Chapter 57
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Nienna
Tallon enjoyed arriving after everyone else. His entrance into the dining hall never slipped by unnoticed.
Not that the Velli would overlook the woman dressed in white when they all wore dark shades, as if pastels were a punishable offense.
We sat at Deimos’ table, the king’s gaze settling on me. It prickled between my shoulder blades, a steady weight pressing against my spine. My hands trembled, not only from weakness but from the intensity of his scrutiny.
I kept my arms pinned to my sides, aware of every breath and shift of muscle. I dared not lean toward Egath for comfort. These people were neither friends nor allies.
“Tallon, what did your pet do to warrant such discipline?” Deimos addressed him after finishing his meal.
I nudged food across my plate, pretending to eat.
After dabbing his mouth with a black napkin, Tallon propped an elbow on the table, angling his body to block me from the king’s view. “She displeased me.”
“I’m surprised she can still walk under her own power after that display. Take care, Prince, that you don’t destroy the only thing securing your favor.”
“She’s quite well. Would you like to take a closer look? Please, she’s at your disposal.”
“So generous with her now?” Deimos laughed, though a dark edge threaded through the sound. He didn’t care about me—only my body—and what it would give him. If Tallon ruined me, left me broken and barren, he would tear us both apart.
“Come, Nienna,” Deimos said. “Let me see whether he has damaged you beyond repair.”
My heart dropped, sinking into a familiar abyss. I would have to perform and pretend and pose for him—again.
With my jaw clenched tight, I gathered the fraying remnants of my sanity. I was the Dragon’s Heart. I did not yield. And I did not break. Cold detachment wrapped around the splintered pieces of my soul as I rose.
Tallon caught my wrist. My breath snagged, and I met his gaze.
Frigid numbness crept through me. Panic crushed my throat, squeezing air from my lungs.
His mouth curved, fingers easing their hold. “Be good.”
My feet carried me forward, hips swaying as I approached the king’s towering chair. Fire tore across my back, the sultry walk at odds with the wounds striping my skin.
My pulse battered my ribs, each frantic strike a silent, unseen plea.
Deimos inclined his head, attention gliding over me as I neared. I halted before him, weight settling onto one hip, and extended a hand.
“Sit.” He shifted, creating space on his lap.
Horror locked my spine, scalp prickling as my body moved of its own accord. My palms settled on his shoulders while my knees straddled his thighs.
His eyes flared, searching my face. Long fingers traced my thighs before resting at my waist. “You have much to learn, Tallon.” He chuckled, thumbs pressing into my abdomen. “Release her tongue.”
Muted laughter rippled behind me. Deimos was no fool. Whether the ease of my movements clashed with the agony flaring across my back, or he understood I would never straddle another man by choice, I couldn’t tell.
A tiny flood of control returned. My eyes flew wide with a sharp inhale, but when I tugged at my hands, strained against my legs, they remained locked in place. A hiss slipped free as my spine arched, pushing my breasts toward his face.
Had Tallon learned nothing? Velli did not crave and lust as Radaanians did. Too much of his mother lingered in him; he hadn’t mastered his father’s ways. My body was only one fraction of the leverage I had to offer.
“What did you do to incur his wrath?” Deimos murmured. He shifted beneath me, careful to avoid the scabs lining my back. He knew the pain still burned there, regardless of Tallon’s control.
“I went after you,” I said, voice low, hoping Tallon could not hear. Did their blood intake sharpen hearing as it did strength?
“Me?” He laughed. “You thought to seduce me? You’re like the halfbreed, assuming it’s my seed I intend to plant in your belly.”
“I gave up a prince to seize the king,” I whispered, my hand gliding down his chest, feeling the steady thud beneath silk and skin. The words rushed out before my fingers could slip lower. “Do you think I’m as foolish as him?”
He caught my wrist, grip brutal enough to grind bone. My body still strained toward him, betraying me, reaching. Gray eyes gleamed as they locked onto mine, sharp and searching, as if he might pry truth from my soul.
“And what can you offer me? You are a prisoner inside your own skin. Would you swear your dragons will fly beneath the banner of Vellos? That treaty binds your father to Kallias. I already possess what I require.”
And yet, hunger flickered in his gaze, bright as steel under torchlight.
“You haven’t tasted me.”
His thumbs brushed my skin, then stilled. His attention snapped to the fresh cut at my shoulder. Tallon’s saliva had dried along the wound, leaving it tight, chilled against the air.
“Your blood is his. The treaty binds us.”
“It binds as well as the Treaty of Me’orn.”
His lips peeled, a quiet snarl tightening his features, colorless irises boring into mine at the mention of Radaan’s shattered pact. “Careful, pet. I can do far worse than Tallon’s pathetic caresses along your back.”
Gratitude flickered, bitter and thin, that my body did not belong to me at that moment. Fear coursed through my veins, leaving my limbs aching with the need to tremble.
“You want to know,” I hissed. “My blood—does it hold power? Every answer sits right here.”
“And if I am wrong,” he murmured, relaxing into my embrace, nose tracing over torn skin, “I forfeit the treaty that grants me the known world. I need him—and your body.”
“He would never know.” The words slid between us, my mouth brushing the shell of his ear. “I wouldn’t tell him.”
Tallon twisted my posture, unknowingly shielding our exchange, convinced in his arrogance that the king succumbed to carnal lust.
“Where does the queen of Radaan stand in this?” His lips grazed my skin while his gaze tracked the Velli across the table. “Sunspear is no fool. He would not wed a simple, foolish girl.”
“Simple, no. Selfish, yes. Protect me. Don’t let him break me. Let me see the sky again. Grant me favor.”
“Bribes and treats?” A low chuckle vibrated through his chest. “A spoiled princess, Nienna.”
My fingers slid into his hair, silk strands winding around my knuckles. “Kallias won’t cross the Craggs.” The lie scraped across my tongue, tasting bitter and ashy. “I will die here. Don’t make me suffer for it.”
He leaned back, lids lowering in a parody of desire. Calculation sharpened his stillness, each breath measured. “If I cannot summon the dragons, that leaves–”
The rest vanished beneath a roar, a deep ringing in my ears. Hope detonated within my soul, fierce and blinding, cutting through dread.
Dragons.
I flung my mind open, reaching as though Gyrak might pour his magic into my veins. Panic sharpened the call, sending it racing outward, wild and desperate.
“What say you, Queen of Radaan?”
“Take me to the stars tomorrow, and I will offer myself.”
His grin split wide, filed teeth flashing in a sick smile. “Now we play his game.” He rose in one swift motion, hands gripping beneath my thighs. Using my rear, he knocked plates aside. Crystal shattered as his wine toppled.
Laughter thundered throughout the room when he pressed me flat against the wood. His hips pinned mine, the fabric of his trousers grinding against tender flesh like stone dragged across skin. Tallon forced my legs around the king’s waist, hauling him closer.
Helpless tears rimmed my eyes, hot and blinding.
A game. It was all a game. I was just one piece doing my part.
Deimos’ mouth crushed against mine—and my head wrenched aside, cheek striking rough timber.
“I’ve seen your teeth, Deimos!” Tallon crowed. “Nice try!”
My vision swam, tears carving hot tracks down my face, a more exquisite torment than the fire lashing my back.
Kallias would come for me. Sea beneath, he would find a way. He’d never crossed the Craggs—but for me he would. He had to.
The king rolled his hips against me. Nausea surged, thick and sour.
A game, I told myself, clinging to frayed strands of reason. They slipped through my grasp, blurring play and peril until they became one.
My body jolted on the table, nerves snarled in a lattice of pain and pressure. Through the sheen of tears, I watched servants move in and out, trays balanced, gazes lowered. This spectacle meant nothing to them. This vile display of power proved to be an everyday occurrence to them.
Cornflower-blue eyes locked onto mine.
A wild smile tugged at my mouth. Kallias would come for me—because he already had. My eyelids fell shut, and for a heartbeat I could pretend the weight above me belonged to him. His hands roamed. Warm lips pressed against my skin.
Yes, the game was built on lies, but I could let myself believe this one.