“There you go. Here, have a drink,” a different voice says. A moment later, a glass filled with ice and amber liquid appears in my view. Alaric grabs it while keeping his other hand planted on my hip.
“Saluti,”all men say in unison, and I watch Alaric finish his drink in one gulp before slamming the glass on the table in front of us.
“So, Alaric,” the man closest to us says. “Tell me, old friend. How much for her?”
All air whooshes from my lungs, and my whole body stiffens.
“She is not for sale, I’m afraid,” Alaric answers calmly.
“Everything is for sale.” The man laughs.
“Not her.”
“You refuse to give me what I want, Alaric?” All the humor is gone from his voice now, and a deadly threat appears in its place. All the other men go silent as well, leaving the room to be eerily quiet.What happened to the music?
I try to breathe in, but my lungs won’t work. My chest burns from the lack of air, and I know if I don’t get this panic under control, I’m going to pass out soon. I close my eyes and concentrate on calming down when Alaric says something that makes me wonder if I’ve already passed out.
“You can’t have her because she is my fiancée.”