Chapter four

“I won’t marry him,” I spat, glaring at my parents. “I’d rather let this town burn.”

“You’ll do as you’re told,” my father barked. “This marriage is the only way to save us.”

I wanted to scream, to fight back — but I knew better. So, I swallowed my pride and let them drag me to Prince Darius.

I expected arrogance. I expected cruelty. But nothing prepared me for him.

Tall, sharp-featured, and infuriatingly handsome — yet his cold, impassive stare froze me in place.

“You’re not my wife,” he said, voice like ice. “You’re a debt to be paid. You'll follow my rules, and when I say jump, you'll ask how high. Understand?”

My walls shot up immediately. Fine. If he wanted a war, I’d give him one.

I refused to break. No matter how dangerously tempting he was.

I waited in the silent corridor as my parents departed to negotiate with Prince Darius’s kin, leaving me alone with him. The atmosphere in the room shifted palpably—tension coiled like a living thing. I couldn’t ignore the defiant spark in my heart, even if it would cost me dearly.

“You have no right to boss me around,” I blurted, my tone sharp and unyielding. The words tumbled out before I could think twice, and in that split second, I realized how little I knew of true cruelty until now. I’d grown up defiant, proud—untouched by the ruthless methods of power. Yet here, faced with a man whose very presence redefined cruelty, I felt a raw vulnerability I’d never known.

Before I could add another word, heavy footsteps echoed from behind me. Two guards seized me with surprising swiftness, their hands cold and unyielding as they gripped my arms. I struggled, anger and fear twisting inside me, but their hold was like iron. They hauled me away, and in a blur, I was dragged down a narrow passageway.

I was thrown roughly into a dimly lit chamber. The rough-hewn stone walls were silent witnesses to my indignation. My heart pounded against my ribcage as I staggered, arms still bound. And there—at the foot of a sweeping staircase that led to a lower hall—I caught sight of him again.

Prince Darius stood there, his eyes glinting with a wicked smile that sent a shiver down my spine. His sharp features, so meticulously chiseled, were masked by that cold, calculating stare. It was as if he relished the sight of my rebellion, the fire in my defiant glare.

“You still think you can defy me?” he said, his voice low and ice-cold, reverberating in the cramped space. “You talk as if you have the strength to stand against fate.”

I spat at him, my words trembling with equal measures of anger and despair. “I will never bow down to you,” I declared. “I refuse to be treated like a pawn, like some debt to be paid off with my obedience.”

He took a step closer, each movement measured and deliberate. “You misunderstand me,” he replied, his tone laced with amusement. “I am not here to break you... but to forge you into something more useful. When I say jump, you'll ask how high. And until you learn that lesson, you’ll remain under my control.”

The cold finality in his words cut deeper than any physical restraint could. I felt every ounce of my defiance surge—but so did the realization that I was utterly at his mercy. I had always believed my spirit was indomitable, but here, in the shadow of his gaze, that belief wavered.

“Let me go,” I demanded, my voice strained as I tugged against the unyielding grip of the guards. “I’m not your property, Darius!”

A low chuckle escaped his lips. “Oh, you still have spirit,” he mused, a cruel glimmer in his eyes. “But spirit alone won’t save you from the consequences of your actions.”

The guards’ hold tightened as I was forced into a chair in the center of the room. Every muscle in my body screamed in protest, yet I couldn’t break free. I was now an unwilling participant in a game I had never wanted to play—a game in which every word, every defiant spark, would be measured and exploited.

Downstairs, from a shadowed landing, I could see him watching—commanding, unyielding—his wicked smile never faltering. I could do nothing but seethe with a mixture of fury and reluctant admiration for the sheer ruthlessness he embodied. In that moment, I realized I had never truly understood cruelty or ruthlessness until I met this man. His presence was a stark reminder that power was never given—it was taken, and sometimes, it was enforced with an iron fist.

“Remember,” Darius said softly, almost as if it were a promise rather than a threat, “in this alliance, you are bound by more than your own will. You will learn to obey, whether you like it or not.”

My heart thundered, my thoughts a chaotic whirl of rebellion and resignation. The room, the guards, his penetrating gaze—it all conspired to remind me that I was no longer free to choose. And as the heavy door closed behind me, sealing me in with my fate, I knew that my defiance was only the beginning of a much darker, dangerous chapter.

I could do nothing but swallow my anger and wait—wait for the inevitable clash between the woman I thought I was and the power that now held me captive.