Chapter 7
Allie
“Awounded troll?” Ryker’s husky voice shook the heavy stillness in the formal dining room. “With a gash on its leg?”
“A dangerous one,” Dax said. He sat right at the middle of the massive table, swirling the dark liquid in his glass lazily, narrowed gaze fixed on him.
“Clean slice, obviously made by a blade. Intentional. Not to kill, but to maim. Trolls don’t have weapons like that, do they?” I asked, struggling not to fidget in my seat.
Right now, two forces were tearing me in different directions.
My past and my present were fighting each other with pointed looks and barbed hums over plates of deer stew, roasted pheasant, and winter berry pie.
Neither Dax nor Ryker had launched a full-on attack, but from the brisk, brutal way they each cut their meat and chewed, it was only a matter of time before old slights would be flung at each other–and I was caught right in the middle.
My presence was probably the only reason they weren’t ripping into each other–yet–but that did little to loosen the tightness in my chest.
The memories embedded in this room also didn’t help.
The last–and only–time I’d ever been in this room was when Ryker and I had negotiated the marriage contract–which had ended with him devouring my lips and weaving his hands through my hair, pulling with enough force at the strands to drive me wild.
Now we were seated at opposite ends of the table, too many candle holders standing between us, their flames dancing in tune with the heat radiating from the fireplace, and we had company.
Not enough, in my opinion.
Nadya had wanted to join us, but Geryll had felt the friction bubbling between Dax and Ryker and had persuaded her not to.
Sitting here as a wary cushion between these two glowering wonders, I sort of wished I’d gone with them.
Even through the flames, the sight of Ryker reclining in his chair, freshly bathed and delectable, did nothing to steady me.
My mind betrayed me with thoughts I should not be imagining while in the same room as my cousin.
Treacherous glimpses of me crawling on top of the table toward Ryker.
Closing the blazing distance.
Him letting me.
Watching.
I twisted the napkin in my lap to wring some of the restlessness out of my hands. But that quickly stopped working when I imagined his fingers winding in my hair once more.
“Trolls have only been observed with those improvised maces, made out of wood and sharp rocks,” Ryker said. His gaze traveled slowly from me to Dax. From Dax to me and back again. “If they’ve discovered metallurgy, they’ve kept it hidden from us.”
“If we’re attacking them, I’m not surprised they aren’t in a sharing mood,” I said. “That cut was made by a human weapon.”
“Interesting way to treat beings in your land,” Dax said offhandedly. After I cleared my throat loudly–he was seated too far away for me to kick him underneath the table–he went on, “This venison is exquisite, my sincerest compliments.”
“We’re not attacking trolls. We’ve had skirmishes in the past, when they first appeared in the crater, and have been avoiding each other since.” Ryker didn’t raise his voice. He never had to. “Nature is sacred. We respect it.”
Dax smiled coldly and took a large gulp of his mulled wine. “Sounds like it.”
“You two need to play nice or this is going to be a very long visit. Let’s just enjoy this meal, we’re all hungry,” I said even as I pushed my food on the plate from side to side, appetite smothered by the strain. “Then you can have a go at each other’s throats if you really can’t stop yourselves.”
I couldn’t hide the disappointed sigh that followed.
Only an hour ago, I’d been excited for them to meet.
I should’ve known better that pride would stand in the way of peace, testing my loyalties.
Ryker’s jaw ticked, as if he was swallowing his words. But when his eyes floated back to me, some of the tension in his jaw eased. I gave him a small smile, even as the silence pressed around us.
Grandpa Constantine’s mausoleum probably felt more lively right now.
I felt foolish for believing they could get along and I could bridge my two worlds together.
After all, the first time I’d met Ryker, I’d pointed my arrow at his head. The second time, I tried to attack him with a broken bottle.
By those standards, Dax’s barbed remarks made him the perfect guest.
The hostility radiating off him competed with the heated glances Ryker and I stole every other moment. His gaze sipped each one of my gestures. His eyes lingered on my neck like a promise, before he shook his head and the sharpness returned to his face. “How long will this visit be, exactly?”
Dax mock-gasped. “Already keen to get rid of me? That’s not very future-cousin-in-law of you.”
“No,” Ryker said evenly. “If I know how long you’re staying, then I can guess what your plan is, since I don’t think you’ll be all that forthcoming.”
Dax put his knife and fork down. Slowly. Menacingly. “What do you think I’m here to do?”
Ryker shrugged, completely unbothered by my cousin’s withering stare. “The last time a Protectorate member stomped on the outskirts of my land, I found him strangling my future wife. You tell me.”
I didn’t even have time to indulge in that lone word–wife–before Dax hissed, “Don’t compare me to that traitor.”
“I’m not, simply stating facts,” Ryker said, sounding infuriatingly calm. But I could sense the turmoil brewing inside of him, threatening to spill.
“Dax came here to help me.” I gave each of them a pointed look, resisting the urge to slam my fist against the table–or slam their big, obstinate heads against it instead. “He got the information I needed from the vaults.”
“Did he now?” Ryker grabbed his brandy, leaned back in his chair, and took a sip, watching me over the rim of the glass.
That look would have sent an even greater jolt of heat through me if he hadn’t been pissing me off.
Dax was being a prick, but Ryker was baiting him, and not just for information.
“Good to know you’re capable of being useful. ”
My groan got lost in the scrape of Dax’s chair as he leaned his elbows on the table, shoulders tensing dangerously.
He smiled with too many teeth. “You have no idea what I can do.”
“I know you infiltrated my crater without anyone knowing.” Ryker glanced my way. “Allie never mentioned anything about your visit.”
There was an unmistakable undercurrent of accusation lingering in the air that chilled any and all warmth I’d been feeling.
After his land had been attacked and Orion had tried to kill me, I understood the suspicion.
But not directed at me.
“Because I didn’t know he was coming until he flung a dagger at the troll,” I said tersely, locking eyes with him.
Ryker’s eyes sparked, but I didn’t know what in Xamor’s name that meant right now.
“I always did know how to make an entrance,” Dax said.
“And just how did you do it?” Ryker asked coldly.
Dax hesitated, the veins in his neck standing out. Miracle of all miracles, he closed his mouth and looked at me. Giving me the option of telling the truth or colluding with him to create a lie out of thin air.
I instantly knew what path I wanted to take.
I sighed and threw my napkin onto the table, frustration crawling up my throat. This meal had been a disaster anyway. “You won’t believe us unless we show you.”