Betrothed

by Lola White

  “I’ve been in here,” he answered, “negotiating with your father.”

  “How did that go?”

  “Vasile drives a hard bargain, but we were doing just fine until Alexandru joined us.”

  Her beautiful eyes widened, dimming the radiance of her face. “He did?”

  Eliasz grimaced. “It’s going to take a while to get all the details settled. Longer than I’d hoped.”

  She blew out a breath, all hints of happiness jettisoned from her features. An image of her from the previous day flashed through his head, a vision of fear that clutched at his heart. Her pale face, pinched lips and too-wide eyes dulled to a flat gray, suspicion sliding in their depths. A far cry from the flushed, well-pleased expression he’d left on her face early this morning when he’d rolled out of her bed to begin the day.

  He hadn’t liked her fear. He certainly hadn’t liked the hurt that had lanced him when she had pulled away from him after the knife incident, and he definitely didn’t like that her suspicion of him was understandable. He hadn’t even known where to start dispelling it—he still didn’t know what he’d said to regain her confidence.

  “Come here.” Eliasz beckoned her closer. Without hesitation, she came to settle on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. “I like how you do that.”

  She tipped her face up to his. “Do what?”

  “Come to me so easily. You didn’t yesterday.”

  Her eyes flicked between his as her spine stiffened. She pulled back emotionally. She held her body awkwardly, half twisted in his lap, one foot braced against the floor, not settling too much weight on him.

  “Ileana—”

  She sighed, deflated. Her spine relaxed and her hand came to rest on his belly. “I want this marriage, Eliasz. I do.”

  Relief had his lungs expelling all their air. “For freedom, I know.”

  “Yes, but now I want more. I want a real marriage, not the cold thing most witches have, where they barely trust their spouses not to stab them with their dinner fork when they reach for the rolls.”

  He nodded in agreement, ruthlessly keeping his lips straight. “That would be nice.”

  “My first thought was of your magic and protecting that information from Adam, not knowing if anyone one else knew about that talent. But then I thought, with your magic, if someone was planning to kill me or Georgie, you’d know about it, right? Especially in your own house, and—”

  “And you thought I was in on it.” Eliasz’s stomach rolled, a storm of emotions gusting through him. Hurt, betrayal, fear—they were in the mix, adding ice to the fire incinerating his veins. “I wasn’t.”

  “I figured that out.” She smiled sadly. “I’d like to get to know you. I’ve taken you into my body, but I don’t know anything about you beyond what everyone else knows.”

  It didn’t sound like an accusation, but it felt like one. He tried—very hard—to keep the bitterness from his tone. “I only followed your lead, gave you what you wanted. You came here to seduce me.”

  She nodded immediately. “I did, and that’s what I’m talking about. Manipulations within a marriage—secrets and doubts. I don’t want that. But”—her eyes took on a hue that seemed to glow from within—“that means somebody has to take the first step.”

  He had no idea what she was talking about, but she quickly set about showing him the way. Before he could ask for an explanation, she spoke again.

  “My grandfather has been wrapped up in Costel since he was born. He thought my brother would be an only child, like most witches.”

  “Your parents were Magic Matches, though. Matches always have more than one child.”

  It was the way it had always been. Eliasz assumed, like everyone had, that the one-child-per-witch limitation was nature’s way of minimizing the damage their kind could do. Witches had always made up only a very small segment of the population, not even a quarter of a million people at the last census.

  Only those couples who were Matches had more than one child, and the stronger the affection between Matches, the more children they had. It was as if their magic found a way to blast through the sterilizing limits nature had imposed.

  “My father hid the fact that my mother was his Match until she got pregnant with me.” Ileana grimaced. “By the time Silviu was born, my grandfather was already too invested in Costel to change course.” She chewed on her lip for a moment, memories darkening her eyes. “It wasn’t easy, growing up a Lovasz.”

  “I wouldn’t have thought it was.” He, more than anyone else, had heard the rumors.

  “My grandfather thought my father weak for loving his wife, on top of being her Match. He had indulged her… Well, to the limits a Lovasz male is able to indulge a woman.”

  Eliasz raised his eyebrows, surprised by her tone. “Silviu is indulgent with Georgie.”

  “He’s been taught to do so. Madeleine was always sending tutors to Romania for him, teaching him about Matriarchal ways, teaching him about women. There was one who brought a whole suitcase full of books on chivalry, King Arthur’s Court, Tristan and Isolde. I loved those books.”

  “The tutors taught you, too?”

  Ileana gave him a quick, defiant grin. “They were used to women having more power than I would ever expect to wield. They didn’t even think to deny me.” The smile slid off her face and Eliasz felt its loss in his chest. “My father spent every resource he had on Silviu.”

  “Better him than Alexandru.”

  “Maybe not. My grandfather is straightforward, as you can tell by having one, single conversation with Costel. My brother is generally uncomplicated. If it’s good for the Family, that’s good enough for him.”

  “Like our betrothal?”

  “Yes, but Costel still doesn’t understand all the…outlying ramifications. The politics beyond the Lovasz walls. See, my father was never going to get the Family power, so he looked elsewhere and found the connections between Families, the covens, the Council. His talent gave him an advantage.”

  “Ah, complex strategies.” Eliasz frowned, trying to read between the lines, knowing she wasn’t exactly being open with him. Honest, yes, but still omitting much. “What talent?”

  Magic covered a wide scope of abilities. All witches had certain strengths, but when one strength rose to a level that it became integral to how they lived their everyday lives, it was regarded as a talent. Some could shift shapes, communicate with animals, direct the weather. Eliasz could garner secrets from the breeze.

  A fine tension pulled at Ileana’s muscles, disrupting the easiness she’d had with him. Again, Eliasz felt himself gritting his teeth as he sensed her pulling into herself. “Ileana, I thought we were getting rid of the secrets.”

  Finally she nodded, but didn’t relax. “His talent is the same as mine and Silviu’s.”

  “Growing things?”

  She bit her lips. “I lied about that.” She hauled in a breath and Eliasz grew very nervous. “I can see magic.”

  A slight breeze pushed at the hair on his head, though the window was closed. Warmth soothed over his temple as if unseen fingers were caressing him lightly. Words sparked in his brain, simply repeating her announcement, but he suddenly knew that her talent was more important than he would have expected. “What does that mean?”

  She shrugged. “When a witch uses magic, I can see it. Sometimes, I can follow it to its source and see it interact with others’. I can take that magic and twist it into an altered shape, just a little, not so different from what it started as, but enough to…to…”

  “Manipulate witches.”

  Her eyes filled with apology. “Yes. If they are weaker than me.”

  He looked away, digesting her words, the possibilities spinning in his head. “And your father—”

  “Doesn’t know I can do that. He believes people think I’m charming.”

  Eliasz’s gaze shot back to hers. He was further surprised by the cold truth glittering in her mercurial eyes. “Ho
w can he—?”

  “Alexandru had Costel, Vasile took Silviu. My brother said it was best if we never told my father that I had the talent, too.” She shuddered. “I agreed.”

  Curiosity clawed at his brain. Sharply focused on her expression, watching too many emotions to count flow over her features, Eliasz prodded for more information. “I had assumed you and Vasile were close.”

  “No, I’m virtually useless to him.”

  “That can’t possibly be true, Ileana.” Eliasz tried to soften his tone, but knew the words still cut. “Even a Lovasz female is valued for the marriage she’d make.”

  “Oh, if only that were true.” Her lips twisted. “Here I am, intelligent enough to be a tool, and yet lacking the genitalia for the purpose. Until you, my father hadn’t wanted me to marry. I’d be taking the Lovasz magic to a new Family, passing it on to a child who wouldn’t be connected to the Lovasz Father.”

  Eliasz tightened his hold on Ileana, tucking her closer into the curve of his body as he slouched in the desk chair. “You would have been treated better if you were a boy.”

  She laughed harshly. “That’s debatable. Costel was raised by an evil, old man, and Silviu was brought up by a ruthlessly determined bastard bent on mutiny. Maybe vengeance. I was the only one who had any semblance of a childhood, and that was only because I was a girl, so I wasn’t important enough to give a shit about.”

  Bitterness, anger, sadness, all of it was buried in the hardness of her tone. Her eyes glittered, her spine tensed again. Eliasz didn’t know where to start when a thousand questions started screaming in his head.

  Finally, he said, “Vengeance?”

  All emotion was sucked out of her. Her voice was toneless when she answered. “My mother died in the middle of a storm a few weeks after Silviu was born. She fell down the mountain. Some swear it was Grandfather, somehow, that caused it.”

  Eliasz drew a slow breath. “Do you believe that?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t think so. Grandfather doesn’t think women are worth enough time to kill, or if he did, he’d have just…strangled her, or something. Not with magic, you know what I mean?”

  “Yes.” Unfortunately, he did.

  “The real problem is that my father had been pulling away from my mother. Being Matches already made him feel vulnerable, but then to have me and then Silviu…” Her lips twisted. “Vasile suddenly had weaknesses he’d never bargained for. And that is more my grandfather’s style. Poking at weaknesses until they start to shred.”

  “Your father had things Alexandru could take away.” Eliasz’s face was full of understanding before his expression morphed into confusion. “Silviu is being used for Vasile’s revenge?”

  “My brother would sit for hours in a tiny room at the top of the old tower of the original structure of the castle, learning the lessons required of him. A place my grandfather would never think to look for him. Hours and hours, learning about every Family, how they were connected. Learning about the histories and prophesies, the Council and politics.”

  “So Silviu could take the Council, one day.”

  She nodded. “Take the Council and rule over Costel, thereby defeating my grandfather at his own game. Basically stripping the Lovasz heir of all worth, because who would need Costel, head of a Family with no more than a hundred members these days, when Silviu would be king of our entire little world?”

  Eliasz sighed and rubbed Ileana’s back. “Silviu will be good at it, though. Fair.”

  “Much to my father’s surprise, yes. Look, my father isn’t a bad man, Eliasz. I don’t want you to think—”

  “I have my own opinion of your father, Ileana,” he interrupted. “You see him differently than I do because you’ve shared a history with him that I haven’t. But trust me, I know more than you think and I see more than most realize.”

  “He just wants Silviu to have it all, just as my grandfather wants Costel to have it all. They’re actually a lot alike.”

  “And where do you fit in?”

  “Currently, I’m a rung in Silviu’s ladder. My father is willing to let me bring my magic to you because you’re a Levy. Now he’s certain Daniel will put you on the Council Seat, so he’s more determined than ever.”

  Icy fingers dragged down Eliasz’s back. “He thinks you can manipulate me into voting how Silviu wants.”

  “He doesn’t know about my talent.”

  “I meant sex.”

  Ileana didn’t answer his question directly. “My grandfather was the one who betrothed me to the others, but my father helped him break the agreements after they’d gotten what they wanted. It hurt the Lovasz standing, but my father didn’t care, because that falls on Costel. He knows Silviu is taken on his own merit in the witching world.”

  Eliasz was fascinated by her insight. “You’re right. I believe most of us think of him as a Davenold, more than a Lovasz. The novelty of witches marrying over the Schism’s divide overwhelms the Lovasz affiliation.”

  “It was different with you. My father wants something now, but I don’t know what yet.” The ticking of the clock underscored how long she waited to speak again. “He told me to use my body to tie you to Silviu’s cause. Did it work?”

  “Maybe.” Frowning, Eliasz smoothed a perfectly straight lock of hair behind her ear. “You told me you’d rather face the devil you don’t know than stay with the one you hate. Why?”

  Her face paled, she bit her lip for a drawn-out moment—until he thought she wouldn’t answer at all—but then she bravely told him the truth. “I can’t use my talent at home because my father will realize I have it.”

  “You’ll use it against me?”

  “If you force me to.” The challenge was clear, dropping into his soul with an unexpectedness that riled his arrogance. Her chin notched higher. “I like to go out. I’ve made friends who know nothing about witches or magic and they don’t treat me like I’m unworthy.” Her shoulder jerked up in a nervous shrug. “I’ve been caught a few times and…punished. And I can’t fight back or they’ll know—”

  A new wave of anger turned his thoughts. “Your father has hurt you?”

  Her eyes narrowed. “I want a certain amount of freedom, and I’m determined to have it. I won’t be kept indoors or ignored with no other option than to roam this house and accept whatever treatment you choose to dole out.”

  She spoke so blithely about manipulation, yet didn’t see the real threat he posed to her. She was used to sliding around Vasile, perhaps with Silviu’s help. She was used to being smarter, or at least sneakier, than Costel and Alexandru. She didn’t know Eliasz yet, didn’t know how to get around him, or even if she needed to.

  Her arrogance rivaled his, in her own unique way.

  An expectant grin spread over his lips. The predator in him rose, responding to her challenge. “So you think every time I do something you don’t like, you’ll just yank my chain and spell me to the doghouse?”

  Her eyes flew wide, innocent and confused. He wondered.

  “So far,” she said, “you’ve done nothing to make me think you’ll be unreasonable. Like I told you, I just want the option.”

  “You’re not the only one around here who can manipulate people.”

  “I’m not trying to manipulate you! That’s my whole point.” She pushed off his lap and stepped back, turning the corner of the desk to pace a small circle. “I’m tired of being the one who is manipulated. I’ve met you, I like you, and I think we could make this work and have a real marriage.”

  “I think so, too.”

  “I would rather talk about these things. Let you know where I’m coming from, why I see the world the way I see it, and learn how different it might be from your perspective. I would rather we work things out like normal people, rather than throw spells at each other or burn effigies and hope for a timely widowhood.”

  Eliasz slowly rose to his feet. “That would be my preference, too, Ileana.”

  He moved to her, catching her hand, ha
lting the rapid pacing that would no doubt leave a hole in his father’s carpet. He lifted her fingers and brushed his lips over her knuckles, lazy satisfaction wending through him when her cheeks took on a pink tinge and her breath hitched.

  “I first saw you at the Castillo betrothal.”

  “That was a nightmare.” She shook her head. “I barely even remember it. It was all a daze. I just remember feeling ill, completely sick.”

  “You were beautiful. Your eyes haunting. You wore a silver, strapless dress that made your legs look like they went on for miles. When my father asked me to consider a betrothal to you, I had that image in my head.”

  “And you knew that Silviu wanted the Council High Seat.”

  “Yes.” He tugged Ileana against his body, enfolding her in his arms and sweeping his hands down the long line of her back. “And I knew he would marry Georgeanne. I knew she would be just as determined to gain that level of power, so I figured your brother would make it one day.”

  “And you’d be in perfect position to take advantage, being married to his sister.”

  Eliasz let his voice deepen. “And I’d have his sister in my bed.”

  He took her lips when she looked up in surprise. She opened for him and he sank into her, welcoming the burning rush of desire, needing the soothing of her small surrender. His tongue swept over hers, teasing, dancing, until she met him sweetly, letting him take what he wanted from her mouth.

  He was pressing deeper, nerves in his groin beginning to coil with want, when he heard the massive grandfather clock in the hall strike the hour. Mixed into the deep bongs was a gaggle of voices, greeting each other, laughing. Reluctantly he pulled back, releasing her lips with a slow lick that had her clinging to the caress.

  “Dinner.”

  She sighed, stepping back. “Just the Family who lives in this house, right?”

  “The rest are gone.” He pulled her toward the open office door. “Except Daniel and his current entourage.”

  “Do you always have this many people here?”