“Gods, just great,” Marietta said, dropping into the seat next to Amryth, staring at the table.
“And if you thought Keyain was bad before…” she trailed off.
“He’s going to be terrible now.” The one thing Keyain always wanted with Marietta was a child. Now that he was seemingly so close to his dream, he wouldn’t let anything rip it away. Such a stupid thing to say as a lie. “I’ll talk to him,” Marietta said, “but be ready to leave in the morning.”
“Of course. Deania and Coryn know the laws better, of how they can protect against the King’s suspicions, and if Keyain discovers you’re lying.”
Marietta turned to Amryth. “What happens if he finds out I’m lying?”
“He might look into any little reason to have you tried or use your lie as incriminating evidence.” Amryth sighed, sitting back in the chair.
“But would he? Keyain says that he loves me.”
“He loved you when he let you waste away in here. He loved you when he abducted you. Love didn’t stop him then, and I don’t think it’ll stop him now.”
Marietta’s stomach sank. “And if I become an Iros? Does that make me any safer?”
Amryth’s gaze slid to her, narrowing. “We’ll have to ask tomorrow, but for your sake, I hope it will.”
That evening, Keyain returned around dinnertime and acted more insufferable than Marietta could stomach. No longer was she allowed to lift anything heavier than a book. She couldn’t walk more than a few feet without his assistance. Even eating had a new level of interest from him, adding more food to her plate while insisting she needed to eat more for the baby. When she brought up going to the temple, Keyain had a surprising reaction.
He planted a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll send word for my guard to escort you in the morning. I think it’ll be good for you to go,” he said, unbuttoning his shirt.
Perplexed, Marietta leaned against the doorframe of their closet. “You do?”
“Of course. If it helps you relax, then it’ll be good for you and the baby.” He changed into a pair of sleeping shorts, throwing on a soft shirt, then approached Marietta. “Plus, it’ll be the last time you visit.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” she asked, her heart thundering as she followed him into the bedroom.
“It means you can tell your little temple friend the child is mine.” Keyain walked out of the bedroom, Marietta a step behind him.
“For the last time, I didn’t sleep with him,” she snapped, grabbing for his arm.
Keyain paused mid-step, turning to her. “Prove to me that it’s something you wouldn’t do.”
Her nails dug into his arm as she clenched her fists. “That isn’t my responsibility to prove. I’m not lying to you, Keyain.”
“It doesn’t matter anyway,” he said, slipping his arm from her grip and continuing to the living room. “Whether you did, whether you didn’t. Even if he did impregnate you, that’s my child you’re carrying.”
“Keyain, I didn’t—”
He turned abruptly to her. “I don’t care, and it doesn’t matter,” he said, no hint of anger in his expression. “Next week, you’ll be in the countryside, and you will finally be safe. So, go to the temple tomorrow, say your goodbyes, and be done with all this mess.”
Her blood turned to ice in her veins. Keyain planned to take her to the countryside, to his manor. “You just get to decide that?”
Keyain waited in the door of his office, one hand clutching the frame as he turned to look at her. “That’s how things will be until I trust you again. Now, go to bed.”
He closed the door and Marietta remained dumbfounded, unable to move. Keyain already took so much of her life away, and he planned to do it again. It only solidified what she already decided—she needed to escape, to get far away from Keyain, and she would do anything, including becoming an Iros, to gain her freedom, once and for all.
Sleep dragged Marietta in and out of consciousness, her mind running through all the possibilities of what becoming an Iros would mean. Forever she’d be an attendant to Therypon, to her temple. Sworn to her and bound in ink. The details of being an Iros were murky at best. Would she ever be allowed to marry? To work again? Could she go back to Enomenos and open a new bakery? Gods, would they expect her to be celibate? She hadn’t considered any of those questions, but now, with Keyain’s controlling hand closing around her, she didn’t have much of a choice. She would have to ask Coryn tomorrow.
Marietta imagined that being an Iros meant she could at least see her parents in Notos. Her heart ached for her mother and her herb-scented hands, for her father, who would talk the ear off of whoever would listen. She would give almost anything to hear his stories again, of his years traveling around Enomenos.
Morning came too soon, Keyain waking and readying for the day as the sun crept above the horizon. He kissed Marietta goodbye, saying the guards would come in a couple of hours and she must follow their directions. Marietta only agreed because it got him to leave the suite quicker, and she finally was alone to ready herself.
A knock sounded at the door a little while later, Marietta confused. Amryth wasn’t one to knock then wait. She answered the door, her stomach dropping when she saw who waited.
“Hello, Lady Marietta.” Ryder flashed a sharp grin, pushing back the fluff of his auburn hair.
