Page 48 of Spoils of war
What saying yes would mean.
I would have to share his bed.
The bed of the enemy.
It wasn’t a grand, romantic proposal. It was a deal he thought I’d be desperate enough to accept. Panic surged through me as I tried to think of how I could decline his offer without offending him.
“I’m engaged,” I blurted. “To Eskild Hjord. We’re getting married next summer.”
I made the name up on the spot. He couldn’t know that… could he? But his expression shifted, the warmth vanished.
“Don’t lie to me,” he snapped, grabbing my arm.
“I’m not—”
“Have you let him in your bed?” His voice turned sharp. Accusing, like I’d already betrayed him.
“No. Of course not,” I bit out.
“Then you’re mine.”
My heart pounded.
“You’ll be a good wife, ” he said.
“No." My voice cracked.
But he wasn’t asking, and that’s when it struck me. I’d searched for something human in him, convinced myself that he might be different. That not all of them were monsters.
But I was wrong.
Archewasa monster. He just pretended not to be.
“No?” he echoed, staring at me.
I didn’t know how it happened so fast. One moment, he was murmuring promises of safety and protection, and the next, his hands were on me.
I was trapped. Pinned between him and the wall.
“Let me go,” I begged.
One hand slid around the back of my neck. The other tightened around my arm. His breath hit my face. Hot. Stale. Hungry.
There had never been a choice. I tried to turn my head, but he held me there.
“You’ll learn to obey,” he hissed.
“Stop,” I pleaded. “Please. Stop.”
The wall dug into my back. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.
“You’ll do what you’re told,” he growled against my ear. “Be a good girl.”
Then he took my mouth with his. Rough. Uninvited.
I pulled back instinctively, but he pressed me harder into the wall. I tried to push him off, and he caught my wrists and slammed them into the stone. The shock of it stole my breath.
Then his tongue forced its way in. I gagged. It was wet. Suffocating. Tasted like sweat and sour wine.
