Page 62 of Wild Flame

Before I could even begin contemplating who could have taken my things or why, the door burst open, and Malik strode in.

“Leida, we need to talk,” he stated without any preamble as he shut the door behind him. I just caught a glimpse of my guards standing outside as he did. I had been so upset that I hadn’t even realized they had followed me.

I took Malik in as he stood there in his armor and his crown, looking perfectly masculine and regal and not at all ruffled by what had just happened, and for some reason that made me even madder.

The sound that came out of my mouth was a mix between a disbelieving scoff and a harsh laugh. “Now you want to talk?” I asked coldly. “The time for talking is done, Malik. The time for talking would have beenbeforeyou announced to the whole world that I was to be your wife.”

“I did try to speak with you, but you refused to hear me out.” His tone was laced with a hint of remorse.

But I didn’t want to hear it, not when so much anger and disbelief were near choking me with how hard I was fighting to hold them in. And I would hold it in. That’s what I did. I would not show this man how he had affected me.

So instead, I said, “Where are my things?”

I could tell I had surprised him with the abrupt change in topic, but he answered immediately.

“All of your belongings have been moved to my chambers, as that is where you will be staying from now on.”

“I can’t stay in your room.”

“You can and you will.”

“We are not yet married.”

“That makes little difference.”

I glared at him, but I was a little taken aback. “Of course it matters. Until we are joined in the eyes of the Nine, I will not share a room with you. I want my things placed back in here.”

He shook his head. “I can’t do that. You are my intended bride now—my Hassai. The people will expect you to follow our traditions. In their eyes, we are as good as joined. Sleeping in separate rooms is not done,” he said, crossing his arms over his armor. “It would call into question the stability of our joining and we must present a united front.”

“My parents have had separate chambers for years,” I protested, “and no one questions the stability of the realm because of it.”

He cocked his head to the side and that amber stare took me in. “That is Halmar. This is Zehvi.”

I swallowed hard at his emphatic statement and decided to approach this from a different angle. “Why are you even doing this, Malik?” The question hung in the air between us, thick and expectant, but I didn’t give him a chance to answer. “You do notlove me. So, why? Is this out of a sense of obligation? Is that why you did this? After . . . after last night, after what we did, you feel compelled to marry me?”

His face darkened. “First, siren, nothing and no one can compel me to do something I do not wish to do. So no, I did not make you my Hassai out of some misguided sense of duty.” He paused as if to drive that point home. “However, I would not have let last night happen if I had not intended to make you my Hassai and bind myself to you.”

His words echoed what he had said to me in the garden before we were interrupted. And before I could decide how I felt about it all, he continued.

“Last night, when I saw you in that gown. That was the moment I knew. The moment I could see you as my queen, not only as someone who intrigued and challenged me, but someone who could stand at my side and rule a kingdom with me.”

My pulse raced, and I found it hard to breathe at his confession.

“It was something I had known for a while, after you saved Zara and what you did for those people during the attack, but I resolved then and there that you would be mine. I wrote to your father last night and accepted his terms. I’m sure he will forgive the fact that I have already declared you my Hassai by the time he gets the missive, given the circumstances.”

My thoughts ground to a halt at his words. “Terms? What terms? You have been in discussions with my father?”

Malik nodded, his shrewd gaze taking in my sudden stillness. “Yes, we have been corresponding since before you came to Zehvi. Soon after my father died, your father wrote me proposing a marriage alliance between our kingdoms. I told him I would be seeking a wife from among my own people, and I thought that was the end of it.” He watched me closely as he added, “That was, until a few weeks later when you were sent toattend the Rites rather than your sister, who had originally been slated to attend.”

“My . . . sister,” I repeated softly. I sat hard on the bed, feeling like the wind had been knocked out of me. “That was why he sent me,” I realized, hardly aware I had spoken aloud. This trip had never been about my father having confidence in my ability to represent Halmar. That had just been an excuse to get me here. My father had sent me to Zehvi to try to tempt Malik into an alliance, to parade me under his nose in the hopes that I might entice him into marriage.Put yourself in his path.I had wondered if that was the reason, but . . . having it confirmed. Now it all made sense. Helene had always been meant to be here, being the dutiful heir she was, until the man before me had told my father no. Then my father had hatched a plan of his own. Had my father been more aware and observant than I realized about how intrigued I was by Malik after his visit to Nevgard? Did he think there was a possibility Malik had felt something towards me as well, and so he had sent me instead? Or more likely, I was just the spare daughter he had finally found a use for.

Malik frowned and nodded. Then he continued speaking, unaware of my inner turmoil. “I guessed his intention was for you to seduce me and get me to change my mind. So imagine my surprise when you not only avoided my company altogether, but seemed to despise my very existence. It quickly became clear you had no notion of your father’s ulterior motives.”

No. I might have suspected, but I hadn’t known—because neither of them had seen fit to tell me anything.

Fury took hold of me then. “So you and my father decided. You decidedmyfuture—mylife—and you didn’t think to ask or consult me?” I had always known I would most likely be married off for some political advantage on my father’s part, but I thought I was safe for the time being. But no, it turned out he had simply been maneuvering it all behind my back.

“I tried to tell you last night,” Malik said, “to ask you . . . before things got carried away.”

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