WinterofThorns Read Online Free PDF

flesh from
his back with a bullwhip. By the tenth stroke he was howling in agony.”
    Jana whimpered. She was twisting her
fingers over and over themselves in the confines of her billowing skirt.
    “Because of his offense against me, his
defiance of my rules, I can have Seyzon taken to the courtyard, his shirt
stripped from him, his wrists tied to a pole and I would personally take the
whip in my own hands and flay the flesh from his back or…” He came to stand
directly in front of her then hunkered down so he was at eye level with her. He
braced his forearms on his knees. “Or I can, as his Overlord and yours,
exercise the Right of First Night.”
    Jana’s eyes flared. “Your Grace!” she
gasped. “I am…”
    “A virgin,” he finished for her. “I
suspected as much. Doesn’t matter. It is your choice, milady. Either his flesh
or yours will be broken this night. You decide.”
    “Please do not hurt him,” she pleaded,
tears falling down her cheeks.
    He said nothing for a long while then
nodded. “Leave, but do not say one word to Seyzon when you see him. Say nothing
to anyone. Go directly to his bedchamber and wait for me.” At her look of
horror, he smiled. “It is only fitting I take you in his bed, the bed in which
he planned to take what is now mine.”
    When Jana returned, Seyzon knew something
horrible had happened in the sacristy. Something had been said that had crushed
his wife’s spirit. He reached out to her but she shook her head violently and
eluded him. Hiking up her skirts, she ran up the aisle—the shocked stares of
the assemblage following her. Though he called after her, she did not answer
and was soon through the door of the chapel. He made to follow her and was blocked
by the Elite guard who positioned themselves directly in front of him.
    “Get out of my way,” he said through
clenched teeth.
    They would not so he turned only to find
his retreat blocked by two more guards.
    “Don’t do it,” the leader of the Elites
warned, staring fixedly at Seyzon.
    “Lord Alden.”
    Every eye went to the sacristy where the
prince was standing.
    “Aye, Your Grace!” Alden scurried forward
to bow deeply.
    “Escort my men and Lord Seyzon to your
dungeon,” the prince commanded. “He will be staying there a while.” He switched
his attention to Joseph. “Commander, you are to keep everyone in this room
until further notice. Do you understand?”
    Joseph snapped to attention. “Aye, Your
Grace.”
    “You,” the prince said, coming into the
chapel, pointing at a gorgeous woman sitting in the front row of the pews. “Come
with me.”
    The woman beamed and was quick to join her
Overlord. It was widely known the unmarried prince was as randy as his father,
the king, and grandfather before him. Those two men had sown seed far and wide
and the women who had caught their eye had been taken care of exceedingly well.
Though Prince Vindan was the only male among his father’s brats, his
half-sisters had given King Nolan dozens of warriors-in-the-making. Thankfully,
none of them stood in line to inherit the throne. The woman who caught the
prince’s eye and became his wife, who gave him an heir, would wield great power
in Meiraman when he gained the throne.
    Lady Beatrice Saur wanted to be that woman.
Sultry lips pursed to entice, she hurried behind Prince Vindan, determined to
do whatever it took to become either his bride or his concubine. Either
designation would suit her just fine.
    Thus it was a great disappointment to her
to learn after scurrying behind him up the grand staircase that all he wanted
was to be taken to the disgraced warrior’s bedchamber.
    “Mine is far more comfortable, Your Grace,”
she said, brows drawn together in confusion.
    Prince Vindan stopped so suddenly she
plowed into his back and when he spun around to give her an irritated glower,
she jumped back.
    “Your Grace?” she questioned.
    “Did I ask to be shown to your bedchamber, woman?” he snarled.
    “No,