Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 76857 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76857 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
“Listen, my darling, you are safe. I am not going to hurt you. I’m not going to force you.” Patting my back like I was a child, he rocked me slightly, still pinning my hands to the small of my back. “All I want is to offer you some food. Just food, all right?”
Showing teeth, I snarled, “Let go!”
He did, his body between me and my escape route as he gently eased me down. Moving carefully away from where I shook, his hands spread in supplication before him, he apologized. “It was an involuntary response. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Involuntary? He was the one who had left me the naked dress and invaded my privacy. Rattled and angry, I barked, “You don’t have permission to touch me!”
Nodding in agreement, composed despite the fact that he had just chased me across the room, he said, “You must be hungry. Conversation and dinner, that’s all I ask.”
The door was still right there, five paces away. So close I could taste it. But I had seen the speed at which he could move. I would never make it. I would be caught and humiliated, and his response might not be as unruffled or apologetic the second time.
Caged, I measured the room and considered my options.
I had none.
Voice employing a soothing pitch, he offered, “I do not want you to be under the impression that you are trapped in this room. Running in a panic through unfamiliar ground is a sure way to get hurt. This is your home; everything within it is yours. There is safety and comfort in these walls.”
I may have been much younger, but I was not stupid. “I understand what you’re pointedly not saying. I’m not trapped in the room, but I’m only safe in the walls of your house.”
“You should not leave our home until you are—” He chose his next word after a moment of consideration. “—confident.” Smiling as if all he said was reasonable, Cyderial explained, “The city can be confusing. The layout was not designed for ease of travel but to mislead hunting vorec before the filters were constructed to keep the fog and predators at bay. Right now, you have no basis for orientation. When you are ready, I will escort you through the streets and teach you how to navigate them.”
Eyebrows high, eyes wide, I asked, “What gauge will determine if I’m confident enough to leave?”
“Right now, you are frightened. Give yourself time to acclimatize to our new situation.”
The logic was sound, but there was no mistaking I was caught in his web, under his control right where he wanted me. It also didn’t help that I wasn’t feeling well, too hot, extremely agitated, and tired, though I must have slept far more than normal.
He’d claimed I’d slept in his bed for two whole days.
As if his thoughts paired mine, he urged my attention toward a waiting table set for two. “You’ll feel better once you eat.”
He would make short work of me if I was weak from starvation, but I was too keyed up on adrenaline to possess any desire for sustenance. Closer to nausea, as fevered as I was.
I was on fire.
Pressing a hand to my queasy stomach, warmth radiated from my belly as if I were fighting a serious infection. “I think I need the infirmary.”
His voice was cool water. “There is a gift from your mother to celebrate our mating. It was delivered while you enjoyed your rest.”
“My mother?” He had found the perfect lure to draw my attention.
I hadn’t seen my mom since I was eleven, any gifts she may have sent confiscated by the academy. I only knew she had prepared them from her mention of handmade sweets in her letters, which I still received, per protocol, on my birthday every year.
“It’s right there.”
It may have been a decade since I had seen the packaging her bakery used, but I recognized the pink box at a single glance. Forbidden sugar was within. “You’re not going to take it away?”
“No.”
Apprehensive, I narrowed my eyes. “I can eat it?”
He moved toward the table, pulling out a chair and motioning that I should take a seat atop the soft ivory cushion. “You’re the mate of a general now. Academy restrictions no longer apply.”
That was the ugly detail at the root of my misery and humiliation. “How does she know I’ve been mated?”
Smiling, he beckoned me with a finger and tried to tempt me closer to the box. “I updated the registry while you were sleeping. We are legally joined. Announcements have been made throughout the city. You now have the full protection of my rank.”
Seeing that man smile was unsettling in the extreme. I could hardly comprehend how his face might contort into any expression other than a scowl. “Protection from what?”