderers and rapists, there were plenty who had simply been political prisoners. Then there were the countless family members and friends who’d paid the price as well.
The king used me indiscriminately because of the gifts bestowed on me by the curse. Each time he sent me out to enforce justice, he’d swear it was the last time. He’d always claimed that if I could take care of this for him, he could devote more time to researching how to break the curse.
A decade later, I finally figured out he wasn’t researching. He just enjoyed using me as his silent enforcer.
And I kept doing it, because everything I had came from him. It would be easy to forsake the castle and the gold and throw his jobs in his face, but he put me in charge of the brutal north. It had overjoyed the people here to have a lord, especially one as feared by me. They were once again protected and relied on me to keep them safe.
I couldn’t leave it all behind because my people would suffer.
And my father knew that.
I twisted and turned in my patch of hay, turning my back to my men. They hadn’t said a word when I stalked into the barn only a few minutes after them, slamming my battle ax and leathers onto the ground.
At least the king can’t undo this marriage. It was legal and binding, according to his own edicts.
