My fists clenched under the table.
I willed myself not to react.
This man—this king—was dangerous. And not just in title. His presence alone felt like a suffocating blanket of pressure, like being trapped beneath a thick layer of shadow.
He’d just threatened to turn me into a w***e. And the terrifying part was—he could. The law said a royal’s mate couldn’t be executed. It didn’t say anything about everything else.
I had to stay smart. I had to play the game.
I forced my pulse to slow. Tried to remember everything I’d learned in those negotiation classes growing up. Back when I was being groomed for leadership. Back when I still had a name I could wear out loud.
The king hadn’t stopped frowning. His eyes were sharp and cold. They watched everything—the tension in my shoulders, the way
