“Daughters of warriors are not supposed to get pregnant,” I mutter.
She glances back, checking the coast is still clear. “He will tell everyone he is the father.”
“Why?”
“To make him look like a better man,” she whispers. “The same thing has happened to my mother. Sometimes a warrior, other times one of the other three forefathers. My father has no blood-related children.”
“He can’t have them?” I frown as she shakes her head.
“They tried for many years. Even before they came here. She almost left him, apparently, so he convinced her to come here.”
“Where she couldn’t leave him,” I mutter.
“I should go. Convince him you’re pregnant as soon as you can.”
“What if I’m not?”
She looks away. “Pray you are, Wynter.” And then she leaves.
Wrath
The guards all stare at me in disbelief. I hunch over, placing my hands on my knees as I take deep breaths. “This isn’t helping,” says one. “You can’t keep smashing things.”
I pick up my stool and throw it his way. He ducks and it hits the wall next to his head. “We’ll have to use this,” he warns, holding the yellow gun.
“I already tried that,” says the other. “He’s too far gone for it to affect him.”
They back out, closing the door, and I shout out angrily. Until I see her, no one is coming in here.
I slump down on my bed frame. The mattress was the first thing I destroyed. Burying my head in my hands, I picture the way Wynter looked at me . . . making me feel every bit the monster I know I am. Everything I feared happened in that room today. I’ll never forgive myself.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
WYNTER
“Rules,” says Silas, sitting behind his oversized desk with a drink in his hand. He nods to the seat opposite, and I lower into it. I was summoned from the bath, and my hair is still wet, soaking the shirt Pearl gave me to wear. “When outside my home, you will conduct yourself in a respectful manner.” I nod. “If you cause any trouble, you will regret it.” I nod again. “Your father thinks you’re rebellious.”
“I’ve learned my lesson,” I mutter.
“You will attend events with me and speak only when spoken to. And you will not converse with your family.”
“But my sister?—”
“I do not like repeating myself, Wynter. I set the rules, and you follow them. It’s simple. If you step out of line?—”
“I’ll regret it,” I reply, and his jaw clenches just like my father’s does when I do something or say something that annoys him.
“You will show respect at all times, especially to Ava.”
“Actually, I have a question about that.”
His fist tightens, and he takes a drink before nodding once. “Go ahead.”
“The bedroom situation,” I begin. “It’s a little odd.”
“I don’t see why.”
“Won’t she mind me being there? I don’t want to upset her, so maybe I should sleep in the spare room.”
