The Alpha King Marked Me. I Still Haven't Told Him I'm A Girl novel Chapter 39

Chapter 39: Thirty Nine

Valka

Too late do I realize my error. How much I have revealed with just one sentence. How silly it is to assume based off of what he did to me that he was a piece of shit and didn’t really want a truce. "I--I can’t say for sure," I add, cheeks burning with embarrassment at my outburst. "It’s just... hard to tell what Rafe’s thinking."

Almost imperceptibly, the air seems to grow colder when I say ’Rafe’. But his face remains stoic, making me wonder if I imagined it.

The scroll crinkles under my fingertips. "Why have you really brought me here? I know my opinion doesn’t really matter to you."

After a long moment, he points towards the map north of the room. "Voss. The vast majority of the humans occupy Voss. They prefer to stick behind their borders, remaining hidden, never taking sides in the war unless pushed to. And even then, they have always remained neutral. But that isn’t the only reason we do not fuck with them." His eyes flick to me. "The Goddess has always had an interesting sense of humor. Of all the lands on earth and across the seas, the only lands that produce the poisons truly capable of killing us are those lorded over by the very humans who despise us. Mountain ash and silver."

My eyes widen and I find my feet crossing the space. There is an... entire civilization of humans that exist beyond the western seas? How could we never have heard of them before? All my life, I thought there were only Silvermoor and Ebonheart. And the barbarians across the seas. "I thought... the ash and silver came from the mines..." My gaze lifts off the maps to meet his. "There are no mines, are there?"

A slow nod. "Few are aware of the true source. Only the royals are. Even so, Voss and Ebonheart have had a treaty for years. Not amicable, but born of necessity. However, in this recent war, the gunpowder in your cannons was laced with ash and silver. So were your blades. It’s the only reason we were torn apart, unable to heal as you cut us down. Did you never ponder on the why of it?"

I did. My throat tightens. Rafe taught us the Ebonheart demons didn’t wound or die easily. But all it took to cut through them was the stab of the blade. I’d chalked it all up to the Goddess’s luck, but now that I think about it... it makes so much sense. "You’re saying... Voss broke the treaty and sided with Silvermoor?"

His jaw clenches, the only sign of his rage. "I would assume so. But if that were the case, then Silvermoor would have no need to seek Truce. With the overwhelming numbers and weapons of the humans, they could simply march upon us and annihilate us. It wouldn’t be the first time."

He blinks, as if clearing the horrors from his mind. "Which is why I have brought you here. More than your insight, I must admit..." He makes a face and practically vomits the words like it hurts his pride to even utter them. "I am in need of your help."

"I... I don’t understand," I say, voice thin.

He turns to me then and I couldn’t have predicted the next words that leave his lips even if I wanted to.

"Marry me," the King of Ebonheart says to me.

Everything stops. The crackle of the torch, the rustle of parchment, the rapid beat of my own wild heart. I choke on my own breath. "W-what?"

Lucien looks me up and down, weighing and assessing. "It’ll be a temporary agreement. I cannot inform you of the details until you accept and swear an oath of secrecy--"

I start to tell him no, but he lifts a single finger, silencing me. "But at the end of this, I promise you your freedom. As well as your mother’s. I shall be in your favour. One wish, whatever you want. Name it and I shall grant it."

The offer is almost obscene. Freedom. My life back. Far away from these people, far from Silvermoor and this unending war. Far from all the deaths and violence. With mother, we could start over somewhere else.

My brows furrow as I consider his words, but I shake my head. "You could have any other woman play this role. Women more experienced than me--"

"Maybe. But you’re the only one I can trust with this."

I blink. "I could betray you whenever I feel like it--"

"Not with my mark on you, no." I grit my teeth, about to say something vicious when he adds, "It isn’t a brand of ownership so much as it is a tether. Run until your legs give out and that thread will find you. If I chose, I could bend you, make your limbs move, your will mine. But to force that would mean breaking you, and you have become far too valuable to discard on whim. Hence, my offer."

I stand there, wondering how we got here. How months ago, I was in the dining hall of a training yard, getting beat up within an inch of my life. What had I wanted then? To save my father.

He died.

What do I want now? What did I ever want for my future? I try to think of what my dreams might have been, but my memories are all muddied up after what happened earlier. Did I ever think of what might happen after the war? Did I never think of what I would do with my life after? Return to House Ironfang and live out the rest of my life with my father and mother?

Did I never have dreams of my own?

Still, I’m sure that even if I did, it never would have come to this. Being offered a seat at the side of the most powerful man in the world. Plus, benefits. It is unreal, nothing I would have ever considered. And if there is anything experience has drilled into me, it is that if something seems too good to be true, it usually is.

So, I tip my chin at Lucien. "What’s the catch?"

He smiles, as if I’ve already accepted. Or it could just be his approval that I had enough brains to ask. "All of this rests upon one condition that you endure the last stage of the Selection and return from it alive."

I startle at that. "Alive?"

He nods. "Being Queen comes with great risks. My brides aren’t chosen for their pretty faces or noble lines. Like the contest for the crown, the Selection is a crucible that thrives off of ruthlessness and in turn produces a natural predator fit to match the king stride for stride. One cruel enough to strike down her perceived competition first, cunning enough to stab the unsuspecting through the back, fearless enough to face down an army and accept death over surrender."

The light catches along the grim set of his jaw. "You will face these women tempered by decades of court, raised and trained by the best in the kingdom, women who have long since learned to turn weaknesses into advantages since they could walk. You are way out of your element here, but if you cannot withstand them, then I fear there is no point in ever having had this conversation in the first place."

Sex.

Wait. What? Heavens forbid it.

I scream again, because the voice comes from behind me. And I feel his naked skin press into my back and that monstrous thing that might as well be a cannon poking into my back. Not my ass. My back, because beside Lucien, I’m a fucking midget.

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