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March 1 - March 6, 2025
Even warlords were men, after all, and men were almost always their own downfall.
She dragged the knife up and over his chest, stopping at his throat. To her shock, he lifted his square chin, baring his neck to her. “Do it.” Anxiety pumped into her stomach, and she stared wildly at him, their faces a hairbreadth apart, him peering down at her. “You won’t, will you?” he asked, throat still bared, turning it just a little so the underside of his jaw became visible. The right side now. “Give me another one to match, Wild One.”
“There are few things I fear, Wild One.” Wild One. If they were to do this, she would have to put a stop to that.
“You married me against my will.” “I was not aware of your objections.” “Would it have mattered?” “It would have changed everything.”
“May I introduce my wife, Vaasalisa, heiress of Asterya and consort of Mireh.”
“Is that what you need, Wild One? To be in my bed?” “Enough.” “Will you bring the knife?” he mused. “It is the only way you’d get me there,”
“I do prefer my head attached to my body.” “Then do not give me a reason to remove it.”
“I told you. You underestimate just how much I enjoy a good game of blades.”
“Pretend you love me, Wild One. And make it convincing.”
“I was born on the ice,” she reminded him. “That doesn’t mean you deserve to be cold.”
“Oh, and we’re just great friends.” “You don’t hate me, and I certainly don’t hate you.”
“I almost killed you on our wedding night.” “As I told you, you underestimate how much I enjoyed that.” “You’re sick.”
it was a lack of information that haunted Vaasa more than anything.
“You… you’re going to teach me how to use it?” Vaasa croaked. Grinning, Melisina said, “If you let us, we can teach you far more than that.”
“You’re actually wearing them.” “Was I not supposed to?” “Well, yes.” He scrubbed at his jaw. “I just thought you’d put up a fight first.”
“I’m sure I can find something for us to fight about, if you’d like.”
“I think I like you agreeable.” “Don’t pu...
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“I wouldn’t dream of it, Wild One,”
“Dance with me like lovers do.”
“Oh, I am quite familiar with your propensity for a blade, Wild One.”
“You know what I think?” “Not much beyond your lap and your blade.” Smirking at her jibe and slinging his legs off the bed, he admitted, “I do often consider my lap and blade. Particularly when you’re around.”
“You’re sleeping half naked on my couch, so I’d argue I’m still in the game.” “What a feat, to only ever get a woman half undressed.” “Come over here and I’ll rectify the situation,” he purred. Scoffing and pushing open the door to the veranda, she said, “I’d rather be eaten by wolves.”
“Call me a wolf whenever you’d like, Wild One.”
“Let me be clear. If Dominik wants something from my home, it would be in your best interest to share it. Right now. I walked into this prepared to defend you just as I would a consort I loved, but I would rather alienate the Asteryans and lose this election than allow you to risk the safety of my home.”
“This is my line, Vaasalisa. Do not threaten my country.”
“If you think for one second that a trade agreement with Asterya is beneficial, you are a fool. If you let my brother close to this city, he will make you regret it.”
“Just because this is all you have ever known, it does not mean it is all you will ever be.”
“You can inherit someone’s eyes, or their hair or their nose, but you cannot inherit their faults. You learn them. Which means you can unlearn them, too.”
“You call it anger, you call it fear, but it is none of those things. What lies inside of you is pain. The kind that burns worlds to the ground.”
“You are not alone, and you never will be again.”
His hand froze. “Tell me who did this to you.”
Dominik had looked upon the world and decided it was his, and Vaasa knew nothing belonged to her at all.
“There is much I don’t know about you, isn’t there?” she asked. He shook his head. Opened the door. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know. All you need to do is ask.”
“Like lovers, remember?”
Real happiness spread across his face, and she realized she could tell the difference—it wasn’t that dripping amusement any longer, but a contentedness in the way both sides of his mouth lifted instead of just one.
“I believe you said a powerful man who has drunk wine all night and watched strangers dance with his wife will want her in his bed.” Their eyes met, and he held her there for a moment, one hand in her hair and her heart in her throat.
“That husband of yours cannot keep his hands or his eyes off you.”
“Dismissing your emotions doesn’t make them disappear, it only gives them reason to rise later without your consent.”
“What I mean is this: here, with me, you don’t need to hide anything at all. I promised you safety, and I intend to uphold my part of our bargain.”
one witch is a problem, but a coven is a nightmare.”
But he was right about one thing: there was no one better situated to bring about the fall of a nation than her.
“I thought you were a courtier, not a war general.” “Who wouldn’t want both in a wife?” “A fool.”
“It doesn’t seem you’re afraid of anything.” “I have fears, Wild One. You just don’t know them yet.”
“Sleep, Wild One,” he breathed into her ear. “Or I won’t let you.”
She didn’t know how to say it—that she didn’t have words to explain herself. That all she had was the remnant of a panic she didn’t understand and this visceral fear she had never experienced for anyone but herself.
She’d dived into that hull without a second thought—into a fight that had almost gotten her killed. It was reckless and stupid, and she realized she never would have done that for someone before this. And that thought absolutely terrified her. It was the opposite of what she was supposed to feel.
Yet it wasn’t herself that she feared for. She’d long come to terms with Dominik’s desire to snuff her out of existence. But Reid?
Months ago, she wouldn’t have cared if he died, and now it was all she could focus on. She had to finally admit to herself how much it mattered.
Lips pursed, he shrugged. “I was looking for you.” “You shouldn’t have done that.” “I will never not do that.”
Warmth coated her as Reid’s body pressed against the back of hers, one arm falling over her waist to capture her hands. “Breathe, Wild One.” The other hand searched for a way to wrap his arms around her.
