When Nelle Wychthorn was forced to sign herself away in marriage, she should have read the contract's fine print. Because she signs not with ink, but with blood. And that changes everything.
Season 1 'Of Crows and Thorns'
***
Fiery Nelle, the isolat...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Sage raised his head just before a rapping knock sounded at the door to my quarters. A moment later the door swung open and Evvie entered my bedroom. "I came to check on you," she said brightly.
I'd showered, and my damp hair brushed along my back, leaving wet patches on my white nighty. My skin was freshly scrubbed and smelling not of him but of the strawberry soap I liked so much. Evvie gave me a quizzical look as I ripped the quilt from my bed, and followed as I strode into my living room, tossing the quilt into an armchair. There was no way I was going to sleep in linen that smelled of Graysen Crowther.
My sister's gaze darted from the quilt dumped unceremoniously on the ivy-patterned chair, back to me. I gave her no time to contemplate it, to piece it together. Our father had refused to listen to me. He wouldn't end her engagement to Corné, but maybe I could get through to her. I loosely gripped the same arm Corné had squeezed so hard she'd flinched with pain. "Evvie, he was hurting you."
She startled, surprised at my forthrightness. I could see the conflict scoring across her exquisite features. Her eyes scanned mine, and I knew she'd find nothing but fierce determination.
She briefly closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she had hidden from me, transforming into the composed Wychthorn princess she'd perfected over the years. "It's fine, really," she said, repeating the same words she had used to calm me before I'd unleashed myself on her fiancé. "He apologized afterward. He didn't realize he'd been holding me so tightly."
The lie dripped so easily from her tongue. She'd always mothered me, never wanting me to worry about anything. Corné had squeezed her arm so badly she'd bruise, and she'd smiled sweetly through it all.
"I don't like him, Evvie. I don't want you marrying him."
Her slender fingers gently stroked over my shoulder and down my upper arm, back and forth. The same way she'd soothe and lull me as a child. Something about her touch always infused me with calm and had my heartbeat slowing. "I'll tame him, just like I tamed you."
I'd never known if it was some slight form of other or if she just had a natural ability to soothe. Either way, she'd been the only one who could get through to me as a child.
Still, I wasn't about to gamble my sister's happiness, her life, on her the chance she could change Corné's nasty nature. I frowned. "That's different."
"Not so much."
"He's a sadistic prick. And I'm not."
"No, you're just wild with a wicked tongue," she laughed, trying to lighten the mood.
I hissed through my teeth with annoyance, spinning away to pad over to a cupboard, opening it, and pulling out a new quilt in a pale lemon color. Hugging it to my chest, I chose my words carefully. "Are you happy to marry Corné?"
"He's a Pelan—"
I spun around, facing her again."I don't care about him being a Pelan. I want to know if he's kind, respectful...lets you speak your mind?"
