3

Whatever was mine, I was to share freely.

To give my husband every part of me.

To cherish him.

Adore him.

Respect and please him.

To never hurt him in any capacity.

Protect him.

And it dawned on me at some point how one-sided this deal truly was because my husband owed me nothing in return other than protection and the throne at his side.

Our hands were bound together in a cloth of darkness forged from the crops decorat

ing the banks of the River Styx. They had handed it down through Necros's family for generations. Special words were spoken, and before I had a chance to understand it all, I was pronounced as married.

We didn't even kiss.

Ice caressed my body, scattering goose bumps down my arms.

I knew what came next. Had dreaded it for months. But the wicked tilt of my husband's lips told me this was the part he'd been looking forward to most. For today, at least.

Consummation.

It was the only way to properly ensure the validity of our nuptials.

The merrymaking would happen later for my husband, anyway. I'd be expected to wait for him to return to me.

Necros took my arm and led me back down the aisle. I glimpsed my mother and father sitting together but paid them little mind. I was the Queen of Winsorer now, my ties to them officially broken.

"Are you ready for me, my wife?" Necros growled into my ear. "I know I've been ready for this for several years now."

I gulped. I shouldn't show him my fear, but I couldn't help it. I was terrified.

The reason his family had raised me was to ensure my virginity on our wedding night. Necros would be the only man to touch me intimately. To fill me with his seed and ripen a child in my belly.

"I'm scared," I admitted, the words hoarse to my ears.

"As you should be." Necros laughed out loud and dragged me quickly down the corridor, away from Salter's oddly safe presence.

Soon, my child, his voice whispered over my mind.

I glanced back to see his serene expression, wondering if I'd truly heard him at all.

And then the hallway was cut off my view of the ceremonial room.

A crowd followed with cheers and shouts of celebration, all of them males I recognized from society. Necros's closest friends.

"Fuck her good, Our King," one called, causing me to flinch.

"Show her what a queen needs to do to please her husband," another shouted, causing my cheeks to overheat.

Necros pulled me into his bedroom without preamble and pushed me flat over his bed, pressing my head and jeweled corset into the luxury mattress. Steps followed, indicating the crowd gathering in the room behind us. Tradition required everyone to witness this moment.

All one hundred plus attendees.

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, Salter—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.