Magnus was silent, his eyes glazed over.
“What?” Nadine asked.
“Hmm. I was going to ask for more examples. But I’d rather talk more about you spreading your legs for me.”
Nadine was secretly glad he hadn’t asked for further examples, as none were forthcoming. Even so, her jaw tightened. “I should warn you, savage. I’m not known for my patience. I don’t know what impression you’ve gained of Ebronian women in the short time you’ve been here, but I won’t put up with that sort of harassment for long.”
Magnus raised his eyebrows. “You’re the only one who seems resistant thus far.” He snorted. “The other Ebronian women I’ve met have been all too eager to put up with my particular brand of harassment.”
Something hot and ugly turned in her gut. Nadine knew what it was on instinct and hated the wayward emotion. Jealousy. She sneered at him. “And I’m sure my resistance just grates on you.”
He flashed white teeth. “On the contrary. You’re getting more enticing by the minute, Captain.”
Did he remember her rank from the single time she’d been introduced in front of him and all his brothers? Nadine just kept her mouth from quirking. “You’ve asked about me?”
“No more than I’m sure you’ve asked about me, woman. Though I’d be willing to wager, my sources were far more forthcoming than yours.”
Lavinia had better have given birth by the time this mission was over, because Nadine was going to kill her. Her chest tightened at all the possible information her sister might have divulged to this savage. At once, Nadine was grateful she’d revealed very little to Lavinia about all that had taken place in her life since her sister had disappeared twelve years prior. She bit down on her tongue. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of asking what he’d already been told.
“It matters little.” Nadine sniffed. “I know everything I need to.”
Magnus pursed his lips. “Apparently not, else you’d know better than to think that I’d try to force myself upon you.” The teasing edge was gone from his voice.
Nadine narrowed her eyes with hostility to hide her surprise. “Forgive me. I’m sure the idea of you kidnapping unaware women and forcing them to stay against their will gave me the wrong impression.”
Magnus shook his head. “No one is forced to stay forever.”
Her heart clenched at the memory of Lavinia being taken away so long ago. Nadine had still been a child. There had still been tenderness in her soul. Innocence. But it had been ripped away just as the gegatu had ripped Lavinia from the sand. “You keep them long enough to conquer their minds along with their bodies.”
Magnus cocked his head as he stared down at her. “Between a gegatu’s will and a woman’s mind, I’d say the fanged serpent is far less perilous.”
Nadine studied him. “So what are you declaring? Will you not try to stop me from leaving you when this is all done?”
“Oh, make no mistake, kandiri, I’ll do everything in my power to stop you from leaving. But those efforts won’t include ropes or chains.” His face took on a sly grin. “Unless that sort of thing appeals.”
Nadine’s skin grew hot. “So I have your word then? We do this and you leave me alone afterward?”
“We do this, and you’re mine for the following year, woman.”
The pitch in her voice raised with disbelief. “A year?”
Magnus nodded once. “The tanshi rite means that, once I put my mark on you, you’re mine to do with as I see fit for one year. Then the choice of your fate lies in your hands alone.”
Nadine snorted with genuine laughter. “I knew you creatures were unreasonable. I’m a captain in the Ebronian Army and the Laporian guard commanded by the Mushar himself. I don’t have a year to spend with you, even if I were willing. Which I am not.”
Magnus shrugged. “Be that as it may, once I put my mark on you, you’re mine. And don’t be so naïve as to believe that I’d simply let what’s mine walk away from me to serve a lowland ruler.”
Nadine shook her head. “I had hoped we’d come to an understanding.”
“I’d hoped the same. But the ideas you’ve made up about us seem to be getting in the way of sense.”
“How do you figure?”
“Nothing’s changed, woman. You still need the Dokiri to lead you up the mountain whilst maintaining possession of the Eye.” He hesitated. “I don’t suppose you lot have changed your minds about letting us fly you up there instead of hiking the entire way?”
Nadine’s gaze flicked downward before returning to his face. This had been a point of contention between herself and Samar. While she maintained the ultimate power to command the men to climb onto the backs of the gegatu, it had been made abundantly clear to her that no one, not even Samar himself, was ready to put that kind of faith in their new allies. The wyverns themselves were terrifying enough. The wild men who rode them? Who only recently had been unknown to the world? She took a breath. “No.”
Magnus frowned. “Just one more pointless delay. And without us to guide you on the safest paths, it will take even longer. I swear to my sky father, you’d lose good men. Should I demand as much of your life or as little as I’ve asked, you’ve no choice but to submit yourself to this bonding to see your goals met.”
Nadine’s mouth hardened as she stared into his hazel eyes. He was right. But there were certain things he said she couldn’t overlook. Things that needed to be clarified. Perhaps she should let him explain exactly what he demanded out of this arrangement. “Tell me what it is you expect from me, savage. And make it quick.”
His throat bobbed. “I put my mark on you today. We return to your people tomorrow. For the next year, you’re mine.”
Nadine scoffed and opened her mouth to respond.
Magnus cut her off. “In that time I swear not to harm you. Any hands I put on you will be those you want.”
“Those I want?”
“I’d say those you ask for, but something tells me you’d sooner ask for a sword in your eye than admit you wanted me to touch you.” His expression grew conspiratorial. “I know you liked it when I held you against the wall the other day.”
She had liked it.
Even as she’d been furious with herself for allowing him to pin her. The memory of his body pressed up against hers, of his weight expanding with each of his easy breaths, had seared itself into her mind even while she slept. Nadine dug her nails hard into her left palm.
Clear that chakva from your head, Nadine.
The moment they’d shared, lust-filled as it had been, meant nothing except that keeping this barbarian’s hands off her might be a tad trickier than she’d hoped. Still, nothing sent a clearer message than a blade held to a man’s balls. She knew from personal experience how well it worked.
“I’ll make no promises to you, barbarian, save for this: I will not have you. If I go with you right now, I will try to leave you as soon as our mission is over. I’ll have no consideration for your gods or our people’s alliance.” Certainly not his heart, assuming he had one.
Magnus’s gaze searched hers. “You can try.”