She’d learned a few hard truths in the last while. School started in less than two weeks. She needed to get back before then. Once she got to her house, she’d pack a bag and find somewhere new to live. Maybe she could find a roommate closer to campus. She’d put her old life behind her. A fissure of fear caused her throat to tighten. Ellis wasn’t going to just let her walk away. Then she remembered his motionless body. She didn’t feel sorry for him but at the same time, she didn’t wish him dead either. Not even Ellis deserved that.

Torrent shifted in his chair. “Too late. The whole marriage thing has already happened.”

“Well, we need to undo it then. I want a divorce. Hold up.” She made a snorting noise. “I didn’t say ‘I do’ so technically…”

“Yes, you did.”

“You’re crazy.” She huffed.

“I have many witnesses. You publicly chose me and I you.”

“You’re talking about when you were on top of me and all those guys were getting ready to… I thought I was about to be raped, torn apart. You took advantage of that.”

“I didn’t know all of the bullshit stories you had been fed. It was my understanding that you were fully briefed. It is done, we are mated.”

“Just like that?” She felt panicked and confused. “No damned way.” She could recall that there was talk of being mates. She had admitted to having chosen him and he her but that was all… “I just said that to make the others go away. I didn’t mean it.”

“It does not matter. Your words are binding. I pulled up your dress to make them think that I was claiming you and I would have done so too”—his jaw clenched— “with your full consent, but you were in such bad shape. The point being, the others believe that we are mated. It is only a matter of time before word spreads. The water dragons already know.”

“I don’t care.” She reached for her tea and took a small sip, keeping the mug in her hand, which shook slightly. “I thought that they planned on raping me. I thought I needed your protection. It turns out I didn’t. You just told me that forcing a woman is punishable by death.”

He nodded.

“You lied to me by withholding information.”

“I had no idea you weren’t aware of the rules. You begged me to choose you, to help you. I assumed that you wanted me.”

“You were wrong. All I wanted… all I still want is to go home.”

“It’s too late for that.” His voice was deep and menacing. “We are mated and I will need to make that official as a matter of urgency.”

“Official?” She raised her brows and took a sip of tea.

“Official, as in we need to rut.”