Page 14 of What Fury Brings (Wrath and Fury #1)
Servants prepared Andrastus for her. He was wearing his new palace clothes, which she could tell he hated the moment she laid eyes on him.
The shirt was white and lightweight with a long sleeve on the right and no sleeve on the left, as all his clothing was designed to show his left bicep.
The top of the exposed shoulder was a little red from riding shirtless through the city yesterday.
The eunuchs would have already treated it, though.
The neckline of Andrastus’s shirt went clear down to his navel, showing off hints of his pectorals and the ripples of muscle going down his abdomen.
The redness from the waxing was gone, but she assumed the skin would still be tender.
She had a hard time feeling any sympathy for him, considering the pain she’d had to endure last night.
Besides, too much hair on a man was unhygienic.
The leather shorts were tight from the ass to mid-thigh. They accentuated the curves of his muscles and the bulge in the front. The sandals went clear up to his knees, framing his strong calves.
He looked Amarran now, and she loved that. There was only one thing missing.
Olerra retrieved a box from her bedside table. Inside rested the armband she’d had made for him. It was forged of pure silver, the ends twisting into a swirling design at the top and bottom. A single teardrop onyx hung down in the center.
His eyes locked with hers as she approached. For some reason, he didn’t resist as she slipped the armband onto his left hand, sliding it upward until it fit snug just above his bicep.
She loved the way it looked on him, almost as much as the way it marked him as hers.
“It looks perfect on you,” she said.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Protection. As long as you wear this, no one in Amarra will dare to touch you or hurt you.”
“But what is it?”
“It is an armband; husbands and harem members wear them.”
“I’m not marrying you,” he said, defiance creeping into his voice once more.
He tried to reach for the armband, but the eunuchs leaped forward to stop him.
One brought a pair of padded manacles for him to wear.
Another had a similar set, slightly bigger.
The first was meant for his wrists while the other went around his ankles. Andrastus tried to fight them off.
“You will let them put on the manacles or you will go without breakfast, too.”
That didn’t seem to motivate him to stop wriggling out of their grasp like a beached fish. Olerra began to worry. She could not take him to breakfast if he behaved like this. She tried instead, “Let them put on the manacles, and I will forgo the gag today.”
That got through to him. His body stilled as he looked to her over all the eunuchs attempting to restrain him.
“They should be much more comfortable than what you had to wear on our trip to Amarra. These were designed for comfortable bedroom play. Not pain. They are merely a precaution.”
“I am a prince, yet you would parade me about in chains?”
“You’re not cooperating, Andrastus, which means you will be treated like a prisoner instead of a guest. Leave us,” she said to the eunuchs once he was properly secured.
When it was just the two of them, she forced her posture to remain calm. He didn’t know she wasn’t stronger than he was. He knew she was a trained general. She could very likely take him even if it came to a fight. The only risk was him learning her secret.
Your way isn’t working , Ydra had said.
Her sister-chosen was right. Olerra needed to try another approach to taming Andrastus.
Some misbehavior was expected of husbands who were taken from their homes.
Olerra’s strength would come through as she showed the court how she could handle him.
However, if he behaved as poorly as he had on the road, she would have to discipline him severely and publicly or risk appearing weak.
She didn’t want to hurt him. She couldn’t risk him stepping too far out of line.
It would ruin their relationship before it could even begin.
Worse yet, it could reveal her secret if he overpowered her.
She used the voice she used with her troops.
“I’m going to be honest with you, Andrastus.
I only took you because I need a husband if I’m to rule Amarra one day.
While I have the queen’s favor, my cousin is adored by many of the nobles, since she spends all her time kissing their asses.
It is a majority vote of the nobles that determines the next queen, so let me put this simply.
If I’m not made crown princess, I have no use for you. If you don’t behave, you will die.”
His face went slack, but she pressed on.
“Good, I see I have your attention. When I am named crown princess, we don’t have to live like this.
” She gestured to the door adjoining their rooms. “You won’t have to be so close to me or such a reminder to the people of my dominance.
You can go about your own life as you see fit.
Perhaps even return to Brutus if that is your desire.
But I need to win the favor of the nobility, and I need you to do it. ”
He didn’t speak for a moment. Then, “Why do you need me?”
“We Amarrans value strength. Dominance. Fighting ability. By taking you, I proved myself. The hardest part is yet ahead of me, though. I have to show the court that I can manage you, exert my dominance. Our relationship doesn’t really need to be that way.
I just need for it to appear as though we are that way. Do you understand?”
He drew his eyes together. “You need me to pretend that I’m docile and subservient to you so that you can become queen?”
“That’s right.”
“Then what the hell was last night about?”
Olerra delighted in the way his cheeks reddened as he spoke.
“I’m still holding out hope that things can be…
amicable between us. I want to be ready for when they are.
Besides, we’re going to be married. It isn’t legitimate unless it’s consummated.
” Of course, she wouldn’t take him if he really didn’t want it, but she hoped to get him thinking about the idea.
“There will be nothing between us,” he spat. “And I don’t care about your politics or future.”
“You don’t need to care about that, but I’m counting on you caring enough to save your own skin. Your life is on the line, Andrastus, so make me proud.” She paused. “Do you care for your people? The common Brutes?”
“Of course I do. It is my job as a royal to care for them and see to their well-being.”
“Then you understand that I must be harsh with you for the sake of mine. My cousin is not a good person. She will run the common people of Amarra into the ground to pamper the royals and nobility. She is cruel and self-serving. I would see my kingdom happy and thriving, from the poorest pauper to the richest courtier. Male and female and everyone in between and outside of the binary. I am the only option that does that. Therefore, I must become queen.”
She didn’t bother to tell him the other part. The more important part. That she needed to be queen. Olerra had to prove her worth when the goddess didn’t think her worthy of her Gift. To prove she was the best.
Also, she deserved it. She’d worked her ass off to be Amarra’s best fighter while hiding her secret.
“I do not care for Amarra’s people,” Andrastus said, “but I will not give you cause to execute me.”
“Good. Then you behave, and we will both be just fine. Now,” she continued, “we went over this on the road, so this should only be a refresher. This is how today is going to be. You go where I go. You will follow a step behind me at all times. If, for any reason, I should touch you in an amorous way in public, you are to return the sentiment. With enthusiasm. Look at me as though you dote on me. Do not speak unless spoken to or unless you are directing a question to me. Look like you’re happy to be here.
Look honored to have been chosen by me. You should be, you know.
I am the most eligible and soon-to-be powerful woman in the world.
Mothers have been trying to wed their sons to me since I was fifteen. ”
“Then why am I here?” he asked. “Why not settle on some gentle, pretty boy from Amarra?”
“For starters, I was led to believe you were far prettier and gentler than you are, but I suppose that the men of your kingdom are so terrible that you are what passes for both. Don’t give me that look, Andrastus.
I do find you pleasing. Furthermore, I need a nobleman to help strengthen my own line.
There are many ways to gain favor in the eyes of the nobility and the people.
The potential for noble heirs is one. Making myself a strong political candidate is another.
And the final is to show how my men respect and obey me. ”
“Men?” he hedged, catching on the plural.
“I only have one for now,” she said.
“What do you mean for now ?” he asked, but she’d grown tired of the conversation and began to move.
Olerra was relieved to hear him following her from the room. The chains clinked faintly as he walked. She kept her pace slow so he could follow even with the shackles.
“These clothes are ridiculous,” he said from behind her.
“They match your protests, don’t you think?”
“I think you’re a fool for taking me. My father—”
“Has too many sons. Think of all the good you’ll do uniting our kingdoms. Even you can see the benefits of ceasing the fighting between our people. Since you’re so badly losing. Now, stand up straight. Flex whenever you notice a woman looking at you. Always smile.”
“Flex and smile,” he deadpanned.
“That’s right.” Gods, he really wasn’t listening on the road.
The prince went quiet, and Olerra assumed he was taking in the palace.
Escape must be foremost on his mind. He would be memorizing routes to and from every location they traversed and looking for doors that led outside.
Olerra said nothing, instead looking at her favorite portraits.
One depicted the first queen of Amarra as she held up her hands to the heavens, asking the goddess to end her suffering.
The story was five hundred years old, and while it had been told throughout the ages, the queen’s name was lost to time.
She was instead referred to as Amarra’s Chosen.
A tapestry detailed the first battle with the Brutes, taking place along the Fren River. Horses carried their riders through the water, and as the cavalry struck the enemy foot soldiers, the current swept them away.
Weapons throughout the ages hung from hooks on the walls. Special pieces from real battles were encased in glass. The Amarrans loved art, and war was the form they were the best at.
As they walked, Olerra listened for any telling movements from Andrastus. She knew the thought of getting the better of her from behind had to have crossed his mind. He could take a step, throw those manacled arms over her head and be at her throat.
But there were guards spaced evenly along the corridor. If he attempted to kill her, it would mean a swift death for him. He must have been self-serving enough not to attempt it.
What a relief.