Free Eternal Fire by Chrissy Peebles

wanted to rip Ethano’s throat out, I had to play along and pretend I’d submitted to him. I had to let the idiot think he’d won, even though I would forever think him a loser. I knew if I resisted in any way, I’d be paralyzed in a heartbeat, and then none of my plans would matter.
    Ethano grabbed my jaw. “What should I do with your sister?”
    “ Please let her go,” I begged. “If you promise not to kill her, I’ll do anything you say.”
    “ Anything?” he said, running a hand down my face and licking his lips. I found his insinuations grotesque, but it was safest to play along. “Anything.”
    He smiled wickedly, placing an arm around my waist and pulling me closer. “I know you will.”
    It took everything I had not to vomit.
    “ It’d be my pleasure to bed Victor’s whore,” he said, leaving a trail of kisses down my face and neck. “I will delight in your first surrender to me.”
    I cringed at the thought of his lips—or anything else of his—against my skin. I took a deep breath to calm myself and surprisingly refrained from slapping him or tearing him apart. Ethano had some kind of sick fascination with me, and I was almost positive it was rooted in some competitive thing between him and Victor. I had no doubt that if I didn’t find a way out, he would rape me before dawn, and my stomach churned and my flesh prickled at the thought. “This is…inappropriate,” I hissed, pushing him away, unable to play the charade any longer. “Should you be acting like this in front of your priests?”
    “ You need to get one thing straight.”
    I turned my face and looked away. At that point, my grieving heart couldn’t have cared less about any of his lectures.
    He grabbed my chin as if he owned me, then tilted my head to meet his gaze straight on.
    I swallowed at the dangerous glint in his eyes.
    “ I am in charge now, my Queen,” he said, moving my hair over my shoulder. “I get what I want. If I desired to ravage your body on top of that altar this very second, I would do it.” Grabbing a fistful of hair, he pulled my face forward, crashing his lips into mine.
    When he forced his tongue into my mouth, I pounded on his chest. The thought of him defiling me right where my husband had been murdered only minutes before sickened me.
    He broke the kiss, his eyes wild. “Submit to me, or Liz dies,” he demanded.
    As much as I hated ultimatums, there was no way I was going to let him kill Liz. He leaned in for another kiss, knowing he had the upper hand, and I sucked in a trembling breath as he placed his lips once again on my lips. As much as I wanted to puke, I didn’t fight him as he kissed me roughly, forcing my mouth open with his tongue.
    “ You submit easily,” his voice said, rolling across my mind.
    I didn’t, and I knew he’d only said it to anger me.
    He broke away and stared at me as if deciding what he wanted to do with me.
    At that point, I began to think death might not be so bad. If Ethano kills me, at least I’ll be reunited with my Victor. I knew it was selfish to think only of my happiness with my sister’s life at stake. What about Liz? And what about my parents, back at my castle, worrying and waiting? How could I make them go through another funeral for Liz?
    “ Ethano!” a priest called. “Look what we found.”
    A distraction? Thank goodness. I let out a tiny sigh of relief as I tried not to vomit from Ethano’s touch.
    “ We’ll finish this later,” he whispered in my ear.
    Fat chance. I was dead set on finding a way out before he ever got me back to his bed. Spots flooded my vision, and my knees shook. “I-I need to sit,” I said. Emotions swept over me like a hurricane as grief held me tightly in its strangling, suffocating, icy grip.
    Ethano motioned for a priest to lead me toward a long bench against the wall, then rushed over to the others.
    When I looked back at the altar, I noticed that Victor’s ashes were gone. A tear slid down my cheek as sadness