Page 54 of Their Blood Queen
There’s a small scar that curls around the edge of his jaw, and I feel the obscene urge to touch it.
I want to feel his humanness, to see that this is a man, not a monster.
Not like the figment haunting my dreams.
“We’re here,” he says, smirking at me when he catches me staring.
I don’t shutter my gaze or look away. Instead, I return his smile with one of my own.
Because I’m excited by the prospect of entering into the Rinhold estate now.
His smile fades the instant I feel it.
Sheer agony.
A scream rips from my throat as invisible knives score down the length of my spine, making me feel like I’m a doll about to be pulled apart so that all the stuffing can fall out.
Another painful, cold slice nicks just above my belly button, making me grasp my stomach. I unfurl my palm, expecting blood to be pooling from my corset, but there’s nothing. Only fine lace embroidered with tiny floral designs.
My hand is shaking as Earl Rinhold gently pulls me into his lap, shushing me. A sob catches in my throat as he wraps an arm around me and tugs me close. “I’m sorry. I thought that wouldn’t hit until we were inside.”
“Wh-what happened?” I ask as my teeth chatter against the echo of agony. It’s fading now, but my mind feels like it’s taking longer to catch up.
“We crossed the gate. We’re within the Rinhold estate now.”
My eyes widen. “That activated the contract prematurely?” I had signed the contract well after sundown, and my marks have been slowly vanishing after retiring for the night.
He nods. “Yes. But the terms to begin the courtship have more to do with when you arrive on the estate grounds rather than when the three-day period is up.”
I blink at him a few times as I realize that horrible pain I felt was the appearance of my courtship marks. “They’re on my spine,” I blurt, then feel silly for announcing their location.
He instantly moves his hand away from my back, but it’s not necessary. They aren’t hurting anymore, just tingling.
The one on my stomach still stings, though. I keep my hand there, and for some reason, I don’t want to disclose to him that I have one placed just above my navel.
Perhaps because a certain figment also marked me there?
I trap my lip between my teeth to prevent myself from making a sound.
“Are you well?” he asks quietly. He doesn’t move until I answer.
“Yes,” I say honestly. “I’m fine.” Then my gaze drops, and I notice the blood on his fingers. “Are you hurt?”
He turns over his palm, then chuckles as I gape at the S tattooed onto his skin. “Hmm, look at that. I get a mark, too.”
I’m not sure how I feel about that. It isn’t customary for the male in the courtship to earn a mark. But it makes it feel more exciting.
Is this really happening?
Earl Rinhold nods, then quietly eases open the door of our carriage, and a pleasant breeze rushes in. There’s an entourage waiting for us, even if it’s a smaller one than I expected. Today is the Choosing Day fête for the Rinhold residence, after all. My arrival seems to be secondary to that affair.
I notice that neither Duchess nor Duke Rinhold is in the group of servants waiting in a line to greet us. I spot a few handmaidens clutching boxes, as well as a butler holding a long staff horizontally with both hands.
“Welcome home, sir,” the butler says as he presents Earl Rinhold with the gilded cane that’s engraved with symbols and decorative designs.
Earl Rinhold cleans the blood from his new mark on a handkerchief, then accepts the cane with a polite dip of his chin. “Thank you, Davis.” The skilled way he twirls the cane before turning to me has me pensive. I can’t help but wonder if he has ever used it as a weapon rather than simply porting the scepter-like staff around as the status symbol that it is.
Giving me a bright smile, he holds out his hand, and something defiant in me prevents me from taking it. I struggle out of the carriage, but at least it’s of my own accord.