Chapter 33 Rhianelle #2
His lips twitch to an almost smile but he kills it immediately. Something clicks across his handsome features as he looks at me with a hollow expression.
I don’t understand it until I saw the Rhunhraefn on my belly laid bare before his eyes. I cover the raven marking back quickly, but it’s too late.
Just like that the spell between us is broken.
A low rumble emanates from his chest. I swallow nervously at the tortured look on his face.
We should make him march across town without clothing.
It’s heart-wrenching every time the past curse bearers show me what was done to him. I hate it.
Heat floods into his gaze when he looks at me again. I can tell that he hates me for making him feel that way.
“I don’t want this. I don’t want you.” The words rip free from him.
They hurt me enough that I bite back. “That makes the two of us.”
He leans down, trapping me in my seat.
“Then cut the pretense,” he snarls. The weight of his stare is squeezing the air out of my lungs.
“Just drop your command.” His voice is raw and vicious. “Kill the Fae King? Burn the world? What will it be?”
I shake my head, “Svenn…”
“Isn’t that what you want?”
“Not like this.”
“Do you want me to go on a killing spree in Avalon?” He brings his face within inches of mine. “The earth will flood with the blood of your enemies.”
“No.”
My heart stutters in my chest as he shifts even closer.
He murmurs just low enough for me to hear. “Maybe I should feast on your people instead.”
A shiver goes through me. “Please don’t.”
“Why not? They are nothing but cattle to me.” His tone is cold and emotionless.
“I can’t let you do that.” He doesn’t touch me, but this closeness alone strangles me.
“And who will stop me?”
“My knights—”
“Your guards are incompetent fools. They can’t even protect you from an ambush,” he says, dropping his head close to my ear as if he is sharing some deep secret. “It’s almost like they wanted you to die.”
If Rainer hadn’t changed Aelfric’s riding arrangement with the Grimsbane, Darstan would have protected me from the arrows with his heavy shield.
“They don’t—”
“Your people don’t love you. They’re rooting for your death. I’d be doing you a favor.”
“Enough.” I glare up at him. I bite down a dozen nasty retorts reminding myself he has just been released from his prison. “I will never let you hurt any of them.”
Time stands still for a moment as our eyes connect. I feel like I can be disintegrated into nothing by that stare. The air is drenched with tension from our heightened emotions.
He was nice enough to me in the forest that I thought we might have a chance to talk this through. I don’t understand why he suddenly keeps baiting me right now.
Fate brought us together for a reason. I’ve seen him in my dreams. I heard his summon and cry for help. “You called for me—”
A dark laugh escapes him as he glances at the sky.
“I beg the universe to end my suffering,” he says with a long exhale. His eyes return to me, making a slow gaze from up to down. “And they send me… you.”
Svenn gives me a look of utter repulse. Like I’m something filthy. Trash. “A vengeful elven queen on a warpath. Rhianelle Wiolant.”
My heart aches, recalling the way my name played on his mouth like a caress on our wedding night. Now he says it with such distaste that I can feel the bitterness in my own mouth.
“I am no oracle, but the future is bleak, filled with death and destruction,” he continues before I can say anything. “What was it again you told me? A bakery and a fragrance shop? The only scent around you is blood.”
All the kindness he showed me from that night turns to rot. I’ve never opened up that part of me to anyone. Not even to Blaire. It’s a silly dream, even I know it.
“I don’t get why you wanted to avenge your sister’s death. Deep down inside, you envied her. She’s the perfect daughter, the fearsome warrior, the rightful heir. Your sister might have made a better queen.”
His words slice at me like a dagger.
“How do you know all that?” My voice breaks along with my heart. I’ve never told him anything about Aerin.
“I know everything about you, wife.” He gives me a mocking smile.
I level a dark glower at him. The air crackles with tension as we stare at each other, the weight of our exchange hanging heavy between us.
“Screw you. You know nothing about me.” I walk away from him, temper flaring.
I understand Svenn is in pain but that was too much. My steps pace faster before I make an even bigger fool out of myself. I can feel his gaze on my back, searing me like hot iron.
You should bring him to his knees. One of the past curse bearers beckons me.
Quiet, I snap at her. I grab the heir by the throat and throw her into the icy lake. The others shudder and retreat into the darkness.
I swear by the Un I will never do that to Svenn. No matter how infuriating he is, I will never use the Rhunhraefn on him.
Ever.
Wait— I pause my dramatic exit.
Heavens above.
Svenn doesn’t know which one is the royal tent. It’s built the same as my knights’ to confuse attackers. I’d hate for him to stumble on Darstan or worse, Aelfric.
I can’t catch a break, can I?
I make a drastic turn and march back towards the vampire.
His body tenses at my return, locking up in defense. Those dark piercing eyes hold my gaze.
“Our tent is the one at the centre,” I say to him, pointing him in that direction.
I hear his sharp intake of breath, waiting for me to continue.
“Th—There is a small marking at the door,” I stammer.
Silence falls for several beats as he looks at me. His eyes glimmer with an equal amount of hatred and desire. I know because the same feelings are warring in my chest this very second.
Just when my heart is about to burst, he finally says, “I’ve memorized your scent. I’ll find you.”