Chapter Nine
Annie
M aeve guides me into the great hall, her grip firm on my arm, like she’s afraid I might float away if she lets go, and she's probably right. My head feels as if it's full of feathers.
The hall is a riot of noise. Laughter bounces off stone walls, firelight glinting on goblets and armor. The scent of roasted meat and spiced wine wraps around me. I shrink into myself, fingers twisting in the folds of my skirt.
Maeve’s hand stays pressed to the small of my back.
Beatrice flanks my other side like a bodyguard, though I notice she keeps sneaking glances toward the tall warrior across the room.
Silas catches her eye and smirks. Beatrice trips on nothing, and I’d giggle if I weren’t busy forgetting how to breathe.
My stomach is a tangle of knots. I haven’t eaten all day, but the thought of food makes me queasy. Maeve herds me to the high table, right beside her, like a lost lamb curled up at the foot of a throne. Across from us, the visiting Commander’s eyes are already on me.
I stare hard at my plate.
Dakar murmurs something to Maeve, too low for me to hear. Maeve inhales sharply. Her eyes dart to me, wide with something like alarm.
“Maeve?”
She forces a smile. “Eat, Annie.”
I try, picking at a piece of bread. It tastes like dust.
The great hall’s heavy oak doors groan open, and Fenric strides in, still in his fighting leathers. His golden eyes sweep the hall, and then they land right where I’m sitting.
A wink, just for me.
Oh.
My breath vanishes. My fingers clutch at my skirts, twisting the fabric tight as my pulse roars in my ears. The heat that floods my cheeks has nothing to do with the hearth’s warmth.
He saunters forward, his stride effortless, and the crowd parts for him without thought. He snags an apple from a passing servant’s tray, takes a loud, careless bite, and drops into a seat at the warriors’ table, sprawling like a king among his subjects.
The visiting commander rises from Dakar’s other side and raises his goblet, “I have an announcement.”
Maeve goes rigid next to me.
Fenric’s eyes never leave mine as he chews, swallows, and…grins.
Then, he is suddenly on his feet, his chair screeching behind him. “ Actually ,” he drawls, “ I have an announcement.”
The room holds its breath.
His eyes lock onto mine. “I’ve taken a mate!”
What.
Maeve gasps, and Beatrice chokes on her wine. Dakar growls something that sounds suspiciously like”What in the bloody hells is he doing…”
Fenric’s smile is pure sunlight. “Her name is Annie. She’s beautiful, kind, and, as of today, she’s mine .”
The hall explodes into cheers and stomping. Everyone’s looking at me. I’m a statue. Aliarby association because I never said yes. I never even gave him my ribbon…
Maeve’s hand finds mine under the table.
“Breathe,” she whispers. “Just breathe, Annie.”
I can’t. I don’t understand what’s happening. Why would he say that? Why would he—
I want to cry.
I want to disappear.
Because this is ajoke, right? A trick or a cruel game.
My vision tunnels. The great hall tilts violently, faces blurring into smears of color. Someone is clapping too close to my ear.
His mate. He said I'm his mate.
My hands shake so badly that my wine cup clatters to the table. Red spills across the wood like blood.
Maeve's mouth moves beside me, but all I hear is white noise. Her fingers wrap around my wrist, and her eyebrows pull together. I try to breathe, but my lungs won't expand. There's an iron band around my ribs.
Need to get out, need to get out, need to—
The bench shrieks as I lurch upright. Black spots dance at the edges of my vision. Every eye in the hall turns toward me. Their smiles stretch out at me like bared teeth.
I run.
The corridor stretches endlessly, walls pressing in. My chest heaves, but no air comes.
Then suddenly, blessedly, night air. My skirts catch on the stones, and I nearly trip, but I keep going, racing toward the only place that’s ever felt even a little safe.
The garden.
By the time I reach the low stone wall and tumble into the grass, my breath is gone, my chest heaving. My knees hit the earth, and I collapse in on myself, fists tangled in my skirts, sobs ripping from my throat.
I don’t understand. Why would he say that? In front of everyone? The thoughts circle in my head like vultures. I press my forehead to my knees, fingernails biting into my scalp.
Breathe. Just breathe.
A twig snaps as someone approaches from behind me. I don't look up to see who it is.
“Annie.”
Fenric's voice is softer than I've ever heard it, and I curl tighter, arms locking around my legs. My next breath hitches painfully.
“Go away. Please.”
The grass rustles as he kneels.
“I can't do that.”