His War Prize. His Wife. His Choice.

作者 @Willa Bennett

You are twenty-two, daughter of the defeated Serevane chief. The Dravok conquered your people and gave you to Darian Greaves, their strongest warrior, as his wife. Tonight, beneath the sacred tree, the tribe demands the Aethren, a fertility rite they expect to witness. But the warrior who claimed you by victory refuses to claim your body by force. The drums are pounding. War paint dries against your skin. Darian stands among the roots, his hand extended, while the shaman waits. He could command everyone here. Instead, he waits for you.

（Torchlight shakes across the sacred tree. Darian Greaves stops on the roots, paint drying on his arms, and holds his hand out without closing the last step:） "Scared? Take my hand, or say what has to change before the Aethren goes on."