Disclaimer: Tamora Pierce is the sole owner of any characters encountered in this writing piece.

Prologue

"We can't keep doing this, Cleon. It's wrong." Kel whispered quietly in between hushed kisses. Cleon grunted in anger and moved to wrap his arms around her.

"I don't care. This isn't right and you know it." He bit out in frustration as he covered Kel's face in small kisses. Kel smiled bitterly and tried to lead Cleon out of the library, but to no avail.

"He doesn't even want you. It's been two years and I'll bet he hasn't even touched you yet." Cleon continued in a harsh whisper as his fingers inched towards the hem of Kel's tunic.

"Well then," Came a much louder, and familiar cold voice. Both Cleon and Kel broke apart simultaneously, shocked to find that they had an audience. To Kel's horror and Cleon's anger, it was none other than Joren.

His eyes icy blue eyes were blazing with anger and his nearly white hair was tousled. He was standing across from them near the stairway, which meant that he had been there the whole time. His arms were crossed and even from the distance that they stood, Kel knew that he was livid.

"...I'll just have to change that." Joren snarled nastily, His gaze swept over Cleon to glare venomously at Kel. Cleon moved to stand in front of her protectively.

"Oh, no you won't. Kel doesn't want you and you don't want her. Why should you care all of a sudden who she's with?" Cleon demanded in the same tone as Joren marched over to them in three quick strides.

"Because she belongs to me and I will not be made a fool in my own house!" He roared and then punched Cleon in the mouth. Kel stepped back, undecidable. Her Yamani – blank look was on her face, but her heart was torn. She desperately wanted to defend Cleon but to do so would disgrace both her and Joren's families who had legally paired the two. Aside from that, she didn't know how much good she could do, since she hadn't trained much because her shoulder was still damaged.

Warily she watched Joren as he took a blow to his head while he strangled Cleon. The two continued on until one point they got to the door where Joren dragged Cleon out by the hair. All went silent on the inside of the estate and Kel was left with a messy room full of broken furniture and random debris to clean up.

The ringing in her ears did not stop and an usually cold sensation overwhelmed her until she was numb. Stiffly she rose, but with what purpose she did not know. Were they both outside still? Maybe she could confront them.

With that hope in mind, Kel exited the library and went to turn towards the door. However, she was stopped short when someone punched her in her right templed. The blow was hard and sent her staggering, but she made sure to stay on her feet. When her vision cleared, Kel saw that it was Joren in all of his self righteous anger.

"Where's Cleon?" She demanded, preparing her stance for a fight. She never got passed her question, as Joren punched her hard in the gut and sent her staggering back into the library. To her dismay, she fell backwards and before she could stand back up, Joren rammed into her forcing the wind from her lungs and pinned her down.

Kel fought off a dizzy spell, as her vision threatened to darken. They were both breathing hard.

"Look at me." He finally demanded in a quiet, dangerous voice once his breathing was under control. Kel blinked a couple times but when she did not comply, he gripped her chin roughly. His eyes had cooled back into an untouchable ice.

"I said look at me!" He repeated through gritted teeth. Kel narrowed her eyes with no other choice than to obey. His face was so close to her that their noses were in danger of touching and not for the first time, Kel wondered if he was going to kiss her or attempt some other atrocity.

"I don't want to to hear you ever mention his name again, got that?" He demanded and then abruptly stood up, yanking Kel to her feet in the process.

"The only reason he is alive right now is because the king has need of him but if I ever see you with him again I won't hesitate." He threatened darkly, squeezing Kel's biceps for good measure. Kel shook out of his grip easily only to be punched in the nose. She grunted angrily and stepped away from him. Joren sneered.

"If I am correct, a marriage is a union of intimacy between two people – not three." He spat the words out as if they were beneath him. Kel forced herself to become like stone, though it was harder than usual.

"Last I recalled your parents didn't marry you off to that big dolt, they married you off to me." He snarled at her. When Kel refused to respond – for as much as she hated to admit it, all he said was true – Joren looked around the library with disdain.

"Clean it up." He demanded crossly and turned to leave. Grateful for his departure, Kel sunk to her knees to begin her chore, no matter how humiliating it was.

"By the way," Joren added, turning in the doorway.

"If there is ever a need for such...intimacy," Kel inwardly cringed at his choice of words, while Joren eyed her doubtfully.

"You should remember that such duties are only for your husband. If I find you with another man again, your fate will be worse than his."He threatened angrily and then strode quickly from the room, leaving Kel with the broken pieces of the day's events all over the floor.