Everyone went dead silent.
Thalia stumbled backward, her legs threatening to give out again as she stared at Aurelius in complete shock. Of all the things she’d expected him to say, all the ways she’d imagined this night going wrong, this wasn’t one of them.
This was worse, so much worse.
She looked at him, searching his face for any sign of what he was thinking, and found only that same cold expression staring right back at her. His grey eyes were completely unreadable, his jaw set in that stubborn line that made him look exactly like the stone-carved statues of his ancestors.
That’s when it hit her.
The fucker must have a plan for her because it was clear to her that he most definitely did not believe she was his mate, so that would only mean one thing. This was a political move, bu
