Chapter 14
KHALA
With a strangled gulp of air, Grat pressed me to him, burying his face in my neck and squishing the bloody mess of guts between us.
“I’m so, so sorry, sweetie,” I murmured, kissing his bald head.
A shudder crossed his wide shoulders, and I stroked his back soothingly. It broke my heart to see him suffer.
“It had to be done. Or they would’ve never left us alone.” I kissed him again.
“Are they going to leave us alone now?” asked a large orc with a long beard and equally long dark-green hair gathered in a tie on top of his head.
The red-haired human woman kneeling next to us gazed at me with compassion.
“Give her a minute, Agor,” she said. “She’s just basically come back from the dead…somehow.”
With a grunt of concern, Grat leaned away from me, surveying the gore on my belly.
I gave him a comforting smile.
“I’m afraid we can’t use these to make blood sausage now.” I lifted a handful of the steaming boar guts and tossed them aside.
He stared at me in shock and wonder.
“Are those…?”
“From the boar over there.” I tipped my chin at the dead boar hidden in the tall grass by the water edge.
“I fell it all on my own.” I beamed with pride.
“Well, me and my water dog. We did it together. She’s an excellent hunting dog, you know?
I’m keeping her.” I glanced around. “If I can find her again.”
“You’re not hurt?” He gently prodded my chest, then down along my belly, inspecting me for injuries.
I winced at the sting of pain from the long scratch that Reizon’s sword left across my midsection.
Grat immediately jerked his hands away.
“What is it? Where are you hurt? Who did it?”
“It’s nothing.” I moved aside the fabric of my cut dress and the blouse underneath, then wiped the boar’s blood off with my sleeve. “See? Just a scratch. It would’ve been much worse if the water dog hadn’t jumped on Reizon from behind just in time.”
Agor gestured at Reizon’s lifeless body. “The dog did this to him?”
I exhaled a sigh, both relieved and subdued when faced with the death of my pursuer.
“Yes, she did,” I said. “She saved my life. She is such a sweetheart.”
“Water dogs usually are.” The human woman nodded. “I have one too. His name is Dumpling.” She smiled. “I’m Becca by the way.”
“I’m Khala.” I returned her smile. “I think I’ll call my dog Honey because she’s such a sweet girl.”
A “sweet girl” who could snap through a man’s neck in one bite. She was a fierce force to be recon with. But Reizon was armed. He could’ve killed her. Still, she defended me, risking her life.
Grat hauled me onto his lap, holding me in a tight grip. “I’ll never, ever part from you again.”
“I hope you won’t because I love being with you.” I wrapped my arms around his neck.
Agor crouched next to Becca.
“So, you faked your death,” he said.
“That was smart.” Becca tipped her chin at the pile of boar guts. “But why did you have to do it? Why did the duke attack you?”
“He claimed to be in love with you.” Agor raised a bushy eyebrow, clearly expecting an explanation.
“He called you his beloved wife,” Grat spat through his teeth with a glance of disdain at Reizon’s corpse.
“I…” I drew in a long breath. “Well, I think I can finally tell it all, now that he’s dead.
I’m the only daughter of the late Princess Salove, the sister of King Belin of Avilet.
Currently, I’m the second in line for the throne after the king’s son, the crown prince.
As a woman, however, I could only ascend the throne through marriage since the kingdom’s laws don’t allow for a female monarch. ”
“That’s unfair,” Becca remarked.
“Total bullshit,” her husband agreed.
“That’s how it has always been in the kingdom,” I said.
“Anyway, my claim to the throne doesn’t really matter because the king has a son, a legitimate male heir, who is set to take the crown upon his father’s death.
When selecting a husband for me, my parents’ main concern was the man’s wealth.
Despite my family’s grand name and standing, we weren’t the richest in the kingdom, and my parents wanted to change that. ”
“Through your marriage?” Becca clarified.
“Yes.” I nodded and pointed at Reizon’s body.
“Reizon was one of the many suitors who had competed for my hand in marriage since I was sixteen. I didn’t know him well.
I had no chance to get to know any of my suitors.
But Reizon was handsome and well-mannered, just a few years older than me, so at the beginning, I favored him over the others. ”
“Well-mannered indeed,” Grat rumbled with a reproachful glare at the corpse, as if daring Reizon to come back to life so he could personally kill him again.
“Back then, I would’ve married him willingly,” I admitted.
“But my wishes didn’t matter. Within a year, my parents selected another man.
The High Lord of Renya is one of the highest titles in the kingdom that comes with the richest estate.
He was also almost four times older than me and a widower.
His only son from his previous marriage, Rolly, was an adult by age, but he was born with a mind that didn’t develop past the level of a child.
Rolly never married and couldn’t have children, so my husband’s main goal in our marriage was to ensure a ‘proper’ heir to his name and estate. ”
I swallowed the bile rising to my throat at the memory of our wedding night and all his weekly visits that followed, when he would pin me under him in my bed and frantically shove his softening cock into me in a rush to “deposit his seed” and hope that “gods will bless our union with an offspring this time.” I still smelled his breath, tinted with the pungent scent of all the herbs and potions that his healers would feed him to ensure he was able to perform his marital duties despite his advanced age and failing health.
Grat kissed my hair, banishing the vile memories for the time being.
I found his eyes. “I never got pregnant, despite all his efforts. I don’t know if I can bear children, even as I would love to have them with you.”
“I don’t care, Khala.” He shook his head. “I really don’t. I just want you.”
Tenderness flooded me. It was a heady feeling to be accepted so fully and unconditionally.
“So, you do have a husband?” Agor asked.
“I did,” I said. “He died of old age ten years ago. At his funeral, Reizon proposed to me again. But I was three years older and that much wiser by then. I realized that Reizon’s biggest motivation wasn’t his love for me but his ambition, and I refused his proposal.
As a widow, I no longer needed my parents’ permission and could make my own decisions.
By law, a woman can’t hold property in the Avilet Kingdom.
My husband’s estate would’ve become the crown’s property, but he left a son.
Because of Rolly’s condition, my late husband appointed me as Rolly’s legal guardian in his will.
That gave me the right to manage the estate in Rolly’s name.
It also gave me more freedom than a woman could ever dream of in our kingdom.
For ten years, I was my own mistress. I ran the estate and took care of Rolly with whom I became very close, closer than my own family ever was with me. ”
Sadness gripped my heart, and I closed my eyes for a moment to fight it. Grat’s gentle squeeze of my hand gave me the strength to continue.
“Last summer, Rolly got sick.” My throat closed off with approaching tears, and I had to force my words out.
“He passed away over two months ago. His death devastated me. I mourned him. I still am. He had a simple mind, but I learned so much from him. He taught me to find joy in everyday things, to live in the moment, and to laugh freely. I’ll always miss him…
” I inhaled deeply, struggling to keep my composure.
“Like a vulture sensing its next meal, Reizon was right there again, at the funeral. Only he was far more persistent this time. He told me I had no choice but to marry him. Without a male heir, my husband’s estate went to the crown.
I could take whatever I wished with me, but I couldn’t keep the land and couldn’t continue living at the palace. ”
“Did you marry the duke?” Becca asked.
“He claimed you did,” Agor added.
I shook my head vehemently. “Having a cold, ruthless man like Reizon for a husband was unthinkable to me. When he asked me to marry him again, I refused. Then he told me that we already were husband and wife anyway because he had married me by proxy.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Grat cursed.
“The Avilet Kingdom has a law that allows people to get married even when they are away from each other. Someone else can stand in place of the bride or the groom. For example, a friend of the couple can marry the bride in the groom’s name.
This way, the bride can then make the often long and perilous journey to her new home under the full protection of her husband.
“So does an unmarried woman have no protection then?” Becca asked.
“No. Whether you’re a princess or a peasant, a woman is only valued as much as she is worth to a man,” I echoed the words my mother had said to me long ago, genuinely believing she was helping me define my place in the world. “You’re not from the Avilet Kingdom, are you?” I asked Becca.
“No. I was born in the foothills of the mountains, away from any royal courts. Sadly, many from my village would still agree with that view on a woman’s worth. I lived as a single woman for years, and I heard that shit often, and I’m not even a princess.”
“You don’t need to be a princess. You’re my queen.” Agor pulled her into his side, placing a kiss on her cheek.
She shifted her sword into her other hand, leaning into him with a smile.
That was what I wanted—closeness without coercion, love without conditions, being with someone just because I wanted to be with him, not because I had to. And with Grat, I believed I could have all of that.