Chapter 7
I rritation clawed through my veins for the next hour after she left.
It wasn’t the whispers emanating from the surrounding dancers, or even the careful way they averted their eyes when I caught them staring.
It was the exasperating princess and her overwhelming audacity.
If Iiro was going to be brazen enough to bring her to a meeting of the clans, the least he could have done was make her behave. Training, a warning, something that kept her from tying the noose around her neck herself.
She was going to get herself killed. Then my people. Or maybe I would kill her myself so I could at least have the satisfaction before her father’s armies came into my territory.
In all likelihood, we could withstand that attack for quite some time because, in our greatest defense, Lochlann would be bottlenecked at the pass. But wars required food and resources we didn’t have, not to mention the substantial loss of life. Lochlann had us beat in terms of sheer numbers also, and if they involved Rhionn, it was only a matter of time before they carved their way fully into Bear.
I damned sure wasn’t going to lose my men and decimate my clan over the actions of one reckless princess or the arsehole Duke of Elk.
After two glasses of medovukha, I finally left, making my way to the training ring. I carefully removed my black dress jacket, neatly folding it over the wooden fence, before choosing a straw-filled dummy to spar with.
When I had nearly slashed all of the stuffing out of its useless body, Kirill joined me in the ring, grabbing one of the extra wooden swords and meeting me blow for blow.
For the next several hours, I took my frustration out on him and his sword and shield.
The rest of the clans had long since gone to bed by the time I’d finished cleaning up in the sauna and headed back to my tent.
The next day was nearly a repeat of the one before, with even more of the mind-numbing deliberations before we were released for the evening’s festivities .
No one was being swayed, and the princess wasn’t helping her case at all.
All I could think about was what would happen if this turned into a war. If Lochlann wound up at my doorstep, how many more of my people would die because of someone else’s twisted decrees?
I turned each point, each inevitability over and over again in my mind as I walked through the narrow streets of the makeshift village with a few of my men. Everywhere I looked, people were shopping and laughing like none of this was real, like lives weren’t on the line.
I supposed it was different when you weren’t sitting in the Summit tent listening to the dukes threaten war every other five minutes.
As Kirill stopped at a stall selling small charms and bracelets, I took advantage of listening in on the conversation of a small group of ladies from Clans Eagle and Viper. They were all daughters of middle ranking lords, high enough to be important and low enough to be threatened by anyone who technically outranked them, prisoner status notwithstanding.
“She’s cursed, her and all of that…hair,” Lady Elena hissed, her eyes going wide as she searched the crowd.
“Well, she is the daughter of the Bastard King,” added one of the younger ladies – Natasha – as if that explained it all. “Hardly a princess at all.”
I suppressed an eyeroll. Whatever they thought of the king, he had been the undisputed ruler of Lochlann for over two decades now, and the queen’s parentage was certainly not at issue.
“Do we really think he brought down the mountain?” Lady Zoya of Eagle chimed in. “Surely that’s all a little too much speculation?—”
A glare from Natasha cut her off.
“My grandfather died that day. It doesn’t matter how he did it, it happened. The Lochlannians have too much power, and the dukes are right to want to take some of it away.”
Kirill cleared his throat and the women went silent. They quickly finished paying for their wares before practically sprinting away from us, cheeks flushed and eyes downcast.
We finished up at the stall, with Kirill choosing a small silver heart to add to his wife’s bracelet. The merchant carefully wrapped it in a small box before handing it back to him.
“Is there anything you might need, my lord?” He turned his attention to me and I shook my head.
Kirill’s face fell dramatically.
“Taras will be so disappointed,” he said. “First, you leave him home to take care of the children, then you don’t even bring him back a souvenir?”
“Taras will be more disappointed that you’re referring to him like a fretting housewife,” I said flatly.
But I did need to support the sellers. It was expected of me. Besides, it was never a bad thing to remind people of Bear’s status as the wealthiest clan.
Gold was another thing that gave us power, and I needed more clout than ever if the sentiment toward the princess continued to grow. The more the people respected me, so did the Dukes. So I chose the most expensive looking cufflinks, a gaudy set with more diamonds than class.
“Here. Taras can have these,” I commented.
Kirill grinned, knowing as well as I did that my cousin would rather fall on his sword.
“Good man,” he said, clapping me on the shoulder.
I rolled my eyes as we continued our perusal of the stalls. I picked out several more items that were only possible to buy here. A few well-crafted daggers, various cases of medovukha, and some new black fabrics for the seamstress to use back at the estate.
When Kirill noted that final purchase, his eyes lit up with mischief. He opened his mouth like he was about to make a joke, but whatever he saw in my expression made him decide against it.
Finally, we made our way to the sparring ring where another large crowd was already gathered. When I saw that Korhonan was once again fighting, I had Kirill add my name to the roster.
Why work my irritation out on another sparring dummy tonight, when I could make a fool of my least favorite person in front of all our fellow clansmen?
After handing off my items to Henrick with orders to take everything back to our tent, I started to head down toward the ring. A shock of red hair immediately caught my attention in my periphery. The princess sat alone on the green hillside, watching the fight below.
At least she was farther away this time, and her presence would make my victory that much more fun.
Kirill left my side to join Dmitriy and the others closer to the ring, already shouting a bet on who would win. Rather than following after them, my feet led me up the hill instead.
“My money’s on the Eagle.” I baited, drawing the princess’s attention from the match below. “Our Lord Theodore is already being worn down.”
“Hardly,” she scoffed, fully tearing her eyes from the fight to look up at me.
“Care to wager?” I raised an eyebrow in challenge, taking a seat next to her.
“You know that I have nothing here that’s mine.” She rolled her eyes irritably.
“I’m sure I’ll think of something,” I replied before a look of disgust crossed her features.
“Ew. No, thank you.”
Was it her experiences in Socair that made her imagine everyone harbored a carnal lust for her? Or did her mind only venture there when it came to me?
“Why do you always assume I want that from you?” I rolled my eyes right back at her. “I think I’ll add conceited to your list of admirable qualities.”
A bright red blush crept up her neck, coloring her cheeks as she silently looked away.
So she does have some shame.
“In any case,” I continued. “I was thinking more along the lines of answering a question.”
It was worth a try to learn more about her when she was apparently less feral for a change.
“Still no,” she bit out quickly, her eyes now remaining firmly fixed on the ring.
“So you were just being loyal before, then. You don’t actually believe Elk is going to win this one?” I pushed, pleased when she scowled in response, even though she refused to look away from the fight.
“Of course I do.” She bit out, pointing to the match. “See, Theodore is baiting him. Eagle is flagging, and Lord Theodore is allowing him to tire himself out on the offensive. He’s just biding his time.”
There was something off about the way she dragged out the or sound in the word Lord , though the rest of her Common Tongue was unusually flawless. It took me a moment to place it, to remember that Lochlannians said Laird . Yet here she was, reluctantly adapting…
Over the next several moments, we watched as her prediction came true, and I assessed her from the corner of my eye.
“Then what do you have to lose?” I pressed.
Her eyes met mine, a challenge rising up in them before she gave the sublest of nods. “Fine. Two gold pieces for one question.”
“That’s an expensive question.”
“I have expensive taste.” A smirk teased the corner of her mouth, whether because she thought she would win, or because she thought I wouldn’t risk it, I couldn’t say.
“All right. Have it your way.” I said, holding her gaze. I had at least two gold coins left in my pocket from my shopping earlier. And this was something I would happily spend them on, if only to piss off Korhonan. “I suppose you already know what’s going to happen next?”
“Not blow by blow, obviously, but any idiot can see that Lord Theodore is going to switch it up and feint to the left before delivering the winning blow.”
I narrowed my eyes at her obvious insult, but silently looked back toward the fight to see the rest of it unfold, just as she’d said.
Her lips pursed in a smug expression as she held a delicate, expectant hand in my direction.
“I see you were right,” I said, trying to keep the amusement from my face as I dropped the two coins into her hand.
If she hadn’t been feral before, it was likely she would be soon.
I watched the realization dawn on her as the announcer called for the next match. The superior expression that she’d donned only moments ago had morphed into shock and fury.
“Looks like I’m up next,” I said with a chuckle as I rose to make my way to the ring. I waited until Korhonan noticed me before calling back to the princess again. “Oh, and thanks for the tips. They should come in handy.”
Of course, I was going to beat him either way, but she didn’t know that.
Anger flared to life in Korhonan’s eyes that I had dared address someone he thought belonged to him, and I grinned in response, feeling lighter than I had since I arrived at the Summit.
At least I knew he wouldn’t be holding back during our match now.