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hard in the gut. There was no doubt what the two of them had done.
    Or how innocent she’d been before he’d touched her. Her father raked her with a scathing glare. “Modesty isn’t becoming of a whore who spreads her legs for a man she meets in a filthy bar.”
    Before Adron realized what he was doing, her father yanked the sheet from her body. Tears filled her eyes as she tried desperately to cover herself with her hands.
    â€œTake her outside and beat her.”
    Rage flooded him. “Damn you to hell.” He grabbed the first guard and shoved him away from Livia.
    He pulled her behind him to protect and cover her. Then he retrieved the sheet from the floor and wrapped it around both of them. Livia stood so close to his back that he could feel her trembling.
    And it made him even angrier. How dare they ruin this and embarrass her so. What kind of people were they?
    If her father wanted a fight, Adron was ready to give him one. No one would hurt her for what she’d given to him. Not unless they wanted a taste of him first.
    Her father narrowed his gaze threateningly, and Adron saw the look in his own father’s eyes that warned of death if her father attacked him. “Boy, this is no concern of yours. You’ve done enough damage.” Her father took a step forward.
    So did Adron’s father. And Adron knew that look preceded death and dismemberment.
    He had to do something.
    And in that instant, he knew exactly what.
    Adron refused to release her to her father. “Whatever concerns my wife, concerns me.”
    Livia froze as soon as the words left Adron’s lips. Last night, she’d had no idea that he was the Andarion heir. But Emperor Nykyrian Quiakides she knew. They’d been introduced a few days ago when she and her family had arrived for a meeting and the preliminary nuptial preparations.
    Indeed, it was business with Adron’s father that had her getting married on Kirovar to begin with.
    Now that the two men were together, she saw the similarities between father and son. Nykyrian had the same white-blond hair, the same firm, sculpted jaw. They also shared an identical height and build.
    And a lethal air that was truly frightening.
    Her father shifted his cold stare from Adron to her. “Is this true? Are you his wife?”
    Livia swallowed. If she said yes, Andarion law would recognize them as married.
    â€œAdron,” his father said sternly. “Do you understand what you’re doing?”
    Adron turned to face her. He tilted her chin up with gentle fingers until she looked into those icy blue eyes that were laced with pain and torment. “It’s entirely up to you. You’re welcome to stay here with me if you want to.”
    Aghast at his offer, she stared at him. She’d never known a man so honorable. He could have left her to her father’s wrath, and yet here he was offering her sanctuary. There weren’t many men who would be so thoughtful, and it brought tears to her eyes that he would be so kind.
    â€œAre you sure about this?”
    â€œNo.” A hint of a smile played at the edges of his lips.
    â€œBut then, I’ve never been sure about much of anything in my life.”
    She glanced past him to her father’s angry face, and her brother’s. If she went home, they would have her beaten until she passed out. But if she stayed . . .
    She had no idea what that would be like.
    The known or the unknown.
    â€œTake her,” her father ordered.
    Adron turned and put himself between them.
    â€œQuiakides, tell your son to step aside. He is interfering with royal Vistan business.”
    For the first time, Livia noticed the deep, angry scars bisecting Adron’s body. His back was completely covered by them. It looked as if someone had once carved him into pieces.
    Her gaze fell to the skull-and-dagger tattoo on his left shoulder that marked him as a League assassin. She trembled. She knew absolutely