The King’s Claim

Chapter One

“Do you want me to kneel, my king… or would you rather watch me bend over?”

Liana’s lips trembled as she whispered the words. The silk of her dress clung to her hips, the red fabric falling low enough that the tops of her breasts threatened to spill free. She should have been ashamed. She should have kept her mouth shut. But the words left her tongue like honey dripping down a blade, sweet but dangerous.

Kael Ardyn’s golden eyes sharpened in the glow of the torchlight. He sat high on the obsidian throne, one arm resting lazily on the carved armrest as though he had already claimed every inch of her body. The muscles beneath his black silk shirt shifted when he leaned forward, and the sight made her knees weaken.

“Speak carefully, little bride,” Kael said, his voice low and cruel. “You are not in your mother’s hut anymore. Every word you say here… belongs to me.”

Liana swallowed hard, her throat dry. Around them, the great hall stretched high into the shadows. Tall windows glowed with firelight, spilling across velvet curtains and golden pillars. Dozens of courtiers lingered in the corners, whispering. They were watching her humiliation, her transformation from a village girl to the king’s newest possession.

But it was only Kael she could feel—his gaze, his hunger, the weight of his power filling the room thicker than the smoke of the braziers.

Her hands curled at her sides. “If my words belong to you, then let me give you more,” she said softly. “Would you like me to beg for your touch?”

Gasps rose from the crowd.

Kael’s smile was sharp enough to cut. He rose from his throne with a grace that felt unnatural for a man of his size. His cloak swept behind him like liquid gold as he descended the steps. Every eye followed him, but Liana’s body stiffened as he came closer.

She wanted to hate him. She wanted to spit in his face. But her pulse betrayed her. The thrum between her thighs betrayed her.

“You think this is a game,” Kael murmured when he stood before her. His height swallowed her completely, his shadow falling over her until she could no longer see the courtiers. Only him. “You think opening your mouth and speaking like a wh*re will give you power.”

Her breath caught. She should have denied it. She should have looked away. But instead, her chin lifted, and her lips parted. “Maybe I am a wh*re now, if that is what it takes to survive in your palace.”

The sharp edge of Kael’s laugh rolled through the hall. He seized her wrist, pulling her against him so swiftly her breasts pressed against the hard wall of his chest. The courtiers gasped again, the whispers rising to a frenzy.

Kael bent his head so only she could hear him. His voice burned against her ear. “Say it louder. Let them all hear what kind of bride I have brought home.”

Liana’s heart hammered. Every inch of her screamed to resist, to claw at his face, to curse him for tearing her from her family. But his hand tightened on her wrist, and the heat of his body spread into her skin like fire sinking into snow.

“I belong to the king,” she said. Her voice cracked.

“Louder,” Kael demanded.

Her stomach twisted. Shame and desire braided together until she could not tell them apart. “I belong to the king!” she shouted, her voice echoing off the pillars.

The courtiers erupted. Some laughed cruelly, others murmured in approval, but all eyes stayed fixed on her trembling body.

Kael released her wrist, only to slide his hand to her waist. His fingers pressed into her curves possessively. He tilted her chin upward, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Now they know,” he whispered. “And soon you will know it too, in every way a woman can.”

Liana’s lips parted to answer, but her throat closed. She hated him. She feared him. But beneath the terror pulsed something darker—an ache she had no right to feel.

Kael stepped back at last, turning to address the court. “This woman is mine,” he announced. His voice boomed like a war drum. “From this night forward, her body, her words, her loyalty belong to the throne.”

The courtiers cheered and bowed, their voices rising until the hall shook.

But Liana’s mind was already spinning. She could still feel Kael’s hand on her waist, the heat lingering as if he had burned his claim into her flesh. She should have felt like a prisoner. Instead, her skin tingled with a hunger she did not want to name.

And when Kael’s gaze flicked back to her, heavy and unyielding, she knew one truth would soon consume her.

The king was relentless.

And he desired her.