Page 44 of Married By Treachery

Ofher.

She sighed and adjusted her head, and a clump of hair slid over her face. Without thinking, Jake reached out and brushed it back, and when he tucked it behind her ear, she sighed again and leaned into his touch.

Jake’s brow furrowed.

And then he pulled his hand back and turned away from her. Ignoring that strange pain in his chest.

But then her slender arm slipped around his waist, and she curled against his back.

Jake froze and nearly magicked himself out of her grasp, but then he realized her hands were like ice and she was trembling.

He could magik her another blanket. It would be easy enough. Instead, and against his better judgment, he rolled toward her, slipped his arm beneath her head, and drew her close. Something sharp jabbed into his arm, and he grinned, realizing she’d hidden another little claw within her braid. He plucked it free from her plait and set it safely aside, then he held her until the trembling stopped, until her breathing evened.

Until he eventually fell asleep.

14

Jake had the dreams again. Of holding Raquel, of watching their children. Only this time, those children had names: Adi and Ronan. And while Ronan had the sharp features of their kith, the light stride and aristocratic air, Adi was the reflection of her mother, in body and in spirit.

And how JakelovedAdi.

It struck him that he should know what it was, this strange feeling that filled his chest to near bursting. This overwhelming urge to protect—that he would doanythingto see her thrive.

Even sacrifice his own life.

Jake woke with this single thought haunting him, compounded by the warmth of the woman currently asleep in his arms.

Raquel.

It was still dark, and she slept on her side, her back to him with Jake curled around her. His arm was over her waist, holding her protectively close, as he’d done in his dream, and he breathed in her hair. It smelled of spring, of fresh flowers and tall grass and sunlight. Something he had not smelled in ages, and it stirred something deep inside of him.

No.

Jake released his hold, rolled onto his back, and closed his eyes, pressing his fingertips into them.

Fates.

He had not come all this way to be thwarted by dreams and a pair of summer-sky eyes. He hadn’t lied to Raquel about the riddle. He just hadn’t given her all of it:

Through blood, by blood, may your sins be paid

Spent from a mortal heart, the heir must claim.

A babe wrought by harvest’s light,

And virgin be, by immortal’s sight,

Who holds the only road to your salvation.

He didn’t just need the affections of her heart; he also needed itsblood.

It had been the same for Edom, though after five failed bride sacrifices, Jake and his mother had begun to wonder. Perhaps “claim” meant more than just the physical act of cutting a heart open. The Fates’ meanings were so often convoluted and misunderstood.

Perhaps the heir needed to “claim” her affections as well, which was not something Edom could ever do.

So Jake’s mother got an idea. Maybe Jake should try. Let her worry about transferring the birthright. But after Jake stole the last bride from his brother and hid her away at his mother’s, only for her to escape into the mist and intercept a horde of Depraved, Canna endured seven more years of rot and decay. More and more of their people were added to the fallen, and King Issachar had fallen deeply ill. They did not know how much longer he would live, so if there was ever an opportunity to capitalize on this moment, to ask for the king’s blessing—something he would only bestow upon Canna’s successor—now was that time.

So Abecka had made the coat, Jake had formulated the sleeping draft for Edom and his men, and together, they set their new plan into motion. Besides, earning a woman’s affection had always been easy for Jake. So easy, he’d made a game of it.

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