Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
A wareness trickles in, layer by layer.
My head pounds. Every inch of me feels raw and scalded, like I’ve been dipped in acid and hung out on the line to dry.
I peel my eyes open for the second time today.
Except this awakening feels nothing like the first. The hope that buoyed me this morning has vanished, leaving me bereft. Because wherever I am right now, it’s somewhere Weston’s not.
Shadows crowd the room. A single candle glows on a table, but I can’t tell whether it’s noon or midnight, because there are no windows. At least whatever bed I’ve been dumped into is plush, the bedding luxurious.
I struggle into a sit. My stomach dips and sways, but I manage to hold it still after a few resolute swallows.
Then I shriek and flinch back. A man sits at the foot of the bed, regarding me with mild eyes.
“Alverton,” I manage.
“Miss Bria.” The duke is immaculately dressed, his hair brushed back with precision. He’s every bit as handsome as I remember. “I trust you enjoyed your journey?”
I blink. Is he serious? My eyes dart, taking measure of my surroundings. We must be on his estate, because the furnishings are lavish. A gilt-trimmed wardrobe stands against one wall. A wedding dress hangs from its door, even more extravagant than the one I wore into the woods.
I hate it on sight.
“Hmm,” Alverton says. “Not as vocal as you were last month, it seems.”
I inch back until my spine presses against the headboard. A rustle in the corner claims my attention, and I startle all over again.
Ramses lurks in the shadows, his arms crossed, his tricorn pulled low.
“Well, no matter.” The duke’s gaze is serene. “I don’t actually need you to talk. I only need you to put on that dress.” He gestures to the wardrobe. “As soon as the ceremony’s complete, you’ll accompany me to my office. I have some contracts that need signing. Entrepreneurial ventures you’ll need to ensure the success of. I’ve already put them on hold for far too long.”
I huddle into the pillows, wishing I could disappear. “No. No, that’s not going to happen. I’m sorry, but...” My tongue trips over itself. Why did I just apologize? I didn’t mean that in the slightest.
I gather a breath and try again. “I’m promised to someone else. It’s been decided. I’m marrying him, not you.”
The duke’s laugh holds genuine amusement. “Let me guess, that Null ruffian from your foyer? Go ahead. Marry him. I’ll only bring you right back here again. Because I was promised a Charmed wife, and that’s what I’m getting. As far as I’m concerned, you’re already bought and paid for.”
Indignation blooms hot in my chest. “You can’t just buy people.”
“Can’t I?” He spreads his hands. “My contract with your brother would suggest I can.”
Brendan. Just thinking his name makes me want to scream. “I never agreed to that.”
“But your family did,” he says, all confidence. “And soon enough, so will you.”
I shake my head, my heartbeat a trapped, frantic thing in my throat. “I won’t. I want to go home.”
“Miss Bria, you’re already there.”
Words fail me, the sheer assuredness in his expression withering my anger to dust. Tears spring to my eyes. This has all gone so horribly wrong. As if my luck doesn’t even exist. Maybe it doesn’t, with another Charm in the room. Or maybe Ramses’ luck outranks mine, somehow.
“You’re fortunate,” the duke continues, placid. “Most husbands aren’t as lenient as I am. Most would wonder what you were doing with that highwayman, out there in the woods. Most would wonder why, when you found yourself alone, you chose to pick flowers instead of fleeing your captor.”
Wariness prickles along my skin.
“It’s enough to wonder if your Null lover and the man who stole you had anything in common.”
I clamp my teeth together, fear stitching my lips closed. I’ll die before giving Weston up.
But Alverton only chuckles. “Oh, Miss Bria, you’re far less clever than you realize. But I couldn’t care less about what you two did out there. You still have your Mark. That’s all that matters. And once we’re married, I’m willing to put this all behind us. You’ll spend your days in my office and your nights in my bed, and we’ll consider your past just that. That’s more than generous of me, I think.”
Bile rises in my throat, hot and stinging. “You can’t force me to marry you.”
“Oh, I have no intention of forcing you. I’m going to wait until you ask.”
I bare my teeth. “That’ll never happen.”
“I doubt that very much. Because there’s only one way you’re leaving this room.”
All the blood drains from my cheeks. “What?”
“This”—he gestures around—“is your world now. At least until you put on that dress.”
A whimper claws its way out of me. “What? No. You can’t keep me here forever.”
“No, I imagine not.” Alverton stands and brushes imaginary lint from his lapel. “You’ll probably get thirsty after a day or so.”
My mouth falls open. “Thirsty? What, you’re going to keep me here without food? Without water?”
His lips quirk. “Your change of heart will be a quick one, I think. Just put on that dress once you’ve decided, and we can move forward. I’ll check in on you tomorrow, all right?”
My fingers curl into the sheets, clawlike. He can’t be serious. He can’t mean to imprison me here.
The duke strides to the door and opens it. “And in case you’re banking on your luck saving you, it won’t. No amount of kismet can unlock four deadbolts. Which is exactly what’s on the other side of this door. ”
My throat thickens. I try to wall off the tears, but they overflow without my permission, carving hot paths down my cheeks. “You can’t do this. My brother?—”
“Thinks you’re still lost in the woods. And will continue to do so until you’ve become my wife.”
I fist the sheets so hard my hands ache. “No. Just…use Ramses. You don’t even need me.”
The duke raises an eyebrow.
I glare at the man who snatched me from the woods. From my almost-happiness. “Take him to your office. Use his luck to sign your contracts.”
Alverton sighs. “Oh, Miss Bria. Ramses is only a procurer. Now that you’ve been procured, he’s off to his next job. Besides, you and me should establish our routine sooner rather than later, don’t you think?”
My limbs go numb and heavy. Dread settles over me like a shroud.
“Don’t argue with him, pet,” Ramses says.
I hiss at him. “You. Why’re you even helping him?”
“Because.” He peers at his fingernails and shrugs. “Ramses said so already. He likes to do what no one else can.”
“You’re evil,” I say, but the sob that ruptures my voice halfway through robs the accusation of power. “I knew it the moment you touched me.”
He smiles in a way that makes my skin crawl. “Hurts the first time, doesn’t it? All that luck in one place. It’s like shoving two positive sides of a magnet together. But the sting...” His voice drops to a purr. “It starts to feel good, the more times you do it. Ramses likes it now. You should try it again, some time.”
My tears flow faster. I wonder if he was always mad, or if something about touching other Charms made him that way. “You’ve lost your mind.”
“Maybe.” His grin slashes white in the dimness. “But right now, Ramses suggests you be a good girl and put on that wedding dress. Fighting will only make it worse for you.”
“Wise words,” Alverton adds from the doorway.
My chest burns itself to ashes. I want to scream. To rage. To rend the fear and hopelessness brewing inside me to ribbons.
The duke clicks his tongue. Ramses tips his hat to me, then strolls out.
“This is wrong,” I shout through my sobs. “This is inhumane.”
Alverton lingers in the doorway. His eyes are impassive, almost fond. “No, my dear. This is business.”
The door closes with a click of finality.