Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
T he next morning, Korhonan and I arrived at breakfast at the same time. He had been training with his men in the hours after sunrise right along with me, making me wonder if I wasn’t the only one feeling the strain of this ridiculous arrangement.
Not that I cared, since it was his fault we were here to begin with. At least he hadn’t tried to address me again. Not about my reasons for being here, nor about anything else, which was truly for the best.
It was bad enough having to endure his presence the handful of times we’d been forced to see one another in the past year, but being near him daily was already a chore. He didn’t need to make it worse by addressing me more than was necessary.
When I rounded the corner, Davin was seated next to Rowan on the side where I usually sat. She pointedly averted her gaze, but Jocelyn cleared her throat, forcing Davin to move before I could object.
Which was fortunate.
I didn’t need to sit next to her at breakfast to convince her that marrying me made infinitely more sense. But I would undo every bit of peace I had worked for if I had to sit across from her and watch Korhonan caress her hand like she was his pet.
I wondered if he noticed the bare skin on her wrist, or how he would react if I told him that the bracelet he gave her was still in my nightstand.
The thought amused me, but I kept silent on the matter, taking my seat next to Rowan while Korhonan trudged to the other one. He leaned into Rowan as soon as he sat down, and she tilted her head up at him, returning the affectionate gesture.
I clutched my mug tighter, clearing my throat.
“Imagine my surprise when you didn’t break into my rooms again last night,” I pitched my voice low so that only she could hear. It made two nights in a row, not that I was counting. “Weren’t you curious whether or not my bed was empty?”
Her cheeks reddened, and a small trail of goosebumps trailed along the bare skin of her arm. Well, that hadn’t been the reaction I intended to bait her into, but I certainly wasn’t going to argue.
Whatever she claimed to feel for Korhonan, I knew I had her here, in the way her lips parted as soon as I said the word bed.
I didn’t bother suppressing my smirk as I took a sip of my coffee, suddenly feeling remarkably less like crushing the mug.
The glint in her eyes turned from heated to downright savage.
“Believe it or not, Evander, I don’t spend my days and nights wondering whose company you keep,” she hissed through gritted teeth. “I’ve had more interesting things to fill my time at night.”
My eyes flashed to Korhonan before I could stop them, and I just barely refrained from a more obvious reaction.
Or a more violent one.
“Oh?” My tone was colder than it was casual, despite my best efforts.
Rowan sighed, pursing her lips.
“I’ve been spending time with my family.” She emphasized the last word ever so slightly.
Given her complete inability to lie, I didn’t doubt her words. Though I still wondered how or why she had restrained herself from coming to call me an aalio two nights running, but at least she wasn’t running to Korhonan instead.
“Today, I’ll need everyone’s help to prepare for the festival,” the queen announced, cutting off any further conversation.
I had heard bits and pieces about the festivals here, events which were apparently seasonal, but I wasn’t sure what part of it could involve everyone at this table.
Queen Charlotte’s eyes sparkled with joy, the bright green color so reminiscent of her daughter that it was almost difficult to witness, an unexpected reminder that Rowan didn’t seem to smile with any degree of sincerity anymore. Not at Korhonan, and sure as storms not at me.
Even at Bear, she had been more prone to laughter than in the days since I’d arrived.
“Davin,” the queen called. “You and the older twins can make sure the Games are ready. Logan is taking the younger twins to help set up.” Each family member nodded as she listed them out, unsurprised at their assignments.
Then she turned her gaze to our section of the table. “And the four of you can help me in the kitchens this morning.”
The crown princess sat straighter in her chair on my other side, a peaceful smile gracing her lips. That made one of us. Though the kitchen at the cabin was open to the dining area, I had never actually used it. Beyond sharing the duties of the soldiers at camp, I was fairly certain I had never cooked anything in my life.
At least that would still put me ahead of Korhonan, who would never dream of lowering himself to make food for his men.
“We always bake—” Rowan started to say.
“Pastries for the festivals,” Korhonan supplied. “I remember.”
How charming that they had these quaint conversations. In any event, Rowan had barely navigated her way around serving medovukha from a pot at the cabin.
“You...bake?” I allowed every ounce of the doubt I felt to creep into my tone.
Avani let out a cough that sounded more like a laugh, confirming my suspicions.
Rowan lifted her chin like she did when she was about to be obstinate…or about to lie. “Why wouldn’t I?”
I considered that. In theory, an unfamiliarity with one Socairan kitchen did not exclude the possibility that she possessed a talent for baking. But from what I had observed of Riina’s methods, there were a great deal of slow, painstaking steps to making good pastries, a certain amount of watchfulness and intuition involved in taking them out of the oven.
Baking was a calm hobby, and Rowan was inherently chaotic.
“Because it takes patience, of which you have exactly none,” I informed her.
This time, it was the king who choked on a laugh. I knew I was right if the man who hated me was on my side.
Rowan knew it, too, judging by her glare of betrayal.
“And you’ve gathered this from your ample knowledge of baking?” she demanded, turning the tables on me.
That was fair enough. I knew little and less about baking, but neither the hell did she.
“Apparently more ample than yours,” I shot back.
The queen cleared her throat, sounding like she, too, was suppressing a degree of amusement. “Well...today we’ll mostly be preparing the ingredients.”
Ah, the final confirmation. Rowan bristled. Fortunately, the man who knew even less about my lemmikki than she knew about baking was fast to come to her rescue.
“I confess I don’t have much experience in kitchens, but I’m sure Rowan can show me around.” He sounded sincere, which was almost worse than if he had been intentionally sarcastic.
I didn’t roll my eyes, but I did snort. I certainly wasn’t the only one. Twin adolescent snickers traveled down the table, and even Gallagher had to hide his smirk behind a biscuit.
Rowan loosed a long-suffering sigh.
“Yes, Theo. I certainly can.” Though the words were directed at him, her eyes were fixed pointedly on me.
I shrugged one shoulder, raising my eyebrows. I wasn’t going to apologize for understanding who she was.
I felt another set of eyes on me. I looked over her head to see Korhonan studying us both. Instead of the vitriol I was expecting, or even frustration, his brow was furrowed as his gaze slid between Rowan and me, his lips pursed into something unreadable.
My interactions with Korhonan had been limited since my arrival. Mostly, I tried to stay away from him and all of the fury he inspired. He had been cordial, of course, aside from a few scattered glares here and there.
In this rare, unguarded moment, I could almost remember what it was like to think of him as a friend. Then, he shook his head, returning to his food like he had pushed whatever suspicion he was forming right out of his head, and all at once, I remembered what it was to exist on the other side of his impeccable ability to lie to himself.
He could play the part of the doting hero all he wanted, but his ignorance could have gotten my lemmikki killed. Let alone the price I had paid for it all those years ago.
It was hardly my fault if he was finally putting together what had been obvious from the day she agreed to marry him at the Summit. Rowan didn’t belong to him.
Not then, and sure as hell not now.