"I expect you to remember who you are. You're my wife, Rimea."
He said it as though those three words were enough to settle the matter. Rimea stared at him, her brows drawing together.
Cedric stepped closer, his expression remaining cold.
"You are obligated to help me, Rimea," he said, his raspy voice flat, devoid of a single drop of remorse. "Whether you like the taste of it or not. Your fate is bound to mine by holy oath. If I rise to rule the Valecroft's, you rise with me. If I fall to the executioner's block... you fall into the mud beside me. By the ancient laws of the five realms, every wife is bound to serve her husband's cause. You are no different from any other married woman, regardless of the fact that you were born a princess."
Rimea let out a ragged, trembling scoff, taking a long step back from him as if his very presence smelled of rot. "I am obligated to nothing," she spat, her voice shaking with profound disgust.
