The Only Option Read Online Free Page A

supper from the table. “I'm going to assume that last night was no coincidence, though I do not know why you thought it necessary to fuck me before my arrival here. I'd also like to know why I am being made to marry you.”
    “Because I need a necromancer—”
    “Then tell the queen to send one like the rest of the damned kingdom!”
    “Don't you think I've tried that?” Tilo demanded, not quite shouting the words, though he may as well have for the fury that filled his voice and blazed in his eyes. “I'm not fucking stupid, nor am I so spoiled a brat or whatever is running through your mind that I thought I must marry a necromancer instead of simply requesting one.”
    Rochus pressed his lips together. Tilo didn't seem to be lying, but then again, he hadn't seemed to be lying last night either. “Why in the world would the queen refuse your petition? She certainly was amenable to your request for a spouse.”
    “I've sent ten notices that my lands required the services of a necromancer. Every single time my requests go unanswered. The last one was sent three months ago.”
    “And upon your arrival? Why come all this way and not ask her directly?” Rochus asked. “Your story melts like ice in spring.”
    “It's not a fucking story!” Tilo bellowed, all the flames in the room flickering hard in reaction, and a wave of heat washing over Rochus before Tilo tamped down on his dragonfire. “I logged every single one, like I log all such things. I came here with every intention of asking her to send a necromancer and explain why ten petitions for help were ignored. But no one goes directly to the queen about such matters.”
    Rochus sighed. “No, they don't. They must go through the relevant Supreme.”
    “Yes, and I did, of course, go to see the Magus Supreme. But his clerks have no record of any of my petitions.” Tilo's gaze dropped to the floor, shoulders slumping.
    Damn it. One or two petitions might go astray, even three in particularly poorly run territories, given all the steps involved: when a person was troubled, they contacted the lord of the territory, who investigated the matter. If it proved beyond his abilities to resolve, he petitioned the throne for further assistance, either a Queen's Hand if they did not know exactly what was wrong, or a specific type of magi if they did know the exact nature of the problem.
    The petitions from the lord were sent to the nearest royal garrison, who would assign the Hand or relevant magi, or send the matter on to the royal castle if they did not have the magi needed. Necromantic matters were rare enough, and necromancers small enough in number, that they were practically never to hand. All petitions for a necromancer invariably went to the royal castle to be handled directly by the Magus Supreme's office.
    That ten separate petitions had gotten lost along the way… That most certainly merited suspicion.
    “I'm still not following how this provoked you to forcing a marriage,” Rochus said.
    “It was all I had left,” Tilo said, voice thick with bitterness. “I need a necromancer; I have no way of knowing why my petitions are going astray or who is responsible. Every other path available, I have tried. If I went directly to the queen with my complaints, it would take months to sort out, and I've already wasted too much time. This was my only remaining option. I knew her Majesty would not refuse the chance to settle a debt—and nobody could interfere.”
    Rochus dropped his arms. “I see. So what was last night about?”
    Tilo's skin flushed pink, his eyes still on the floor. Rochus suppressed the urge to cross the room and make the little brat look up at him. Licking his lips, looking slowly up then hastily back down, Tilo finally said, “I've never actually met, or even seen, a necromancer. All I knew were the wild stories people like to tell. I didn't want to do something wrong or cause embarrassment, so I went to that tavern because someone said it's a