My new husband stood sentry at my back, running his palm up and down my spine, waiting for all to enter.
I swallowed the bile rising in my throat and took comfort in the blankets hiding my face.
Still, I could feel the onlookers’ gazes prickling my body, stroking me with an intimacy meant only for my husband. And Necros hadn’t even exposed me yet…
“Mmm, my beautiful wife,” he murmured, continuing to stroke me as one would an animal, not an equal. Because that was what I was to him—a new pet. A toy. One to be used and fucked and to bear heirs. Nothing more.
Murmurs of approval littered the air, urging him to get on with it.
Were my parents among them? Here to witness my shame? Perhaps they should. It was they who subjected me to this life. They might as well see my fate.
“You may proceed,” a deep voice—Lucifer—announced.
His voice chilled me to my core. A memory slid through my thoughts, brief, a sense of déjà vu overwhelming me. I’ve heard those words before…
Impossible. We’d never even met until today.
Necros wasted no time, didn’t offer me any words of encouragement, just lifted my skirts up around my waist to display my nakedness to his gaze. Lingerie hadn’t been allowed. Only a dress and shoes, neither of which he bothered to remove.
“Fuck,” he breathed. “Such a pretty pussy.”
They had shaved me bare, as the ritual required, leaving my most intimate area exposed not just to my husband but also to anyone close enough to see.
I shivered, longing to disappear.
The crown in my hair jolted as I attempted to bury my head further into the bed, seeming to remind me all the more of my purpose here.
A queen meant only to serve.
The loud roar of approval told me my husband had just removed his pants.
Some part of me had hoped for some sweet words, some sort of promise that I would be okay. But it was a sad girl’s dream, not my reality.
Pain unlike anything I anticipated followed, ripping me in two as Necros forced himself inside me for the first time.
I bit down on the bedspread to keep from screaming, not wanting to show any weakness in front of my kingdom. Queens don’t let anyone see them cry.
But it hurt too badly to stop the tears from gathering in my eyes. Just breathe, I coached myself, flinching as he thrust in again and again. His grip on my hips tightened, forcing me to accept him and not providing me an ounce of relief.
“Damn, best pussy ever.” Lust deepened his voice to a tenor I never wanted to hear again but knew would become a nightly occurrence. We were wed now, all in duty to a kingdom I knew very little about.
Why?
Why me?
Necros bucked his hips and withdrew before slamming back into me.
Tears streamed down my face, wetting the blankets beneath me, but I refused to make a sound, refused to let him see the pain no doubt etched into my features.
I wanted to hide away in my room and go back to the life I had before. One of a lonely existence dreading a future I couldn’t control. Anything would be better than this torture.
A cry threatened to leave my mouth as Necros set a punishing pace with his motions.
Nothing would ever be the same again. I felt it in every punch of his hips against mine, each heavy pant rending the air, the jeers surrounding the room, and the general lechery polluting the air.
Some naïve part of me had hoped to earn respect from this union. A foolish girl’s notion. A wish.
They’d never see me as a better, let alone an equal.