Free Web NovelChapter 353: Chapter 353
One moment she was pinned beneath Hairan’s furious stare, and the next she was alone and naked.
Despite the raw vulnerability clawing at her skin, Elka felt an overwhelming rush of relief when he stormed out without touching her again. She refused to let her mind wander to the darker paths the night might have taken. Dark thoughts of her body forced open, her blood staining the sheets while her groom claimed what he believed was owed to him. It would have been exactly as her father intended.
There were men who would have done it without hesitation.
If it had come to that, she liked to believe she would have fought. But then again, when had fighting ever truly helped her? freewēbnoveℓ.com
A man like her father would sooner hold her down himself than lift a finger to protect her. Resistance had only ever earned her harsher punishments.
She had been frozen in place for several long minutes. When she finally dared to shift her weight, another wave of dizziness swept over her. The room tilted. Her knees threatened to buckle. Panic rushed in alongside the vertigo, panic that her father would discover she had failed to perform her duty, that the marriage had not been consummated.
He had pushed for this alliance more fiercely than anyone. Watching her stand before a temple priest, and bound herself to Hairan in sacred vows would never have satisfied him. He would not rest until she was irrevocably branded as the prince’s property, until there was no returning her. Only then would he consider her properly resigned to her fate.
As the dizziness slowly subsided, her mind began to churn, desperate for a solution.
Then she felt a thin, warm trickle sliding down the curve of her back.
An idea sparked.
She reached behind her and touched the wound there. Pain flared instantly and she sucked in a breath between clenched teeth. Her fingers came away slick and dark with blood.
Slowly, she dragged that blood down along her inner thigh, smearing it across her pale skin in uneven streaks. The crimson stood out starkly against her.
She did not know the precise protocol of the royal household, nor what might be expected after a wedding night such as this. But she knew her father. She would not put it past him to assign someone—a loyal maid, perhaps—to inspect the sheets or her body for proof that the act had been done.
When she finished, her gaze drifted to the bed. It was massive with pristine cream sheets, large enough to accommodate four people comfortably. The sight of it made her limbs ache. Exhaustion was creeping over her now. All she wanted was to climb beneath those covers and let sleep erase this day from her memory.
But the thought of staining the immaculate sheets with blood and the thought of Hairan’s fury when he returned to find her in his bed, kept her rooted where she stood. She was already in enough pain. She did not wish to discover what it would feel like to have his full anger directed at her.
She pulled her stained shift back over her body, no longer able to bear feeling so exposed. The fabric clung unpleasantly to her skin. Then she retrieved her torn dress and spread it across the cold stone floor, smoothing it out as best she could to create a thin barrier between herself and the ground.
Carefully, she lowered herself onto it. A quiet hiss escaped her as she shifted to find a position that hurt the least. The fire in the hearth crackled steadily, chasing away the worst of the cold.
***
Halric watched with sharp satisfaction as the prince rose from his seat and left the feast only minutes after Elka had done the same. The timing pleased him immensely. Everything was unfolding exactly as he had planned.
His family was now one step closer to royalty. All that remained was for his unruly daughter to obey for once in her life, for her to open her legs for her husband and secure their future by bearing the next generation of the royal line.
He lifted his goblet and drank deeply, savoring the rich taste of wine as it slid down his throat. Around him, fellow nobles gathered in clusters, offering praise, and congratulations that were thinly veiled with envy. He basked in it openly, accepting their words as pride swelled in his chest.
As the night wore on, the crowd began to thin. One by one, guests staggered toward the grand doors of the hall.
Several members of Halric’s family took their leave as well. Only he and his eldest son, Galen, remained behind, continuing to mingle with the other noble still present.
"Congratulations on your daughter’s nuptials." The voice came from his left.
Halric turned to see an older lord approaching, his age marked by silver hair and deeply lined skin. The man cradled a cup filled with a thick crimson liquid.
At formal gatherings such as this, many preferred to drink blood from goblets rather than from the source itself. It was considered refined and civilized. Far more dignified than tearing into someone’s neck and staining fine garments.
"Her appearance tonight was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen," the lord continued, taking a slow sip. "My son was quite fond of her. It is a shame they did not end up together."
Halric’s lips curved into a tight, practiced smile. "Yes," he replied smoothly. "A true shame."
It was a lie so blatant it almost amused him. Had the queen not proposed this alliance, he would have married Elka into one of the most powerful noble houses in the kingdom. Influence and Political leverage. Those were the only factors that mattered. The higher the family’s standing, the more valuable the match.
The lord standing before him simply did not possess the status required for his son to be considered worthy of Elka’s hand.
Halric raised his cup again, hiding the cold calculation in his eyes behind another gracious smile.
By the time he and Galen left the palace, the rest of their family had long since departed. The courtyard, once alive with departing carriages and murmured farewells, now stood almost quiet beneath the pale wash of moonlight. Both men stepped into their carriage without another word. Almost immediately, the footman at the front flicked the reins, urging the horses into motion. The wheels lurched forward as they rolled away from the palace grounds and into the dim stretch of the road beyond.
They sat opposite one another inside the carriage. Silence settled between them, thick and heavy. It was not until they were a considerable distance from the palace that Galen finally spoke.
"When he lies with her, there is no way he will not see her back. The marks there are not easy to hide," Galen said quietly, his gaze fixed on his father. "Do you think he will confront us about it?"
Halric’s expression barely shifted. He dismissed the concern with a flippant wave of his hand, as though brushing away an insignificant annoyance.
"I am not worried about it, and neither should you. Prince Hairan is not the type to play the avenging knight," he replied coolly. "I am far more concerned about that foolish sister of yours and her inability to follow simple instructions. I will not have her ruining what I have carefully planned with her careless behavior."
