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She wanted to ask why someone like him took it upon himself to care. She wanted to understand why he kept looking at her like that and if the same thoughts that plagued her also haunted him.

Instead, Arianna stood slowly, and he moved to the other side, sinking into the blankets without looking at her. Arianna hesitated at the edge, then steadied herself and curled up as far from his body heat as she could manage.

She tried to ignore his deep, welcoming scent, to control her body even though she ached to touch him again.

The guilt returned. She’d never felt that way for Talon. Never clung to his scent or craved his touch so much it hurt.

She’d honestly never had anyone make her feel the way Rion did and it was the most electrifying and terrifying thing she’d ever experienced.

Chapter Fourteen

Arianna

Arianna joined Zylah and the other slaves for breakfast. “You’re quiet today,” Zylah said, taking a seat between her and a half-breed male.

“I’m just distracted I guess.”

Zylah took a bite of her food. “By what?”

She couldn’t very well tell the female the truth. What would they think of her if they knew she’d been having dreams about a certain redhead with their bodies entwined in ways that had her blushing even now?

Arianna tried to hide her face, but Zylah wasn’t having it. “What happened?”

“Nothing happened.”

Zylah tilted toward her. “Something clearly happened.”

Arianna wrung her hands together, but it was the male, Irial, who spoke first. “I’d say she’s grown fond of someone.” He leaned in closer. “I’d even venture to say it has something to do with the general.”

Zylah’s eyes widened and she grabbed Arianna by the shoulders, her fingers digging in painfully. “Please tell me that isn’t true.” The slaves eating their breakfast turned to stare and Zylah lowered her voice. “I told you not to trust any of them. Especially the general.”

Arianna couldn’t meet Zylah’s gaze. “He’s been kind to me.”

“And I’m kind to the strays that sneak into camp, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t skin one and eat it if I had to.” Zylah huffed and drew Arianna’s gaze to meet her own. “He’s a monster, Arianna. We’ve all seen it. You’ve seen it. You’ve heard the stories.”

“Then why does he demand we have regular meals? Why are you all dressed in warm clothes for winter?”

“You think keeping us alive, fed, and warm is enough to call him kind or justify the way we’re treated?”

Arianna remembered Zylah’s bruises. “Well no, I just—”

“Relax Zylah.” Irial placed one hand on Zylah’s shoulders. “We’re all just trying to survive, and gods know we’re more than a little starved for affection.” Zylah released her shoulders with a frightened look in her eyes. Irial leaned over the female and lifted Arianna’s chin to meet his dark gaze. “Just so long as you remember you’re nothing to him. All of us are. Don’t let yourself get lost in the fantasy.”

Arianna left the mess hall, grabbed two bundles of firewood, and walked back to the cabin fighting the sting in her eyes. Zylah and Irial were right. She’d fallen into a fantasy where the kindness of her captor had been enough to make her forget she was a captive. He was evil incarnate. He wasn’t capable of anything beyond carnal desires. This creature would use her and throw her away as if she were nothing.

Why then had he looked at her as if no one had ever shown him an ounce of compassion? Why had he cared for her when she was sick? And if the physical was all he wanted, why hadn’t he forced himself on her?

Rion had been gone for two days but she hadn’t been able to force herself to leave. The cabin smelled of him, summoning images and desires she couldn’t voice. Desires he’d denied himself. If he was such an evil creature, wouldn’t he have taken whatever he wanted? Or was that her saying the minimum was enough again?

Arianna sighed. She hated him going to the battlefield. Especially after what happened last time. The vision of him returning on his knees, barely alive sent more fear coursing through her body than she knew she should feel.

But he was a warrior, as was Talon and the many other males and females who fought in the war.

You could put an end to it, a voice inside her whispered.

But could she?

Maybe if she took up her name but—Arianna tilted her head toward the sky and let her breath cloud in the morning air. The sun had just crested the trees, painting the clouds with purple and orange streaks. She watched a bird circle overhead and envied its freedom. Her gaze dropped back to the cabin, then to those in the vicinity. There were fewer guards than normal. Fewer warriors to around the general’s cabin.