Page 70 of Oaths & Vengeance (Realm of Zadrya #1)

Aella

B right sunlight shone into the room, filtering through my eyelids.

I lay on my stomach naked and fully relaxed after a long night of hard sex.

Darrow had taken me at my word, pushing my body to new heights in the roughest, wildest ways to get us both off.

I was entirely sated but also sore—not that I would dream of complaining.

It had been good, almost too good to believe.

For a moment, I resisted waking until I noticed the finger tracing my back.

It followed one of my many scars that I’d failed to keep glamoured in my sleep.

I stiffened and turned my head to find Darrow with a cold, hard expression on his face.

This was a conversation I’d hoped to avoid.

A part of me had thought his inability to love would include not caring about things like the numerous wounds I’d received over the years.

His gray gaze shifted from my back to my face, softening slightly. “How did you get these?”

I swallowed. “Can we please not talk about it?”

“There are layers of scars from your shoulders to your lower back, some of them must have been quite deep, and they didn’t happen all at once.

” He drew in a deep breath as if he needed to gather himself to stay calm.

“Cam said you had them, but he had no idea how they got there and that you never would tell him.”

Dammit, I’d forgotten my former lover might have mentioned that during their talk.

“Yes, because it wasn’t his business,” I replied, twitching when Darrow began tracing another one .

He stared at me intently. “I’m not him and won’t accept that as an answer. You’re my wife, and someone hurt you. I need to know who did it.”

I rolled onto my back and sat up, angling my body so he couldn’t look at the scars anymore. “It’s not a problem you can fix, Dare. Please let it go.”

“No. Tell me,” he commanded.

Running a hand through my tousled hair, I glared at him. “This is one subject that is off limits between us, so forget it.”

He climbed out of bed, grabbed a robe to pull over his nude body, and began pacing the room.

He looked like a caged animal ready to tear free.

I watched him with trepidation. At the summer ball, I had wondered how he would have reacted if he’d known about the healing wounds on me.

I was right to say nothing about them back then because he wasn’t handling it well now.

A part of me was relieved by his show of concern, but the other part recognized that it would create a conflict we couldn’t easily resolve.

Darrow worked his jaw. “Was it a past lover who did this?”

I kept my mouth shut because I’d almost rather he thought that than the truth.

He glared at me. “Yes or no?”

I shook my head and looked down, letting my hair fall over my face to hide my expression. “It doesn’t matter.”

“TELL ME WHO DID THIS TO YOU!” he shouted, losing patience.

Now, I was getting angry. I lifted my chin. “Dammit, Dare. You don’t get to pry into every part of my life just because we fucked all night.” I tugged on the sheet, using it to cover myself as I stood and faced him. “Someday, when I’m ready, I’ll answer you. It’s not going to be today.”

“How do I know that I’m not sending you back to the person who did this?” he asked, voice still raised but a degree lower.

I shook my head in denial at his astute question. “You don’t, but that’s my problem.”

A knock sounded at the door, and a second later, Faina poked her head inside. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes,” I said.

“No,” Darrow answered .

She lifted a dark brow. “You two sounded like your night went fine, so what’s the problem now?”

Before I could stop him, Darrow spun me so my back faced his sister and yanked the sheet down to my waist. The gasp Faina let out let me know she saw everything.

I jerked out of his hold and covered myself again.

When I turned around, I found she’d opened the door wider so the others in the hall were in view.

Their expressions told me everyone had seen my scars.

“Seriously?” I shot Darrow an accusing look. “This is private.”

“I would have told them anyway,” he replied, anger still in his expression.

Faina came farther into the room, giving me the gentlest look I’d ever seen on her. “Those are whip marks—a lot of them.”

“Agreed,” Darrow said, and strangely, he looked at Bogdan. The dark elf nodded his head but didn’t comment on the matter.

My husband turned his gaze to me. “I’m not going to ask again, Aella. Who did that to you?”

Everyone’s attention was on me as I clutched the sheet tightly to my chest, intimidated by their stares. It was clear that I wasn’t getting out of this until I gave them an answer, and I might as well get it over with so we could be done with it. “Lord Morgunn and his son, Ulmar.”

Audible gasps and curses sounded.

Darrow clenched his fists. “Why?”

“Breaking his rules, defying him, and especially anytime I tried to prevent him from attacking your villages and killing innocent people.” I let out an ironic laugh. “You have no idea the price I paid to get him to stop slaughtering Veronnian villagers for all those years.”

Jax cursed under his breath, probably remembering what he’d said to me at dinner last night. It wasn’t as if he could have known, though. While it wasn’t uncommon for fae to punish their offspring or charges like me, they usually didn’t resort to the type of violence that I endured with my uncle.

Bogdan took a step into the room, frowning at me. “Whip injuries typically heal without a scar, but yours didn’t. Why?”

“They kept an iron cuff on me,” I said, shrugging. “Years ago, I fought back with my wind powers, and they decided to avoid that happening again and make me suffer longer afterward. ”

Darrow stepped closer to me and lifted my chin to meet his gaze. “When was the last time they did this to you?”

I pressed my lips together, but the look in his eyes said he wouldn’t let go until I answered him.

“The night I met your mother when they couldn’t find me in time to attack Veronna,” I admitted, taking a deep breath.

“I was still healing when you saw me at the ball, but my glamour covered up the marks.”

He stared up at the ceiling for a minute as if asking for patience from the gods. “Why didn’t you tell me back then when we were alone?”

“It’s not as if you could have done anything about it, and maybe…” My voice trailed off.

Darrow let go of my chin, but his focus remained on my face. “Maybe what?”

“I was afraid you wouldn’t care what happened. I was in a bad place and couldn’t handle it if that was the case,” I replied, giving him the truth.

Darrow rubbed his forehead. “I’ve told you time and again that you matter to me.”

“Yes, but why? Is it because I can open portals for you that no one else can? For most of my life, that’s all that has mattered to most people—my usefulness.” I gestured toward his sister and friends. “Isn’t that the only reason they tolerate me?”

Faina opened and closed her mouth before looking away.

Loden stepped forward. “Maybe it was in the beginning, but you’re more than that to us now, Aella.”

“Why?” I asked, gripping my sheet tighter. “What changed? You all barely know me beyond what your spies have dug up for you. Don’t feel sorry for me over a few scars on my back because that isn’t why you should suddenly give a damn about someone.”

“We know there’s more to you than that, whether the information comes from spies or our interactions with you, Aella,” Darrow said, frustration written all over his face as he ran a hand through his loose hair.

“That must be the other reason Lord Morgunn placed the curse on you, so you can’t escape his abuse. ”

“Which is why this conversation is pointless because you can’t save me.

My sister searched for a way around it, and so did my cousin Tadeus.

He hates his father as much as I do,” I said, glancing at the others.

“That’s the reason I avoid discussing it, since there’s nothing anyone can do.

My uncle could beat me to death, and no one person in the realm can stop him. ”

The air in the room thickened even more as the others gave each other long looks.

“We’ll find a way to free you,” Darrow vowed, shoulders tight and rage reflecting in his gray eyes.

Faina nodded. “Yes, we will. He has no right to treat you that way, especially when you came into his care because you lost your parents. It’s his duty to protect you, not hurt you.”

She truly looked enraged on my behalf when she’d always been standoffish before.

I shook my head. “I think my father knew what kind of man Lord Morgunn was and never left me alone with him,” I admitted, recalling those early days when my abilities first appeared.

“There were a couple of times that my uncle tried to force me to develop my powers faster, but Dad intervened. I had no one left to protect me after he was killed.”

There wasn’t anything they could say to that, considering it was Darrow and Faina’s sire who murdered mine.

On the other hand, my father had taken down their grandfather.

We had so much violent history between us that I couldn’t fathom why they cared about my scars.

They were so insignificant compared to the lives lost over the centuries in a feud that I wasn’t sure how it had truly started.

I’d yet to find time to investigate the matter further.

Darrow cleared his throat. “I need everyone to leave the room…now.”

No one protested, and within a minute, Faina pulled the door shut behind her.

“I should take another bath,” I said, heading for the washroom.

“Aella,” Darrow said just before I reached it.

I paused. “Yes? ”

“It may seem strange that your scars concern us, but you must understand that we’re only ruthless to our enemies. Not the innocent, and certainly not family.”

I turned and frowned at him. “I’m not family.”

“Yes, you are,” he said vehemently, fists clenching and unclenching.

I could tell he wanted to pull me into his arms, but he held back because I’d asked him to stop touching me for comfort or outside of sex.

“Like it or not, you’ve earned a measure of my trust, which is why I’m sharing my plans.

You are not only Veronnian now, but also part of my inner circle.

I protect those closest to me, dear wife, and I especially protect what’s mine. In case you missed it, that’s you .”

A lump formed in my throat. The sincerity of his words touched something deep within me.

Despite everything, including his own curse, I did matter to him.

It was there for me to see, written all over his features.

I’d spent more of my life alone than not, and certainly never guessed anyone outside of Therress would accept me like that.

“Thank you, Dare.”

“There is no need for gratitude.” He cocked his head, and his expression changed. “But perhaps you could allow me to help you with that bath if you’re feeling generous.”

“Without being too soft or gentle? How is that possible?” I asked with a raised brow, grateful for the change of subject. He’d eliminated the tension in the air with a simple suggestion.

My husband smiled wickedly. “I have complete faith in my skills to do as you wish…even then. The real task will be getting us to Alavaar before the morning is gone.”

I dropped the sheet, enjoying the sight of his gaze heating up and the anger from before fading away. “Then, what are you waiting for?”

He had me squealing in his arms before I reached the door.