Strange Husband

I stared down at him, my mind working fast. I had lived around death and blood my entire life. Locked in that tower, I had spent sixteen years studying how human bodies worked, learning where every vein sat, how their blood flowed, and how easily they broke. Mortals were fragile, cold, easily terrified creatures.

Rowan was sitting in front of me with a body that felt like a living ember, looking at me as if he held every secret in the world and had no intention of sharing a single one.

"Not cold," I repeated slowly, letting out a dark, sarcastic breath. "That's a very diplomatic way of saying your blood is practically boiling. Do your royal doctors know about this? Or do they just heap blankets on you and pray you don't burst into flames?"

"My doctors know only what I allow them to know," Rowan answered smoothly. His fingers remained wrapped around my wrist. His grip wasn't tight enough to hurt…nothing a human did could hurt me…but it was steady, deliberate, and entirely unbothered by the sharp tips of my fangs peeking out from beneath my upper lip. "And if we are going to work together, my dear queen, you will learn to mind your curiosity."

"Dear queen," I mimicked, bending my knees until I was kneeling right between his legs on the edge of his chair, bringing us eye to eye. The proximity brought that overwhelming heat right into my face. For a vampire used to the chill of the dark, being this close to him felt bizarrely intoxicating. "You keep forgetting who you're talking to. I don't mind my business. I tear things open until I get what I want."

I slid my free hand up his chest again, feeling the solid, thick muscle beneath his shirt. There was no weakness here. No frail, dying king ready to collapse into dust.

Every breath he took was deep, powerful, and full of life.

"If I bite you right now," I murmured, lowering my voice until it was a low, provocative whisper against his skin, "will your blood burn my throat?"

Rowan’s eyes darkened, a dangerous, unnatural flicker passing through them so quickly I almost thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. He didn't pull back.

He actually leaned forward, narrowing the distance between our faces until I could feel the heat radiating off his skin like a furnace.

"Why don't you try it and find out, Rapunzel?" he challenged softly.

"Zelpunrap," I growled under my breath, but I didn't back away.

I leaned in closer, my nose brushing against the side of his neck. He didn't smell like normal human blood, which usually carried the metallic, salty tang of fear. He smelled like ash, hot stone, and something ancient that made the dark monster inside my chest sit up and pay attention. I bared my fangs, pressing the sharp tips lightly against his skin, right over his heavy pulse.

The moment my teeth touched his skin, a sharp, searing warmth flashed across my lips, like pressing against heated silver. I pulled back instantly, my hand flying to my mouth in sheer shock.

"What the hell?" I hissed, staring at him.

There was no blood. I hadn't even broken the skin properly, but the heat coming off him had flared up the second my teeth made contact.

Rowan didn't look startled at all. He slowly reached up, adjusting his linen collar, his expression as calm and unreadable as a marble statue. "I told you, my queen. I am not like the men you are used to."

"You're not a normal human at all," I said, my voice dropping all its playful sarcasm.

My eyes narrowed as I backed up a step, watching him carefully. "What are you, Rowan?"

Before he could answer, a sudden, heavy knock echoed through the chamber door, shattering the heavy silence between us.

"Your Majesty!" Silas's urgent voice called out from the hallway, sounding tight and panicked. "Forgive the interruption, but the northern borders have just sent a messenger.

A fire has broken out in the dragon trenches…and the flames aren't turning blue!"

Rowan’s calm demeanor shifted instantly.

The subtle mask of the quiet king slammed shut, and for a fraction of a second, something massive and terrifying flashed in his eyes before he turned his gaze back to me.

"We will continue our discussion about working together later," Rowan said softly, reaching for his wheelchair as if nothing strange had just happened.

I stood there in the middle of the room, my lips still tingling from the heat of his skin, watching him. He was hiding something massive, something that went far beyond a fake disability or court politics…and I was going to tear this palace apart until I found out what it was.