I was merely the king’s fucktoy—a prize he’d won from the Graystall Kingdom.
“So good,” he groaned, causing the crowd to roar in excitement.
He leaned forward and yanked me back by my hair, revealing my face to everyone in the room, completing my humiliation.
Lecherous gazes filled my vision. Some even appeared excited, as if the king might share. I etched each person into my memory. Memorized every smile and derogatory comment. Because one day I’d rise above this. What other choice did I have?
A dream, perhaps.
But in that moment, I considered it my life goal.
Necros shoved into me one final time and vibrated with his pleasure. Thick ropes of his hot essence coated my insides, his goal of producing an heir evident. It wasn’t until his final groan—long and guttural—that he finally released my hair, allowing me to fall to the bed once more.
He withdrew sharply, eliciting a shriek of pain I couldn’t swallow in time.
Chuckles followed. All underscored in evil.
I hate it here...
“My bedded wife,” Necros announced. “Welcome your queen, people of Caluçon.” He punctuated the words with a slap against my still-exposed ass, eliciting congratulatory cheers around the room.
I shivered from the exposure, my heart in my throat as I prayed to the deities above that this hell would soon end. Warm voices, glances that felt like strokes, and words were exchanged while I remained hidden. Until eventually the voices softened to nonexistence, leaving me.
Still, I couldn’t move.
My thighs ached.
My insides screaming from the violation.
This was my duty, my purpose, but did it have to hurt so very much?
Happy fucking birthday, my conscious whispered cruelly. I supposed it was a fitting introduction to womanhood.
More tears fell, my shoulders shaking from the onslaught of varying emotions. Anger at my parents and my people. Fear of my husband and my future with him. Agony at what I’d just endured.
And an odd inkling of hope sparking from deep within, in that secret place I never told anyone else about.
I stroked the power hiding there, longing for it to be released and not knowing how at the same time.
One day, it seemed to promise. One day soon.
Maybe it was just my imagination, a coping mechanism to accept such a fate.
Or perhaps it was something so much more.
I called upon that inner strength, begging it to heal my damaged heart and soul. But it remained softly whispering, cooing promises of a future I could only dream about.
Soon, My Queen. Soon.
I sipped the bourbon with a sigh, relaxing into my favorite chair. “Have I told you recently how much I love you?”
Grigory snorted. “Don’t tell me you’re drunk already.”
“Hardly.” I took another calming swallow, luxuriating in the crisp flavor unavailable in the Underworld. “This is making me nostalgic.” I’d spent most of last year on Earth, mostly to cultivate my more deadly talents. But I’d taken a few moments to enjoy the pleasures of life up there, including indulging in the finer bourbons of the realm.
“I thought it’d be a good farewell gift before you run off to commit suicide tomorrow,” he replied, his broad face lighting up with a grin. “I wanted to bring a few humans back with me, but my mother denied the request.”
“Suicide,” I repeat