Chapter 38
A rès had insisted we all dine together to foster goodwill, but I was beginning to suspect he just privately enjoyed watching us all be miserable.
Between Davin’s glare and even my own traitorous men disapproving when I reminded Korhonan—and Rowan—exactly who she belonged to, I was more than ready to be done with this evening.
I truly did wonder how she expected to be treated as a prisoner and a captive. While she waxed on about her freedoms as a person, had she forgotten that she came into this kingdom because she broke two sets of laws? That she was Elk’s prisoner long before she was mine?
Freedom was never on the table for her here, but apparently being fed and clothed and protected while I worked out how to get rid of her in a way that didn’t directly harm my clan was unacceptable.
As my mood soured, it apparently did not go unnoticed.
“Will you be stopping on your way back to the estate to attend to your feminine needs, or is this mood a coincidence?” Rowan demanded.
Kirill laughed, and Taras, my only loyal soldier, looked at her with disapproval.
I blinked. No, this mood is not a coincidence. It’s a direct result of sitting around the fire surrounded by enemies and whatever the hell you are.
I only shook my head rather than point that out. Then because I hadn’t been pushed far enough, Korhonan bent down to press a kiss against her forehead, like they were an old married couple rather than near strangers who had tiptoed through awkward conversation all evening.
But I valiantly did not stab him, another effort which went entirely unappreciated by everyone in attendance.
Finally, everyone went to bed besides my feral little captive, her cousin, Kirill, and me.
“Princess Rowan, where might you be staying tonight?” Davin asked, like he already knew the answer.
“In the tent with Evander, if I had to surmise a guess,” she said, looking to me.
I nodded, and Davin turned his blithe gaze to me.
“Hmm. Is that so?” he asked, still ostensibly addressing Rowan. “I believe I’ll sleep there as well, then, as two guards are certainly better than one, when your safety is in peril. Wouldn’t you agree, Lord Evander?”
Like his cousin, he stressed the or sound in Lord.
It was interesting that Korhonan hadn’t seemed terribly concerned about where she was sleeping, too worried about petting her like a sheepdog to bother with trivialities like her safety.
But Davin was clearly concerned. I had wondered what kind of person he was, letting her take the blame for them both, but it was clear he was protective and discerning both. She must have used her superior rank to get him to agree to her plan.
I raised my eyebrows, weighing my options. I could say no, obviously, but I had gone to great lengths to keep some modicum of peace with Lochlann. Davin’s presence in our tent would forestall any rumors about impropriety.
I told myself that was the only reason I agreed. Not because the princess’s features were lit up and tomorrow was uncertain, and whether she had put herself in this situation or not, I couldn’t quite bring myself to take her from the only family she had this side of the mountains. At least, not until I had to.
“Indeed, Eunuch Guard Davin,” I conceded.
Rowan stiffened in her chair, trying to hide a smile with her cup while she let Davin respond.
“We generally just go by guard , but never let it be said that I’m not adaptable.” He spread his hands open, as though granting a favor. “If this is the custom in Bear, I suppose I should revise my address for you to Arseling Lord Evander.”
I absolutely did not think he was amusing, nor did I have to suppress a smirk of my own. Least of all when Rowan choked on her medovukha, pitching forward and spitting it all over the ground. She sputtered on a laugh, and it might have been the least ladylike thing I had seen in my entire life.
Times like this, I wondered if this was all a great hoax and she never was a princess to begin with.
“Incidentally,” she coughed out. “That is what he prefers to be called.”
They wore identical smirks, eyes lit up with mirth.
“Well, if it hadn’t been evident before...” I muttered. “Sleep where you will, Guard Davin.”
“You aren’t joining them in the tent?” An unexpected voice asked only minutes after Rowan and Davin left, Kirill at their heels to guard the tent.
A heavy weight sank down onto the log next to me as Arès took a seat, mug of medovukha in hand.
“I thought you had retired for the evening,” I commented instead of answering.
“I will admit to a certain amount of curiosity interfering with my sleep.”
“She does seem to have that effect on people,” I allowed, staring into the flames.
“I was not referring to her,” he said.
“Surely you know everything you need to know about me.”
He made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat.
“I know that for someone so allegedly ruthless, you haven’t harmed the girl.”
“How do you know?” I asked.
We both knew there were plenty of ways to hurt someone without leaving a mark.
“She isn’t afraid of you.” His tone was matter of fact, as neutral as he kept it during the mediations.
I scoffed. “She doesn’t have the sense to be afraid of anything.”
Arès tilted his head, acknowledging the truth of that.
“Regardless, we both know she would treat you differently if you had given her cause to be cautious. And you argued on her behalf at the Summit.”
“Because I have a vested interest in the wellbeing of my clan.”
“Precisely. Not the actions of someone who slaughters his own people without cause.”
A muscle clenched in my jaw. “Yet, here we are.”
I had plenty of deaths at my feet, needless or not.
He took another sip, assessing me. “Yes, here we are. But not your father.”
I tilted my head to meet his eyes, not sure where he was going with this. Or not sure I liked where he was going, anyway.
“Yes, well, you know how he feels about Elk,” I hedged.
Arès met my stare evenly, like he could see all the things I so desperately needed to hide.
“I do. It is not his feelings in question.”
On that dubious note, he got to his feet, nodding to himself like he had figured something out. I couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or not.