Chapter 19
Sybelle’s cheeks were flushed, her eyes wide as she stared at me breathlessly. The fear pulsing in her veins was more potent than I’d ever sensed from her before.
She was downright terrified .
I frowned, glancing behind her to see if someone else was with her. My mind was still on that strange encounter with the soldier named Warwick.
“Are you well?” I asked quietly.
“I—yes,” Sybelle said with a nervous chuckle, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “I—I am surprised to see you at this door.” She gestured to the connecting door in the room, which I had used last time.
“Yes, well, it was inappropriate of me to intrude without your permission,” I said. “I figured this was more polite.”
It was an olive branch, and I was begging her to take it. I needed us to be on good terms for what I was about to ask of her.
She offered a hesitant smile. “Well, I appreciate that. Is there something you needed?”
“Yes, actually. Would you mind if I stepped inside? The matter is… delicate.” To say the least.
Panic struck her face, her jaw going slack and her eyes widening further. “I—um—I can’t—” She muttered a soft curse and said hastily, “Can we speak in your rooms instead?”
I stared at her in confusion. Why would she want to go to my bedchamber?
“It’s just, I have yet to see the king’s quarters,” she said, her words coming out in a rush. “And I’m curious.”
My frown deepened. Something was definitely amiss with her. Once more, I tried looking past her to see if anything strange was in her room, but she refused to open the door any wider.
“Sybelle,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper, “are you well?” I enunciated the words, hoping she understood my meaning. Are you in danger? Is someone threatening you?
She blinked. “Yes. I am well.”
“Because you are acting very strange, and it concerns me.”
She sighed, rubbing her forehead. “I am… flustered. Between moving rooms, and me getting lost in the training yard yesterday?—”
“I apologize for that,” I said quickly. “It was my fault for abandoning you. I should have shown you the way instead of leaving you like that. Please forgive me.”
She lifted a hand, shaking her head. “Please don’t think anything of it. I enjoy exploring. It just took more energy than I was expecting. Everything here is so big . Far bigger than the castle I grew up in.”
My eyebrows lifted at that.
“Please, may I see your rooms?” she asked. Her eyes sparked with delight, a look I now recognized as curiosity. She wore it often. “It shouldn’t be too scandalous; I am your wife after all.”
Heat rushed to my face at her implication. “I see.” I folded my arms across my chest. “So my wife wishes me to take her to my bedchamber.”
Her face flushed crimson, and her mouth fell open with a startled laugh. “I—that is not what I meant. ”
I chuckled. “Relax, Sybelle. I know what you meant.” I stood back, jerking my head toward the hallway.
Her expression brightened, and she followed me, easing the door shut behind her.
My gaze flicked over her form, taking in the gold silk that clung to her body and brought out the amber hues in her hair.
The low neckline revealed a tantalizing glimpse of the tops of her breasts.
Begrudgingly, I had to admit that she looked… quite lovely.
We strode side by side as we made our way across the short distance between our rooms. It was an odd feeling, to be striding alongside this human bride of mine. As if we were equals.
Clearing my throat, I reached the door to my own room, grateful I’d left it ajar. I wasn’t in the mood to play the castle’s games tonight.
Sybelle reached out to push the door open further, then hesitated, her expression suddenly wary. “Varius, I?—”
Mother of Shade, there was something about the way my name fell off her lips that made my insides stir.
I shoved the feeling aside and focused on Sybelle’s discomfort. “Is something wrong?”
She looked up at me. “We haven’t consummated our marriage.”
“I am aware.”
“Are you—do you—” She broke off, gritting her teeth in apparent frustration. “Do you plan to change that anytime soon? I would just like to be prepared.”
At my side, my fingers curled into fists. She was afraid of me. Afraid of what I might force her to do.
As always, she believed me to be a monster.
“I told you once before that I would not touch you without your permission,” I said. “And I meant it.”
Her brow creased, as if this was confusing to her. It was bewildering that I would not force her to my bed .
It was getting more and more difficult to keep my frustrations at bay. “Why does this shock you?” I hissed, barely leashing my words.
“Because we are married. And, until we consummate, the marriage is not valid. Did you not say my presence here was necessary, that it had something to do with the shadows? If your situation is flexible enough to allow you to avoid consummating, then why bother going through the ceremony with me at all?”
My head reared back at the bluntness of her words. Was she being earnest with me?
“Dear wife,” I said, unable to keep the amusement from my voice, “are you encouraging me to bed you this evening? Because if that is what you wish, I can certainly make arrangements for it.”
She blushed again, her mouth forming a tight line as she glared at me. “ No. I am merely questioning the validity of our marriage. I came here to wed you. We have not completed the necessary steps to make this lawful.”
“Ah.” I leaned against the doorframe, thoroughly enjoying watching her squirm. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, avoiding my gaze. “So you are only concerned with the legality of our union. That is all.”
“Yes,” she bit out. “That is all.”
“And this has nothing at all to do with your curiosity regarding my body?”
She blanched, looking downright horrified. “ No !”
I grinned. “You aren’t the least bit curious?”
“I am familiar with the male anatomy, thank you very much,” she said curtly.
I raised my eyebrows. “Are you, now? That’s surprising.”
Her blush spread to her ears and neck now. What a thoroughly strange thing these human bodies did.
“Besides,” I went on, “I am not human. I have wings and a tail. Does it not interest you what other parts of mine might be different?”
Her eyes dipped below my belt, then jerked back up again, as if she hadn’t meant to look.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
She scowled at me. “Why do you enjoy mocking my embarrassment?”
“Because you make it so easy, dannahla .”
I hadn’t meant to use the term of endearment; it had slipped out on its own. But when Sybelle’s eyes widened, I realized my mistake.
Not only that, but she clearly knew what the word meant. This confirmed my suspicions that she understood more of the Agnarrish language than she let on.
Instead of addressing it, I pretended not to notice. If she wanted to play the part of the ignorant human, so be it. No need to draw attention to the fact that I just called her darling .
I stretched my hand to the open door. “After you.”
She shot me one last look of loathing before striding into my rooms. I trailed after her, surveying the space with a fresh perspective. The fireplace was bigger, and the walls in my room were black marble instead of cream. But overall, it looked much the same as the queen’s suite.
Sybelle was eyeing the bookshelves in one corner of the room, her head tilted as she tried to read the spines.
“They are in my language,” I supplied, wondering if she would finally admit she knew Agnarrish.
She whirled to look at me, then cleared her throat. “Oh,” was her only response. She fingered the orange necklace at her throat, a habit I had seen her do before. I wondered if it meant she was nervous.
I stepped forward. “Sybelle, just to be clear, consummation is required to seal our marriage. But I do not intend to force it upon you. Ever. When you are ready to consummate, then we will. That is all.”
She blinked at me. “And what if I am never ready?”
I offered a wry smile. Clermont had expressed the same concern. “Let’s give it some more time before we make such decisions. But, if you truly do not believe you can stomach being with a creature like me, then perhaps we will discuss nullifying the marriage and sending for a different human bride.”
She looked at me with an incredulous expression. “You cannot be serious.”
“Much as it might shock you, wife, I have morals. There are lines even a demon like me will not cross.”
“Oh, for the last time, I do not think you are a demon! Stones, Varius, you are a stranger to me. That is all. Why must you judge everything I say and twist it into some kind of prejudice against your kind? I would be having these same feelings even if you were a human.”
For the last time. As if she had repeatedly told me so.
She had not, in fact. Not once.
But, assuming she spoke the truth, her words eased some of the tension inside me.
Because I realized that, just like her, I was most apprehensive about this entire situation because we were strangers.
Setting aside the notion that we were different species, we were merely two royals thrown together in a marriage arrangement that neither of us asked for.
Perhaps we were not so different after all.
“Where I come from, the nobility often marry without love or affection,” she said.
“It is a business transaction and nothing more. That’s what I thought this was.
So the idea of consummating is not that unexpected.
I have prepared for it. My whole life has been spent training to be your wife.
For years, my father taught me to be diligent with my wifely duties, to ensure my husband was satisfied as often as he demanded.
” Her voice caught on those last words. “It will take more than a few moments to discard the notion that has been drilled into me for so long.”
A new sense of anger kindled in my chest, a burning hatred for the man who raised her to be nothing more than an object to be used and discarded. Again, I drew closer to her, noting how she didn’t flinch away from me.
“Let me set one thing straight,” I said, my voice low. “In my court, things are different. We do not demand that our wives pleasure us even when it sickens them. Many nobles are fae who have never been married. Even the females. And they have just as much freedom as the males.”
Sybelle gaped at me. “Truly?”
“Truly. Decades ago, long before—well, before all this started, the court was ruled by females. From queen to queen, the crown was passed down.”
“ Stones ,” she breathed, pressing a hand to her chest. “To my kind, that’s unheard of. Why did it change?”
I smirked. “One queen had all sons.”
She laughed, a light but melodious sound that warmed my blood. “Well, I can see why that would alter things a bit.”
“The kings before me might have forced their wives to comply,” I went on.
“I will not pretend that the royals of my family were saints. Many of them were despicable, and the training you underwent was likely in anticipation of such behavior. But I vow to be different from my forefathers. And I promise to you right now, Sybelle, that I will not touch you unless you invite me to. I will swear it in blood, if you wish.”
I hadn’t planned to make such a vow, but I couldn’t take it back, even if I wanted to. Clermont would have been affronted at such a declaration, but it felt right. Sybelle needed safety and comfort, and I would give that to her.
If the curse required me to become the type of male who would willingly rape females, then my kingdom had long since been doomed. Nothing and no one would ever make me cross that line.
Sybelle stared at me, eyebrows raised and lips parted. Her breath hitched as she gazed at me, and I wondered what she was thinking. At long last, she spoke, her voice as soft as a caress. “You are not at all what I expected, Varius.”
I frowned. Echoing her words from the library, I said, “I’m not sure if that’s a compliment.”
She laughed again. “It is.” Her expression sobered, and she added, “I feel like I should say, though, that I never once thought you were a wraith or a monster. I am more frightened of the unknown than anything else. And right now, I am not frightened of you.”
I nodded, grateful for her words. “Thank you for that.” I clasped my hands behind my back, dreading my next words. But it could not be avoided. We had dodged it for too long. “I must ask something of you, though.”
“Oh?” Curiosity burned in her gaze once more.
I heaved a sigh. “I need your blood.”