Read Online Deliverance by Adrienne Monson - Free Book Online Page A

was everything she thought it would be and more, especially with Turney. People looked up to him as the god he claimed to be. Wherever they went, they were treated to the finest rooms with decadent foods Iliana could never have imagined. She savored the decadent desserts and hearty stews filled with exotic spices.
    While the healer in the village had told her of the great cities, Iliana could hardly believe her eyes when they entered a large city with towering buildings and almost as many horses as there were people to ride them.
    Turney loved the larger cities and stayed in those longer than the smaller ones. “I like the villages better,” Iliana told him one day. “They remind me of home.” She blinked back tears. She didn’t want him to think she regretted marrying him.
    “Too bad, Iliana. The cities have more to do. I get bored with the villages. They are all the same.”
    At one point, they were invited to visit the prince of Iberia. Turney asked her to stay at their room in the inn while he accepted the invitation.
    When he saw her downcast eyes, he stroked her face. “You don’t have the proper training to meet royalty yet, darling. I’ll take you with me to the next one.”
    Resigned, she nodded and sat inside for the evening. Turney didn’t get home until very late, when Iliana was asleep. “Turney?” she murmured when his weight settled down on the mattress.
    “Yes, I’m here.” His speech was slurred. Surprise flittered through her. Wine and ale rarely affected him. He must have drunk a lot. She couldn’t sleep the rest of the night.
    Turney enjoyed his time at the castle so much that he went almost every night. He told Iliana almost every day that he would take her the next time, but he never did. When he returned, he always smelled of alcohol and perfume, the aroma changing every time.
    Iliana had learned through their travels that men taking mistresses was common. It wasn’t at all like the expectations she’d grown up with in her village. No man strayed there, and if they did, everyone knew about it. The adulterer was castigated wherever they went and they definitely would not cheat again. The idea of her husband sleeping with others made her sick, but Iliana didn’t feel like she had a foothold in this matter. If she confronted him, would he turn her out? She didn’t have money or friends. She had nowhere to go.
    And so she stayed, tamping her feelings of betrayal and tolerating Turney coming home with the scent of other women on him. The worst was when he still wanted to exercise his husbandly rights with her. She smelled his lover’s perfume on her own body afterward.
    Weeks later, feeling restless and lonely, she paced the confining space of her room. It was ironic, really. When they first arrived, she’d been delighted to stay in such a nice room at the inn. Now, she wanted to burn down the walls and drink in fresh air. She’d even be pleased with going back to the cave near her village.
    I can’t stay in here one more night! she screamed to herself. Not caring that she was unaccompanied, Iliana left. She kept her cloak over her head while she walked the streets and watched others go about their evening. There were couples walking arm in arm. Her throat constricted as she watched a man open the door for his companion and bow respectfully.
    It was a slap in the face. She never realized it before, but Turney had never truly been a gentleman to her. Breathing became difficult and Iliana was about to turn back when she heard two men coming out of a tavern. She stopped when one of them murmured Turney’s name.
    “I hear he sleeps with any girl that’s a maiden. That way they don’t get pregnant, he told me. Says that his seed don’t take with virgin blood.”
    The second man piped up. “Did you hear about that whore he killed?”
    A woman who had been about to proposition them stopped as if she’d been slapped. “She was my friend. We shared our clients. But that bastard killed