Dylan smith's Arc

Chapter 10 of 12

Three days after Scarlett took the third post, Dylan stood at the edge of the harem grounds before the others woke. The three tents were quiet. The arch still stood open. He held a small box in his hand. He had asked Voracia the night before to conjure him a plain ring, and she had done it without asking why. The diamond caught the early light. He closed the lid and walked toward the black stone castle. He found Voracia on the terrace with her boot on the basket again. She was eating cold meat off a plate balanced on her belly. She did not look up when he sat across from her. He set the box on the table between them and slid it her way. "I want out of the deal," he said. "Not the marriage. The harem part." Voracia put the plate down. She looked at the box, then at his collar, then at his face. "You signed for a year," she said. "You have three women in tents waiting for you." Dylan kept his hands flat on the table. "I know. I watched them last night and I didn't feel right. Belinda eats and waits. Bella moves her chair toward me an inch at a time. Scarlett keeps looking at the gate like someone's coming for her. I'm making them line up for something I already picked." He pushed the box closer. "I picked you in the cabin. I just didn't say it like this." Voracia opened the box. The ring sat clean against the cloth. She did not touch it yet. "You want to send them home," she said. "Yes," Dylan said. "With the pendants. With whatever they came with. I'll tell them myself." She closed the box slowly. Her face did not move. "You would throw away the year. The auditions. The thing you asked me for." "I would," he said. "For this." He tapped the box once. She was quiet for a long moment. Then she took the ring out and held it between her thumb and finger. "Then I agree to your terms," she said. "The contract ends today. You marry me. No tents. No posts." She slid the ring onto her own finger and looked at it once. "You tell them before the sun is up. I will not do it for you." Dylan nodded. He stood up. His hands were steady the way they were when he checked pressure on a tire. He walked back through the forest to the harem grounds. Belinda was already out by her post with a bottle. Bella stood at her tent flap. Scarlett sat on the stage steps eating bread. Dylan stopped at the foot of the stage and waited until all three were looking at him. "The deal's over," he said. "You can keep the pendants. I'm marrying her." None of them spoke. The arch behind him stayed open, but he did not look back at it.