Chapter 37: A Marriage Without Love

••{RHIANNON’S POV}••

As I stare wide-eyed at the sight in front of me, Delilah’s voice echoes inside my mind.

"Even after you’re married, he’ll come running back to me because you’re nothing....

If you think I’m lying, just watch your husband-to-be crawl into my bed on your wedding night."

I don’t know why...

But something inside me snaps and before I realize it, I’m storming across the room.

The moment I reach Delilah, I grab her by her hair. She lets out a sharp cry as I yank her from bed and she falls to the floor.

"Rhiannon, stop!" Azræl shouts.

"Let me go!" Delilah screams, trying to pry my hands from her hair as she staggers to her feet.

But I don’t release her.

With all my strength, I drag her across the floor and shove her into the chair by the vanity. Then I pull her up and slam her back against the mirror, shattering it into pieces.

"Rhiannon," Azræl barks. "Stop this nonsense immediately!"

I ignore him.

I don’t even spare him a glance.

All I can see and hear is red.

Delilah shoves me so suddenly I fall to the floor. Azræl rushes to help me up but I push him away.

I stumble to my feet and run for Delilah, raising my hand and smacking her across the face.

The sound echoes through the room like a whip as her head snaps to the side. Afterwards, the room falls silent except for the sound of our heavy breathing.

She turns slowly to face me, her violet eyes burning with anger.

"How dare you," she says through clenched teeth, her voice trembling with rage.

"How dare I?" My brows rise as I point at myself. "No, how dare you!" I snap, jabbing my finger at her bare chest.

"Don’t you have any shame?" I continue, my voice rising with each word. "You love to parade around this castle as if you’re someone important. As if you’re a part of House Bloodbourne. But only one of us is married to Azræl and it’s not you."

I step closer until there’s barely any space left between us.

"You’re nothing but a glorified whore," I spit, my tone ice-cold.

Delilah’s eyes widen and she immediately raises her hand to hit me, but Azræl steps forward, catching her by the wrist.

"Delilah," he warns, his voice a low growl.

I turn to look at him, placing a hand on my chest.

"Azræl, no," I say very softly, my tone almost innocent.

Then I turn back to Delilah.

"Let her do it," I say sharply. "I dare her."

Her chest heaves, and her hand trembles in Azræl’s grip.

The tension in the air is so physical that it makes my body feel hotter by the second.

Delilah yanks her hand out of Azræl’s grip then lowers it slowly. I eye her up and down before letting out a scoff then turning to Azræl.

"So this was the important matter you had to attend to?" I ask, gesturing at her.

He lets out a heavy sigh as he runs his hands down his face. Then he looks at Delilah and says,

"Leave us. I wish to speak with my wife alone."

"But this is my chambers!" Delilah protests.

I turn toward her and point my finger straight at the door. "Get out."

She lets out a furious growl and turns on her heel, storming to the corner of the room and yanking a robe hanging from a chair. She slips it on then heads for the door.

The moment she swings the door open, four maids stumble in, crashing to the floor.

They immediately scramble to their feet and bow their heads.

"Your Majesties!" one practically squeaks. "We–we were just... uh..."

"Dusting!" another says. "Dusting the halls!"

"I–I was cleaning the d–doors!" a third blurts out, bowing so low her head nearly hits the floor.

The fourth points to the floor, her expression filled with panic. "And I was... um... I—"

"So, you were all cleaning with your bare hands?" Azræl asks, giving them a dry, unimpressed look.

The moment their eyes shift to Azræl standing naked in front of me, they gawk at him for a heartbeat before squeezing their eyes shut and immediately looking away.

"Get out of my way!" Delilah screams at them. They scatter immediately like frightened animals, nearly colliding with each other again as they hurry out of the room.

Delilah slams the door behind her, finally leaving Azræl and I alone.

For the first time in weeks, I feel a shred of control.

And it feels good.

But it’s only when the anger finally starts to fade that I realize what I’ve walked into.

Azræl is standing right in front of me... naked.

My eyes betray me for a heartbeat, trailing from his broad shoulders to the hard planes of his chest, then down to the defined ridges of his sculpted torso.

My gaze slides lower...

And lower...

Until—

Heat rushes into my cheeks as I avert my gaze.

I can’t even begin to imagine how... that thing was inside Delilah just a few moments ago.

I swallow the lump in my throat, fighting the urge to take another look.

"Please cover yourself," I say, the slight tremor in my voice betraying me.

He doesn’t move to cover himself.

For a long moment, he just stares at me with a blank expression.

"Why are you here?" he asks.

"Why am I here?"

"Rhiannon, I warned you not to leave your chambers without me," he says firmly. "You know the r—"

"Don’t change the subject," I cut him off sharply. "I just walked in on you with another woman!"

Azræl huffs, then tilts his head. "And how is what I do in private your concern?"

"Because we are married, Azræl!" I shout. "Marriage is a vow. A commitment. In Astragarde, husbands honor their wives, they respect them by not going around bedding other women! It’s a shameful thing!"

A crease slowly forms between his brows.

"But you’re not in Astragarde now, are you?" he says coldly.

The words hit me like a sting to the chest. But it doesn’t make me sad.

It makes me furious.

"So it’s right for a married man to sleep with other women here? Is that what vampires do? Disrespect their wives and disregard their vows?!"

"It’s not disrespectful," he shrugs. "It’s tradition."

His voice is calm. So calm to the point it makes me so angry I want to slap him across the face.

He takes a step toward me and I instinctively take one back.

He takes another step and I take one back again.

"As ruler of the Empire of Night," he says. "I can have a harem of mistresses if I so choose, even after marriage. I thought I made it clear that this marriage was to protect you and nothing more."

He keeps advancing and I keep retreating, my heart thudding faster with every step he takes toward me.

When my back meets the wall and Azræl closes the distance between us, he plants his hands against it, caging me in between his arms.

My heart flutters wildly in my chest and all of a sudden I can’t breathe.

His golden eyes gaze into mine for several tense heartbeats before he speaks.

"I can’t touch you," he says slowly, his tone deep and smooth. "I cannot make love to you. And now, you ask me not to seek pleasure elsewhere?"

His eyes drop to my lips and at that moment, my knees threaten to give out.

"So..." he murmurs, leaning closer until his breath brushes against my lips. "What is it you want from me?"