I gasped before I could stop myself. Divorces were practically unheard of in Solis. They had to go before the Court to even petition to have one, and it was, more often than not, rejected. “Is divorce common in Atlantia?” I asked.
“No,” he answered. “What is uncommon is for two Atlantians to marry who don’t love one another. But when people do change along with their love, they may divorce.”
I got snagged on the whole part about marrying when there was no love being uncommon. If it was so rare, then how could he so easily go into a union with someone he obviously didn’t love? The answer was easy. He would do anything for his brother.
“So, this marriage isn’t real.” I drew in a shallow breath. “And what if I refuse? What if I say no?”
“I hope that won’t be the case, especially after everything you’ve seen. But this way, you won’t be used to send a message to the Ascended, and you won’t be used by them. It’s a way out.” He dragged a hand through his hair. “It’s not a perfect one, but it is one.”
It…it was a way out. A windy, twisting one, but I knew that if he had never come for me, I would be in Masadonia, veiled and suspicious, but having no real idea of the horror that was happening—the future I was going to meet. Casteel wasn’t a blessing in disguise. I didn’t know what he was, but nothing would have been okay if he hadn’t entered my life.
I lifted my chin. “And what if I still say no?”
“I won’t force you to marry me, Poppy. What I already have to force from you is…distasteful enough, given everything that was taken from you before you even met me.” His chest rose with a heavy breath. “If you refuse, I don’t know. I’ll have to find another way to free my brother and somehow hide you away so that no one, including my people, can get their hands on you.”
Surprise flickered through me, and without thinking, I reached out to him, reading his emotions, searching for a hint of scheming or slyness. Anything to indicate that he wasn’t being truthful. What I felt was sadness, heavier and thicker than before, and I tasted something sour in my mouth, something that left me with the sensation of wanting to shed my skin.
Shame.
I felt shame coming from him, and it wasn’t buried deep. It was there, just below the surface. “You…you don’t like this, do you? The situation I’m in—that we’re in.”
A muscle flexed in his jaw once more, but he said nothing.
“That’s why you aren’t just hauling me straight to the capital right now, demanding the exchange,” I said. “That would be quicker. It would be easier—”
“There would be nothing easy about giving you to them.” His eyes flashed an intense amber before he looked away. “And stop reading my emotions. It’s a bit rude.”
My brows lifted. “And forcing me to drink your blood wasn’t?”
“I was saving your life,” he groused.
“Maybe I’m saving yours by reading your emotions,” I shot back, pulling my senses back in.
Casteel pinned me with a dry look. “Please explain how you came to that conclusion.”
“Because it’s a relief to know that you wouldn’t force my hand in marriage.” And it did loosen some of the tension knotting in my chest. “It doesn’t change the lies and everything else, but it does at least dampen my near murderous rage.” And the soul-shattering disappointment, but I wasn’t sharing that. “So, I might not actually try to sever your head while you sleep.”
His lips twitched. “But no promises?”
I didn’t dignify that with a response. “So, you will tell everyone we’re getting married, and I’m supposed to act as if that is the case when we’re around others? Then once we’re married, we will go to the capital?”
Casteel lifted his head, gaze focused on the wall across from him. “Yes, but we will have to be convincing. It’s not as simple as telling the world we’re to be married. We must marry as soon as we arrive in Atlantia. Before I take you to my parents.”
My stomach hollowed. “Do you think it’s wise to marry before you even tell the King and Queen you’re engaged?”
“Not particularly.” There was a flash of a boyish grin, one I imagined he wore quite a bit when he was younger and about to do something he knew he would get in trouble for. “My parents will be…displeased.”
“Displeased?” I choked on a laugh. “I have a feeling there will be a stronger emotion.”