I stare at him for a long moment. We have only known each other for a short time, but the bond we feel is intense. I have only a vague idea of what I risked back in the chambers of the king. Rasulus knows more than I do, and he looks shaken.

I can see he won’t tell me what is going on. He feels guilty about it or he would look me in the eyes, but that doesn’t change anything. I know I should feel angry, maybe even furious. I have been promised a safe place in the world with a man perfectly matched with me, but I am being denied my dream. I wonder if I should fly at him, demanding he tell me what I am involved in before I get myself killed. Another woman in my place would coldly issue an ultimatum. Tell the truth or I would go speak to Crucis and tell him exactly what I know.

I do neither of those things. In truth, I am too tired to do so. I curl up next to him, lying down with my head resting on his leg. Rasulus hesitates for a moment before he gently starts to pet my hair. The simple touch is somehow more intimate than sex. I let my eyes drift shut, soothed in a way I am not sure I have ever been in my life.

“You’re angry with me.”

“No. Maybe I should be, but I’m not. All that matters to me is being with you and having a quiet moment. You should get some rest. You look exhausted yourself.”

“I do?”

“Do you think you have kept it so well hidden? People think that you lounge around because you don’t care. I’m beginning to think it’s because you’re so tired all the time.”

“You are truly a surprise, little wife of mine.” From Rasulus’ soft chuckle, I can tell I have learned another tiny piece of the puzzle.

“I don’t know about that. Don’t they say TerraMates is always right? What did you think you were going to get?”

“Someone genetically compatible. Someone who is attractive to me. I never intended to use TerraMates at all. Crucis must have thought it was a wonderful joke when he used it to find you.”

I snort inelegantly. “We’re told something different on Earth. The woman who matched me with you told me we were a real connection, a one in a million match. We were supposed to be a spectacular pairing. The kind of match that could only come from searching not just one planet for love, but an entire galaxy.”

He makes a soft sound of surprise. “Do you still believe her?”

I am still for a long time, thinking about his question. I half-expected Rasulus to back away from the query, or at least tell me he didn’t want to know, after all. No one truly wants to learn if his wife has given up on her dreams or if she clings to them like a romantic fool.

“I want to. When I was on Earth, I was scared all the time. There was a man there who wanted to hurt me. He did hurt me in so many ways. The things he did to me were personal and terrible.”

Even in my careful words, treading softly to avoid old remembered pains, I can feel the way Rasulus’ body gets tense. I have a feeling that if we ever make it to Earth, Rasulus will be committing murder.

“I’m sorry Arietus has done no better for you.”

He looks astonished when I laugh. “Well, it has done far better in a certain way.”

Rasulus makes a sound of disbelief, and I roll over on my back so I can look up at him. Without thinking of it, I reach up to stroke his face. Despite the number of ways that Rasulus has already had me, there is a new electricity in my caress, and he leans into it.

“I know, married into a royal family, menaced by walking bird monsters, banished to the country and installed in a brothel for a few days doesn’t sound so great. It’s hardly the stuff of dreams, though I have to admit that the nights I spend with you are amazing.”

He puffs up so visibly at my praise that I must laugh.

“As I said, it’s not so bad in ways. The violence here isn’t because of something I did. It’s not because I forgot to pick up bread on the way home or I don’t feel like having sex on a given night. It’s happening in a way that has nothing to do with me. As fucked up as it sounds, it’s almost something I’m grateful for. Does that make any sense?”

“I wish it didn’t, but yes. If we are ever on Earth, you will do me the honor of letting me kill the last man you were with.”

He doesn’t say anything else. I almost fall asleep listening to his soft breathing. The drugs the girls at the Pearl gave me wore off long ago, and I’m beginning to pay the price. I feel an exhausted weariness sneak over me.

“It’s going to change, Perri.”

For a moment, I almost dismiss his words. If I’ve learned one thing in my life, it is that things will always change. Sometimes you lose the good stuff, but it also means the bad isn’t permanent. Something about Rasulus’ voice makes me look up at him. His handsome face is set in determination, and I become even more certain that I am not married to a spoiled prince or decadent.

“How can you be so sure?”

“I can’t tell you more than that, but I promise you, things will be different.”

There is a dark sound in his voice that makes me shiver. He’s talking about the end of the world. The end of someone’s world, anyway. If I were smart, I wouldn’t want to know more.

He gently pushes me off his lap, and I sit up. As I watch, he walks to his wardrobe and opens a drawer I have never seen before. It’s situated so far inside the wardrobe that it might as well be a secret compartment. Rasulus pulls out a wooden box and returns to the bed, sitting next to me.

He looks unsure for the first time I’ve ever seen. “You didn’t have a real wedding.”

I think back to the travesty Crucis put us through, and I smile wryly. “We were both there. Neither did you.”

“There’s no way for you to know this, but you’re right. Weddings on Arietus are grand things, especially for royalty. When my father married my mother, they celebrated for a full month. They might have gone on longer if my mother hadn’t wanted to take my father sailing on the sea for a while. She was one of the sea people. As much as she liked the city, she always preferred to have a ship under her feet.”

“I wish I could have met her.”

“I wish you could have met her too. She would have liked you, I think. But this might be the next best thing.”

He hands me the wooden box with a solemnity that makes my breath catch. I look at him timidly, and he nods at me to open it. Inside, nestled in pure black silk, I find his mother’s jewelry.

It’s a full set of sapphires cast in silver. There are slender silver rings for each of my fingers, as I have seen some of the women at court wear. Two chandelier-style earrings throw showers of glimmering gems that will cascade down to my shoulders. The star of the collection, however, is the necklace. It is wide and designed to ride high on my chest, covering me with silver and sapphire blue. At the center is a gleaming gem the size of my eye. Smaller gems dangle from the main band which fall almost all the way down to my cleavage.

“Rasulus, it’s magnificent.”

“My mother brought the set from her family. My father gave her something even better, but it was taken from her when she died.”

“Was it Crucis’ mother?”

His face is stoic, but I suspect I know the answer already.

“Let’s just say it was lost. These were more important to her, though. No one cared about them because they were only sapphires. She wanted me to give them to my future wife someday. That’s you.”

A small, frantic part of me wants to object. I cannot be worthy of such a gift, something that carries so much weight and value. There is no way I can wear the gems of a queen.

When I look into Rasulus’ eyes, I know he won’t take no for an answer. I trust this man and his judgment. If he says I am fit to wear the jewelry, I must be.

“Will you put them on me?”

Silently, he slides each ring onto my fingers and fastens each earring to the nearly-closed holes in my ears. He saves the necklace for last. When it sits around my throat, cold and heavy, I feel as if I am becoming someone else. Perhaps finally realizing who I really am.

Rasulus guides me to the mirror so I can see myself, and when I do, I let out a gasp.

“You look like a queen.”

“No. I look like I belong to you.”

I take the jewelry off quickly. It is too fragile and priceless for everyday wear, though I leave on the rings. As tired as we are, Rasulus takes me to bed, laying me out over the covers, licking and kissing me until I groan with need. There is no violence in his gestures and no urgency. He has all the finesse of an architect. He explores each part of me, tasting and nipping until I am red all over from arousal and from embarrassment. When he finally pulls me into his lap, sheathing himself neatly in my body, I am almost wild with need. With my back to his chest, he can hold me and play with me even as he thrusts inside. I climax with his thick cock inside me and his fingers grinding against my clit. When I come this time, there are tears in my eyes, and a certainty comes over me.

Everything will be all right. It has to be.

The next night, Crucis summons us to court.