Chapter Ten
The door shut behind me with a deep, echoing thud. The sound settled into the bones of the room.
Warmth coiled though the space. Firelight flickered in a large stone fireplace on the far right hand wall. Thick pelts hung as decoration on both the walls and floors, trophies of violence and dominance, a silent reminder of what the wolves were capable of.
I kept my eyes away from the bed. It loomed in the centre of the room, far too large, draped in furs. From what I could see, it was large enough for two people to sleep without touching. Hopefully.
Rhael moved further inside, his presence sharpening the air. His gaze swept every corner, every shadow. Every movement earnt his attention as if expecting something to emerge from the walls.
If anything, his tension only grew. It was clear neither King trusted one another, both were waiting for the other to strike first.
I knew very little about the Lycanthyr Wolves, I had never needed to.
My survival had always been about what was directly in front of me.
A species I never thought I would encounter became insignificant.
Now I wished I had listened to the stories my mother had told me as a child, I remembered fragments, but it wasn't enough.
Wolves ruled Lycanthyr, that much was obvious. They were also self sufficient. Everything they needed was grown, hunted or forged within their own borders. They did not rely on outsiders and rarely looked for alliances.
Humans were beneath them, like all species, they saw us as wastes of oxygen. My presence alone was likely an insult, but it was not as if I had any choice.
“I was a fool to bring you here,” Rhael muttered, finally breaking the silence. “You don’t know enough.”
The words stung. I wanted to roll my eyes, to tell him that much was obvious. The only thing that stopped me was his posture. This was not his court, not his realm. Here he was not untouchable, and I was far more vulnerable than usual.
“Then enlighten me,” I offered, resting against the wall near the fireplace. The heat ran over my body, relaxing my bones, easing the ache from hours of riding.
Our bags had been discarded on the floor, although the wardrobes lining the walls suggested we would not need them. I could already see glimpses of clothing waiting within. Outfits prepared long before we arrived.
“Magnus and his people do not keep secrets. They are open, honest. What is good for the individual is good for the pack. They don't tolerate secrets from others either.” He explained, his expression hardening as he looked out of the arched window to the grounds below.
“Everyone keeps secrets.” I blinked, turning my body so I was facing him fully.
“Not here, not in their home. Everything is shared. Space, breath, touch.” Rhael told me, his eyes returned to mine as he stepped closer.
“That is what you meant when you said they smell everything. I know that.” I said, swallowing. Repeating the words as he had explained them before. I tried to keep my tone flat, but I couldn't help the usual sarcasm that lingered.
“You know nothing,” he snapped. The sharpness in his tone cut clean through the room. I took a deep breath as he closed the distance between us in two strides. Instinctively I stepped back, pressing my back to the wall.
“I know nothing because you tell me nothing,” I shot back, crossing my arms as I leant away from him. Narrowing my eyes, although I kept my voice low. If the wolves were listening, I would not make it easy.
“I am telling you now. They will not be honest with us, and they will do anything to protect their own. Their key nature is to hunt, to find weakness.” Rhael sighed, as if explaining to me was taking physical effort.
“But you are not here as an enemy? Neither am I.” I questioned, my head tilting to the side. Yes, I was human, but it made no sense in my mind for Magnus to believe I was his enemy before he had even met me.
“Magnus does not trust me as he once did. He does not know if I come as a friend or to overturn his rule. They will want proof that you are what I say,” he replied.
His reasoning was logical, as always. I hated it when he was so fucking logical. It boiled my blood that he could not even display emotion when he was discussing life and death.
“So, they want to hear us?” I asked, the words coming from my mouth slowly, as if my brain was taking longer to process what they meant.
I knew what they meant, in the back of my mind. But the reality of speaking them aloud took me by surprise.
“Yes, I doubt they are listening now, but tonight they will be and it is important we do not disappoint," he said plainly, his arms resting at his sides. Despite his relaxed appearance I could see his hands twitching. A sign of his own discomfort.
“Do what?” I asked, tilting my head once more. Feigning ignorance. I wanted to see how far he would go before he got angry. Some sadistic side of me wanted him to break almost as much as I was sure he would break me.
“You are not foolish Elara, you know what they expect.” He ground out, his silver eyes betraying his cold demeanour for just a second.
“If I refuse?” I challenged, stepping forward until we were chest to chest. Moving so my back was now to the room. The firelight was blocked out by Rhael’s imposing shadow. The warmth from the flames seemed to disappear.
He was so much taller than me, stronger in every way. However, I didn't back down, I couldn't. Not for this. Not when it came to the wolves expecting some kind of sex show, whilst they sat below jerking themselves off to prove we were not liars.
“Then Magnus will see the lie, and they will kill you first, and me as a result.” Rhael said, a smirk lingering on his lips as if he enjoyed explaining that I would die by the wolf King's hands.
I hadn't wanted it to, but it stopped my brain in its tracks. The Wolf King would kill me, he would enjoy it and I would be helpless to stop it.
“So, we have to pretend like we are doing things?” I whispered, taking my time with the words.
I needed to be clear on what he expected from me. My chest rose and fell with unsteady breaths brushing against his every time. I tried to ignore the friction it created between us, but something wanted to push it to that next level.
To see where the line would be drawn. If the Fae King was as brave as his words sounded.
“No,” he whispered, his eyes narrowing as he stepped forward again making me step back until the back of my knees hit the wooden frame of the bed.
“No?” I questioned, steadying myself trying to fight, keeping myself upright. Convincing myself I would not fall back onto the bed.
“Pretending isn’t an option. If they sense deception, we die.” He ground out, his eyes flickering to irritation once more.
Rhael clearly thought I was being intentionally stupid. I was, but I wanted to hear him say it. To give me the order. I wouldn't do this willingly. He would have to command me if this was truly what he wanted.
Even then I was certain I would fight him every step of the way.
“I don't understand any of this.” I sighed, lifting my hand to pinch the bridge of my nose in frustration, refusing to wince as I caught the delicate skin between my eyes.
“You don't need to understand, you need to follow the rules.” Rhael’s body shifted even closer, forcing me to topple back onto the bed.
My hands let go of my face to brace behind me, my legs falling over the edge of the bed leaving me exposed and vulnerable. The two feelings I hated more than anything else on this god forsaken plane of existence.
It ignited anger in me that I had not felt since coming to the Fae King’s ownership. It reminded me of past owners, how they would command me, expect me to follow with a curtsey or a bow.
I would not bow, never. Not even to Rhael. Not even with him standing over me with darkness in his eyes.
“There are always rules with you. Rules I didn't ask for. Rules I never agreed to. Rules I never wanted. You dragged me into this war, your politics. Now you give me rules on how I am expected to fuck you. This is too much!” I snapped, pushing myself upwards.
My hands pressed into the soft furs behind me as I looked up at him. My jaw set as the words fell from my mouth, an unstoppable wave of anger and questioning like the Fae King had never experienced before.
“Elara.” he warned, taking a step back, allowing me to sit up further pressing the backs of my thighs into the dark wood.
“Why do you even need a companion? Why me?” I demanded, pushing for more answers.
A small voice in my head told me to shut up. To stop goading the one man who could keep me safe in this kingdom and his own. But it was drowned out by the torrent of anger that coursed through my veins, burning my blood like a fire.
“I explained this.” He sighed, taking his turn to look exasperated as he watched me. His tongue flicking out over the metal ring in his lip. The sound of metal clanging against his teeth echoed around the room.
“Well explain it again because apparently my human brain is too stupid to understand.” I sneered, remembering the way the Wolf King had regarded me.
Like how to every other creature, I was nothing more than mud stuck on the bottom of their shoe. Humans were nothing, worthless. Made only to serve or live in the slums fighting for survival.
“I need someone to find information for me, information I will not be able to get myself. I am relying on you, and in return I offer you freedom once this war is won.” He said, repeating the same thing he had told me in his throne room.
Part of me was relieved it had not changed, the other was disappointed that all of our time spent together had not altered the cold Fae King at all. Whilst I was trying to keep myself together every waking moment in his presence.
“Why me? You could have picked any obedient slave in that market, yet you decided to pick me.” I asked, using the opportunity to ask him the question I had been wondering since he had handed over the money and claimed me as his slave.
“Perhaps I wanted to see how far I could push before you broke,” he offered, causing me to look up at him with shock all over my face. I had often wondered why he had chosen me, now it seemed I was just another toy for him to break.
“Bastard,” I cussed under my breath, knowing he could hear me.
“There are worse things you could call me.” He mused, a small smile lingering on his lips that threatened to douse the fire inside me with ice water and reignite one fuelled by desire.
“All of them would be true,” I scrunched my face up mockingly at him. Feeling very childish, but also powerful in the fact he had not commanded me to do as I was told. Not yet.
“Enough, I will ask you one last time. Do you trust me enough to do what must be done?” he whispered, his face levelled with mine as he looked into my eyes.
Searching for the answer to his question before I could even open my mouth to answer him. If I was honest, I didn't have an answer and I wasn't sure I wanted to give him one.