The Darkest Sword by Samantha Kroese (ebook voice reader txt) 📕

He shook his head as he heard Rhadamanthus call for him. He hurried down the hall to see what his Master wanted. He was not sure what to do with Soryn right now anyway after the last time they had met.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Ashiyn went back to taking Annalysa to his bed every night. She did not try to press him again with questions. She just settled for enjoying their time together. He let her linger too long after their fun. Longer and longer, starting to enjoy the way she held him. Comforted him. Comfort was foreign to him, and he found it addictive. He craved it, especially after a bad day with Rhadamanthus.

Dangerous. He knew that. Every time he was with her, he felt like someone had thrown him off a cliff and he was falling. The adrenaline rush was also addictive. And now that she had decided to be his, it seemed she was determined to draw that feeling out of him. Obsession perhaps. He craved her touch, the smell of her hair, the feel of her body against his. It was more than the sex.

“What are you thinking so hard about?” Annalysa asked as she reached to smooth worry lines out of his forehead with her fingers. Her gentle soothing touch made him close his eyes.

“What my life might have been like if this were not a dangerous game we are playing that will end in our deaths,” Ashiyn mumbled.

She tensed briefly, then rested her head against his bare chest, her hair tickling his skin. “You would have still been a ruler, I think. That is ingrained in you. Your family was probably royal, so it’s in your blood.” She said as she traced circles around his chest with her fingernails. “You would’ve had a wife who adored you.”

“How do you know?” Ashiyn asked, looking down at her with a scowl.

“You’re irresistible. It’s impossible not to love you,” Annalysa said softly as she rubbed her cheek against his chest. “I hated you. I wanted to kill you, sat there thinking of a dozen ways I could try. You’re arrogant, cruel, dangerous, selfish. But I can’t get enough of you. I’m addicted to you. I can’t help but love you.”

Ashiyn ran one of her auburn waves through his fingers. “I need to let you go, Annalysa.”

She sat up, alarmed, frowning. “What? Why?”

He swallowed the lump in his throat that had suddenly formed. This was not supposed to be difficult. He was not supposed to care. She was just a bed slave. He was not supposed to love her. “I will be the death of you, Annalysa. Loving me will get you killed. My loving you will get you tortured first. I can’t protect you. I can’t save you unless I send you away.” As he spoke, he grew more determined. He had been thinking about this for a while now. “I will let you go. Somewhere Rhadamanthus will never look for you. You can start over-“

“No,” Annalysa whispered and threw herself across him to cling to him. “I can’t leave you, Ashiyn. Not now.”

“Annalysa, all you will find with me is death,” Ashiyn insisted with a frown.

“You don’t understand, Ashiyn. I’m with child. Your child,” Annalysa whispered into his ear.

The words shocked him into silence. The only other child he had was Ember. He had not even thought about it, or the consequences, until now. Panic filled him. Rhadamanthus had been enraged about Ember, but Harm had been able to protect the child. Ashiyn could not protect Annalysa or their child. Not here. He was not strong enough to kill Rhadamanthus yet. “You can’t be. We can’t, Annalysa. Rhadamanthus will kill you for certain if he finds out. The child will not be immortal until it’s born.”

Annalysa put her finger to his lips, making a soothing sound. “Ashiyn, relax. You told me you found a blade that will make you powerful enough to free yourself. Just go get it. Then you can kill him, and we will all be safe.”

Ashiyn pulled her away from him then ran his hand over her flat smooth belly. There was no sign yet but he knew how it worked. And he’d seen what Rhadamanthus had done to slaves that he got pregnant. “No, no. I have to send you away, Annalysa. It’s the only way.” He rose from the bed and started to dress with haste. “You don’t understand what he’ll do to you.”

“He tore apart my family in front of me,” Annalysa reminded him, her voice cold. “I know what he will do to me. Don’t you think he will suspect something if you were suddenly rid of me, Ashiyn? How can you even get me away from here without him knowing?”

Ashiyn ran a hand through his long hair to untangle it, then scowled at her. “I don’t know, yet but what is the alternative? Let him kill you?”

“Go and get the sword. He has taken no notice of me for weeks now. We’ll continue as if nothing has changed. When you are strong enough, you can kill him and seize the kingdom. You will be king. I can be your queen. We can raise a family. This is a crossroad for you, Ashiyn. This is the choice that will determine the rest of your life.” Annalysa said with a frown. “Which path will you choose?”

“You will die,” Ashiyn said, the anguish in his voice surprising him. He turned away from her to gather his armor and his blade.

“I will die no matter what, Ashiyn. I am not an immortal,” Annalysa said as she got up. She came over to him to run her hands over his back, leaning against him. “Don’t give up, Ashiyn. Let me try to give you the life that was stolen from you. Don’t let him steal it again.”

“It won’t work, Annalysa,” Ashiyn whispered. Her