Pariah (The New Covenant Series) (25 page)

“It is obvious that you are the c
hosen, Solara. I should like to be given the opportunity to see your mark.” He smiled, and it made my skin crawl. He looked me up and down. “You are quite a rare beauty,” he added.

Yuck. Was he really this gr
oss? He was old enough to be my father. Not to mention the fact that he was the father of my friends. Inappropriate much?
I felt Riven’s hand tighten against mine. He sat up straighter and glared openly at his father.

“I will be happy to let you ex
amine the mark once you release Rebekah into Faric’s care and marry them immediately. Show me that you are a man of your word, sir, and I will give you the opportunity to decipher the mark.” I stared at him.

Martus shifted in his seat. I could
see the fire in his eyes as he gritted out, “So it shall be, Solara.” He glanced at Faric and then back to me.

He motioned to one of the g
uards and whispered in his ear. The guard departed immediately. “Rebekah has remained under my care. She is chaste. Pure—as per our agreement, Faric. She will be immediately placed in your care, and you will be wed tomorrow evening. We shall have a great wedding banquet to celebrate your union. Will this please you, Solara?” He sipped his wine, keeping his eyes trained on me.

“Once they are wed, you will
have fulfilled your end of the bargain, and I will fulfill mine,” I said. My hands began to shake.

He smirked and traced his gaz
e over my body once more. Riven looked over at me. I couldn’t read his expression, but he squeezed my hand and said, “Father, do you know of Solara’s recent interactions with the kingdom?”

Martus sat up and leaned his elbo
ws onto the table, intertwining his fingers and placing them under his stubbled chin. “No, son. Please enlighten me.”

Riven looked at his father an
d began, “She was married to an instructor named Wesley before escaping from the kingdom but not before catching the eye of Altair.”

“Altair? Altair...the councilm
an’s son?” he said, cocking his head to the side.

“Yes, the same. He was quite
brutal with her in his attempts to gain her hand for himself. Once she escaped, he seized her friends, governess, and husband. She returned in exchange for their release. He released all but Wesley.” He squeezed my hand and glanced at me. “He killed Wesley in the court in front of Solara and a room full of witnesses.”

Martus tented his fingers. “How is it that Altair has gained
such power?”

“He singlehandedly slaughtered
all but a few of the councilmen and has taken control of the kingdom. His rule is now absolute.

He must be fully aware that she
has escaped again. He may come looking for her. Will she have the protection of the seafarers?” Riven stared at Martus, awaiting his answer.

“Of course.” He didn’t hesit
ate. “Solara, you’re welcome to stay here for as long as you’d like. I’m sure I can make you quite comfortable.” He quirked a brow and gave me an icily sexy smile. It made me cringe.

“Father, there is one m
ore thing you should know about Solara.” Riven offered.

“And what is that, son?” Rive
n glanced at me and squeezed my hand. The others trained their eyes on us.

He cleared his throat and rel
eased his hand, moving it to my upper back, where he began to rub circles into my skin. My flesh warmed and tingled at his delicate touch. “Solara and I were married recently while we were guests of the settlement. We have been united for eternity.” He smiled at his father proudly, and I glanced at him and followed his lead, smiling sweetly and looked at Riven like a good little wife should. Martus stared intently at Riven and through gritted teeth said, “Well, congratulations, Son.”

“Thank you, Father.” Matthias a
nd Faric grinned at us, and Lil smiled wide eyed at me and slapped my leg under the table.
She knew it was a lie. Right?

Desserts arrived in the fo
rm of chocolate-covered fruits, luscious vanilla cakes and jam-filled pastries. It was eerily silent after Riven’s unexpected announcement. There was a commotion in the hall, and Riven took the opportunity to lean in to my ear and said, “We need to make him believe it. He’s a danger to you, Lara.” I nodded and smiled.

The guards arrived, escorti
ng a beautiful young woman with long blonde silky straight hair and pale skin. Her eyes were warm and brown. Her purple gown flowed gracefully from her hips, and she looked around the table until her eyes hooked Faric. She knew him from Riven immediately and intimately. Rebekah. She was released and immediately ran to him. He stood as she ran, and they collided. They hugged and kissed one another passionately. Their hands searched each other in disbelief. Both released tears, and I felt a warm streak slide down my own cheek at the sight of the reunited lovers.

“Please, Father, may we be exc
used,” choked Faric. His father nodded his consent, and Faric grabbed Rebekah’s hand and quickly ushered her from the room.

I quickly finished my wine, savo
ring its dryness on my lips. My glass had barely been empty for a moment before it was poured full again by a thin young server girl, whose eyes refused to meet mine. This entire evening had been too much for me to take in. I was exhausted. Probably not the best idea for me to drink wine after heaving much of the trip here, but it was delicious and paired so well with the food that I couldn’t refuse. After everyone finished dessert, we were all excused to rest for the night.

Martus called over his servants a
nd began to detail preparations for tomorrow’s wedding banquet. We hurriedly returned to our rooms, escorted by the same spear-wielding guards that we couldn’t seem to shake.
Welcome? I certainly felt more like a pampered prisoner than a guest.

A
knock sounded at my
bedroom door shortly after I entered.

I cracked it open to see Riven, holding two bags. “Can I come
in?” he whispered. I opened the door all the way, allowing him room to enter. He put his bags on a white wooden table and dragged his hand through his hair, looked up at me, and blew out a huge breath.

“Here to explain?”

“Sort of,” he said. “Look, Father looked like he wanted to have you for dessert, so I had to step in. He’s a notorious womanizer and would have harassed you incessantly if he thought you unmarried. In fact, it may only deter him slightly. He’s arrogant and doesn’t take no for an answer very often. If he sees something he likes, he goes after it with abandon.”

“So I guess I should thank you.” I shifted
my feet and crossed my arms.

“Yeah, okay. Remembe
r how I said we need to make it look real?”

“Yes.”

“I need to sleep with you, I mean in the same room as you, so that it looks like we are actually married. We can’t have separate rooms,” he said.

“Okay.”

“And we’ll have to be affectionate in public, at least, so that my father doesn’t suspect anything. He’s very openly affectionate with his women and will expect the same from his sons.” He cleared his throat and looked down.

“Okaaay.” I didn’t know what he had in mind exactly, but I
could play the role. It wouldn’t be that hard. Riven was extremely attractive. “What if Athena finds out? She already hates me. And, I need to talk to Lil about everything that happened.” I didn’t really care about Athena or how she felt about me. The feeling was more than mutual, but I needed to know where he stood with her even though we were only pretending. A grand charade to fool his father. But I did care about Lil. Hurting her was the last thing I’d ever wanted to do.

He looked at me and said, “I’
ve already spoken with Lillian. She understands everything and agrees that, though perhaps we could have come up with a better plan, we did what was necessary to protect you. She loves you.” He was silent for another moment.

“I’m not with Athena, Lara.”

“It sure looked like it. I just don’t want to cause any problems for you.”

“I know what it looked like.
She wants more. She always has. I don’t. End of story.”

“Then why do you let her touch you so intimately? Not tha
t I care, I just...I don’t understand,” I backpedaled.

“I don’t know. I shouldn’t. I
know I shouldn’t. It just seems easier than the alternative. I...look, can you just trust me that she means nothing to me? We aren’t together and never will be. Should she catch wind of this, I will explain the situation and try to keep her away from you, okay?”

I nodded. I looked around the
room. There was a large rug on the wooden floor—the same white curtains billowed in the warm night breeze from the small patio outside. A wooden canopy bed was draped with silky white fabric that matched the comforter and pillows. There was a small room to the side with a basin and essentials.
Where would he sleep? Where would I sleep? My palms started to sweat.

“Well, I need to get ready for
bed, so if you’ll give me a few minutes, then you can have the basin room.” He agreed and shuffled through his bag. I grabbed the leather satchel I’d brought from Ruth’s and headed to the side room. Rummaging through my bag, I looked for something modest to wear and pulled out my hairbrush and mint leaves. It turns out that the small room had several dresses in it that appeared to be my size. I chose a light blue floor-length, long-sleeved cotton dress. I tended to get chilled at night, even in the summer, and it would cover my body modestly. I decided to leave my hair braided but brushed the portions that were free. I chewed some mint and washed the glimmering makeup from my face, wiping it off with a towel. Stepping out of the room, Riven looked me over and then looked quickly away, clearing his throat. He was uncomfortable.

Well, that made two of us. He e
ntered the small room, carrying one of his bags and closed the door. I poured a glass of water and put it on the small wooden table beside the bed. I took the side closest to the ocean. I could feel the salty warm breeze and hear the waves. They sounded so serene. If I were alone, I would no doubt sleep soundly, lulled by the ocean and soft wind, but I had company. My fake husband had to sleep in my room. I’d actually looked forward to having my own room. Privacy had always been important to me. So much for that.

Riven exited the room, wea
ring a soft-looking pair of tan shorts. He was shirtless
. Oh my goodness. Was he ever!
He was a chiseled piece of marble flesh. I had to remind myself not to drool. Then I felt very ashamed. I remembered Wes, and how I’d thought similarly about his body after walking in on him playing the cello. My heart sank. Riven put his bag on the table and sat down on the rug in the floor. “Throw me a pillow?” he asked and held his hands out to catch it.

“No,” I said. “You can sleep up h
ere. Just stay on your side and keep your hands to yourself. We both need a good night’s sleep.”

“Are you sure, Lara? I don’t w
ant to make you uncomfortable,” he said, looking at me with his brows raised.

“I’m sure.” I patted the bed
next to me and flipped down the edge of the blankets for him. As he slid into bed, looked toward the ocean, took a sip of water, and blew out the candles on my table. He blew his out as well, and I tried to drift off to sleep. It was impossible—at least for a while. But finally, sleep found me, and I drifted into pleasantly, unmemorable dreams.

I cracked open one of my eyes to
see sunlight pouring in from outside. The breeze was still light and warm and sensually danced the delicate curtains. I realized that I was on the wrong side of the bed. I was on Riven’s side
. How did I get here?

Riven lay
on his side, facing me, and I was laying in the crook of his arm, my head on his chest. My dress was pushed way up, and our bare legs intertwined under the soft white covers. I tried to sit up, but his other arm just pulled me further into him. He mumbled something completely incoherent, and I stifled a giggle.

My door flew open and in p
opped Lil. She clasped her hand over her mouth and stared at me with wide eyes. “Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!” she squealed. She covered her eyes and said, “I swear, I didn’t see anything. Never mind me. Oh gosh. Bye!” And with that, she slammed the door shut behind her. Riven opened his eyes sleepily, and then looked at me and I laughed. He laughed too and then untangled himself from me. “Sorry,” he said with a sleepy deep voice.

“It’s fine. I don’t even know how
I got over here.” I sat up and looked down at him.

You wiggle a lot, and you roo
ted me out of the bed, so I had to go around and climb in over here.”
How embarrassing! I didn’t know I rooted in my sleep.
I dragged my hands down my face and then peeked out. “Sorry.”

He just laughed and threw back
the covers, stood and stretched and headed to the basin room. His short hair was crushed on one side, and his eyes were still heavy. He was handsome first thing in the morning. I raked my fingers through my hair, praying a bird hadn’t taken up residency last night. Most of the tangles came out, thankfully. I stood and threw the covers back to cover the mattress and then stepped over toward the outer door. I opened it and stepped out onto the patio. A servant entered. She was short with fiery orange hair and the most enormous breasts I’d ever seen.

I felt a twinge of jealousy though I didn’t want to be
that
big. Just a bit bigger would be great. Anyway, she left bread, fruits, and a selection of jams and juices for us before exiting. Riven emerged in a fresh pair of dark brown pants. He wore the same white button up shirt from last night but left it unbuttoned. The fabric fluttered playfully against his hard chest.

I motioned
to the breakfast that had been set up on the patio and made my way to the basin room. I had chosen a taupe sleeveless sundress that landed just below my knee after flaring from its cinched waist but remained barefoot. I couldn’t wait to feel the sand in between my toes. I brushed my hair, chewed some mint leaves, and washed my face before returning to the patio.

Lil and Matthias had joined us, bringing their food over
to share with ours. As I sat down, Faric and Rebekah entered our room hand in hand and made their way to the patio with some food tied in a cloth as well. We laughed, talked, and had a beautiful breakfast in the morning sunlight. Hope flooded the air around us as we prepared for the wedding of our friend and his returned love.

Rebekah was quiet and reserve
d but seemed nice enough. She’s always whispering to Faric and running her fingers through his hair. She would smile sweetly and listen to the rest of our stories and conversations but rarely interjected. She seemed content to have Faric beside her. She never let her fingers stray far from him. It was as if she thought she was dreaming, and if she let him go, she would wake up, and he would be gone again. My heart broke for her a little bit. It broke for him, too. The storm was gone from his eyes. He smiled and laughed and held Rebekah’s hand and waist and always whispered explanations of the outside conversations going on around them.

We decided to rest on the be
ach and swim for a while before we had to get ready for the wedding banquet. Everyone retreated to their rooms to change into swim attire, and Riven and I took turns doing the same. I met him on the patio, off of which a small trail led through the sea grass down toward the shore. He gulped and tried not to look at me. I thought it was sweet.

“You can look at your wif
e, Riven,” I teased, smiling at his discomfort.

He laughed and shook his he
ad. I took his hand, surprising him and led him toward the ocean. The others were spreading blankets in close proximity to one another but far enough to give some space. I helped Riven spread a large blanket in the powdery white sand and then peeled off my skimpy cotton cover-up. I wore the midnight blue bikini that Ruth gave me. I could feel Riven’s eyes on me, but when I looked at him, he quickly jerked his head toward the ocean. I laughed and grabbed his hand again, running toward the ocean.
We have to make this thing look believable, right?

We played in the water in rough waves. Lil bowed out quickly.
She wasn’t much of a swimmer, and the tumultuous current scared her. She ran back to her blanket, claiming she’d had a near-drowning experience. In reality, she’d just gotten some water in her mouth and coughed a few times. But if she wasn’t comfortable, I understood. Matthias joined her, which was sweet. They were getting very comfortable with one another. They made quite a sweet pair. I hoped there was more than a friendship forming there. Lil deserved happiness, and Matthias seemed like a great guy.

Rebekah and Faric wal
ked down the beach hand in hand until their silhouettes were so tiny they’d almost disappeared.

That left Riven and me to pla
y in the waves. The current was very strong, and I had trouble walking against it when standing only knee deep. The wind picked up as well, and it, combined with the current, sent the whitecaps sideways. I was walking back toward the area of beach where our blankets were after having been swept fairly far down the shoreline. The water swelled to my waist and then to my knees upon receding. All of a sudden, a large powerful wave came upon me.

I struggled to stay upright, but then a searing hot pain caught
the top front of my thigh. A normal non-demonic scream flew from my lips. The wind picked up and thrashed my wet hair around my face in a fury, pieces of it sticking to my neck and cheeks. I tried to trudge toward the shore, but the current was so strong. I was moving at a snail’s pace. I finally collapsed in the sand and took in the still-burning thigh. A winding bumpy red streak began to appear on my thigh. It wound to my outer upper thigh, across and to my inner upper thigh, ending just below the inside of my left knee. It burned like hellfire. I remembered the whip the dark angel had struck me with. Okay, okay, maybe not as bad as the hellfire whip, but it stung, and it really burned and sucked anyway.