Chapter 5
I leaned back on the bench, allowing the steam of the sauna to waft over me in waves. Either the other clans were uninterested in visiting the sauna tents this evening, or the amount of black Bear uniforms hanging neatly outside the entrance was enough to make them change their minds.
Either way, I didn’t care, as long as they stayed away.
It was a relief to have a moment without pretense, where I could hide away in the steam and let the thick, dense air drown out the weight of the day and the expectations it came with.
The frustration concentrated primarily on Iiro and the tiny, annoying complication he carted along to this Summit.
Kirill let out a low whistle next to me, shaking his head as he processed everything I told him of the quagmire that was this entire day.
“So you still think she’s a part of whatever he’s planning?”
“She’s definitely a part of it,” I muttered. “I just haven’t worked out whether she’s a pawn or a willing participant.”
Though I was leaning toward the former. Still, I had to wonder what he wanted with her. Normally, I would assume he wanted to maneuver an alliance, but if that were the case, why put her fate in the hands of the Summit?
And for that matter, she was clearly besotted with Korhonan, though storms only knew why. He could have proposed a marriage and avoided this entire ordeal. Ordinarily, I would have cited Korhonan’s reluctance to be party to such a plan, but he clearly had no qualms about extending a special brand of hospitality to his new captive princess.
But instead of a marriage, Iiro had brought her here.
Then he had left her guard at Elk Estate… Was the guard in on it, then? How else had she accidentally wound up here? Did the tunnel even truly collapse?
None of it made sense, and I hated the feeling that I was missing something crucial.
The canvas moved near the tent's entrance and steam rushed out as Dmitriy and Igor entered, brandishing mugs of ice-cold ale. They passed them out among the men.
Cool condensation coated the glass, a nice contrast to the heat in the tent. I took a long sip, my mind spinning in circles as I drank.
“You aren’t usually so worked up,” Kirill said quietly.
He drained the few remaining dregs of ale from his mug before looking in my direction. An arched eyebrow creased his forehead and there was a hint of mischief in his tone.
I tensed at the unspoken accusation, that she was the one working me up.
“Well,” I said, fixing him with a glare. “Iiro is here.”
Seeing either of the Korhonans was enough to bring me back in time several years.
I heard the crack of a whip, saw Mairi’s cruel face smirking under her severe bun.
Have you been telling lies, Evander? Did you think that boy was truly your friend?
I had thought that. I had never trusted Iiro though. When I decided on a plan to have my father discover Mairi’s cruelty, I had only told one person, and he had promised not to tell his brother. He had known what that might mean for me.
Crack.
I’m his wife. Surely you didn’t think he could love you more than me.
Crack.
Your father isn’t coming for you, but if you’re so desperate for punishment…
Crack.
Blood pooled on the dark wooden floor, cooling against my skin just as consciousness faded out.
I might stop if you beg.
And after, the only other time I had seen Theodore, I was still moving stiffly from barely healed scars, trying to pretend I wasn’t, when he looked at me with the widened eyes of someone taking no responsibility for the damage they had caused.
Iiro would never have told her. He is my brother and my duke. I had to tell him when he asked what we were talking about.
Iiro had pursed his lips in a resigned sort of way when he saw me, his eyes going to my back like he knew exactly what I was trying to hide. At least he had shown his hand.
That was when I realized he saw me as a threat.
So yes, his presence got under my skin, as much as I would love to pretend otherwise. But Kirill wasn’t wrong with his implication either, that Iiro certainly wasn’t the only reason for my elevated frustration.
Kirill opened his mouth like he might comment further, but clamped his mouth shut instead. In the past, he wouldn’t have hesitated, but I didn’t have that kind of relationship with him anymore. With anyone, really.
Instead, he rested his mug on the bench with a thunk.
“We have been in here for too long, let’s cool down in the river.”
I couldn’t argue that when sweat was pouring down my chest and back, so I stood to follow him. The tent door was barely open when I began regretting that decision as quickly as I made it.
There, right next to the riverbed, shining as brightly as the full moon, was the perfectly round, pale white arse of a Lochlannian princess.
Storms, there really was no escaping her.