He wasted no time taking her then, the crowd expecting the couple to flee into privacy and he did just that, pulling her along behind him and into her suite where he practically threw her inside.
"Now was that so hard?" he said as he removed the armour, dropping it onto the floor to leave him in only his shirt and trousers.
He approached her, roughly tugging the robe from her shoulders and throwing it to the floor.
"No…" she breathed, fear radiating through her while he moved around her, tugging at the laces of her gown and forcefully yanking it down to leave her in nothing but her undergarments.
Turning to stand before her, his eyes trailed over her bare breasts and down, the scar on her belly vanishing with her transformation.
He didn't seem to like that much, finally looking up at her.
"Undress me," he said simply.
After only a brief hesitation, she lifted her hands and caught the hem of his shirt, lifting it up over his head and dropping it to the ground beside them.
His muscles were tense, every cord on high alert for her to try something stupid.
She didn't, instead she dropped her hands and pulled the ties of his trousers free, pushing them down with as little contact with his bare skin as possible.
He smiled as he stepped out of them, delighting in her discomfort.
"Remove those," he said.
She went still, it was one thing to have him strip her, it was another to strip for him but when his hand lifted to hit her, she hooked her thumbs in the band and slid them down over her hips, stepping out of them and leaving her naked.
Wrapping her arms around herself, she chewed on her inner lip. She knew she was trapped, that she was never going to be able to escape him. She also knew that to fight him would lead to disaster, they were married now. That meant she had to submit, but the thought of surrendering to him had her stomach clenching in fear.
He pressed her backwards with his approach, knowing full well she would retreat from him until the back of her legs hit the bed.
"Are you going to be difficult?" he asked and she shook her head.
Nodding, he pressed her back and he waited for her to scoot back from the edge of the bed, him following her a moment later.
He knelt between her knees, one hand scooping under each and parting her legs for him. He immediately settled between them and breathed a soft sigh at the feeling of her against him.
"If you try anything..." he warned but she could only shake her head again, panic filling her and he smirked, glad to have her submissive this one time.
Gripping her right thigh, he dug his nails in as he shifted her and pressed forward.
Her eyes slid shut as he claimed his new bride, gentler than he had ever touched her but it felt more domineering that way. He didn't hit her or try and hold her down, he simply knew she belonged to him and he could have her.
The sounds he made had her entire body going cold, staring up at the ceiling with the sight of his broad shoulder above her, his muscles bunching and relaxing as he moved against her. His hair tickled her shoulder, but she didn't dare move or risk him hurting her.
It wasn't as unpleasant as she thought it would be, but her unaroused state still made it uncomfortable. He didn't seem to notice, or care if she was eager. He only wanted her body and he had gotten it.
His hips ground against hers and he moved smoothly, his breath coming in pants as his pleasure mounted and finally, after what felt like an eternity, he found his release inside her and got off her.
Leaving her to head to the bathroom, she rolled onto her side and remained there, cold and broken as her husband cleaned himself up.
***
She had no concept of the passage of time, Winter only had one season, only a perpetual dim of Winter. It made her confused and irritable when she didn't know how long they had been trapped. She and Drizdan had come to an uneasy truce, if she didn't fight him, he wouldn't hurt her or be unnecessarily rough. He was also not permitted to stay in her rooms if she had fulfilled her duties as a wife. That had caused an argument and he learnt first hand just how much she had changed.
He had stalked into her room, furious that she had asked that he not be granted access to her, and had been kicked back through the wall. It had been a bad night for her, when he realised he couldn't contain her he had enlisted the troll guards and they had mutely held her between them by the arms while he took what he wanted from her body.
After that, the truce had formed; he wouldn't get the guards to hold her down, she would allow him into her bed once per day.
It wasn't perfect, but they made it work.
Time had escaped her entirely and after a quiet enquiry, she was horrified to learn that she had been in Faerie for just over eight months. Her body clock had told her perhaps two, but not eight.
She had been working silently in that time to first study her family, and then to collect items. She wanted weapons, but she needed something special.
She had finally found what she needed, stolen from a guard who had been distracted chatting up some pretty little elf. No one said trolls were intelligent.
The news had forced her to make a decision, either go to Tatialia or go to her husband, she needed to go back.
When she knocked on the door to his rooms, he had first been shocked and then smugly pleased that she had come. He wasn't much thrilled when he learnt of her reason but he revelled in the fact that she had come to him asking for permission to do something.
"I have to go back," she said simply, the door behind her barely shut.
"No, you don't. You belong here with me," he had retorted automatically.
"I have an agreement with Jaia and Kai that is in danger of collapsing. It was part of my agreement to come here quietly," she narrowed her eyes at him and he frowned, recalling the discussion.
She couldn't leave them and her own need for their blood on return had driven her to distraction whenever she thought about it. She knew it wasn't the addiction they had hoped to get out of her, but even the thought of the twins drove her wild with hunger.
He agreed reluctantly under the terms that he was to accompany her, and that he was to be allowed into her room an extra time in a twenty four hour period.
He had been frustrated that he had not managed to impregnate her, and she had not told him that every time he did, she had found ways to destroy it, usually by inserting a long, thin knife into her womb through her abdomen. She didn't know how many times she had done it, but it was too many.
She didn't want him to go with her, but those were the terms and she agreed, then submitting to his pleasure.
Once he was done with her, he had smiled and left her to dress on her own.
Before they had left, she had return to her room and collected the familial tree she had stolen and she paused to see three new entries, Drizdan and a double line leading down from their union. The two names had her staring in horror. Kailee and Lorelle.
The new additions had baffled her and she studied herself, finding no two lights inside her as she had done before. Were they a mistake? She didn't know but she didn't have time to worry about it just then.
She shook her head and bundled up to papers, stuffing them into a bag and then shoving the entire back down the front of her corset.
They hadn't been permitted to leave in casual attire, instead she had been forced into an enormous black gown, a diamond hanging between her brows on the long silver chain. Her hair decorated very similar to her wedding day and she sighed at the lack of manoeuvrability the stupid thing had. But she had agreed simply to avoid having to fight anyone on the subject.
The gown was made out of velvet with a silvery thread around the sleeves and hem, pretty but it was heavy.
Drizdan was wearing his armour and he looked fantastic, judging by the wistful stares that many of the women had. She thought they could have him, though she resentfully noted that yes, he was incredibly attractive and his arrogant smile made her shiver.
He took her hand in his and a young, dark haired woman had stepped forward to open a gate for them. Etani had wanted to make it herself, but it turned out that they had gatekeepers for that who were capable of opening gates to anywhere in the human world.
The thought had confused her, fascinated with the young woman.
She had drawn a rough arch in the air and then vines had cracked up through the ice, forming a large archway that opened with a pleasing rippling effect.
She had to wonder at the girl, and why none of the others did it themselves but that would have to wait.
They stepped through and into a hallway just off the hall in Ayathian.
Marvelling at the talent of the gatekeeper, she turned to Drizdan.
"One day?" she asked and he nodded, his eyes hard on her.
"Back here," he agreed, they both had things they needed to do.