Chapter 15
M y cousin might have been cursing this situation earlier, but it was nothing compared to how I felt when I realized I would have to share a room with Princess Pain-in-the-Arse, and put up with her subsequent fit when she finally realized it as well. I didn’t like people in my space, let alone my enemies in the room where I was sleeping, tiny and impotent as they may be.
On the other hand, I was well accustomed to sleeping with one eye open, and I couldn’t very well leave the princess of Lochlann vulnerable to storms-knew-what at a random inn. Or leave the other men vulnerable to her, for that matter.
So I put on my very best nonchalant face, stalling by ordering that food be sent to her and then grabbing my own bowl to bolster me for her inevitable snark. She was remarkably irritating for such a tiny little thing.
I opened the door, easing in with my bowl in one hand…and stopped dead in my tracks, utterly unprepared for the sight of her in the most ridiculous piece of clothing I’d ever seen. It was pale lavender, pulling the blue circles under her eyes into prominence while the rest of her looked positively ghastly. The garment itself appeared to have been fished out straight from the closet of Lady Inessa’s great grandmother.
That was the South for you, though.
Rowan must have misinterpreted my scrutiny, though, since the fury on her face turned to something closer to outrage.
“And here I thought touching me was the furthest thing from your mind,” she accused, parroting my words from the Summit back at me.
For the love of every storm in this kingdom. That certainly answered the question of what she had heard about me. I told myself I wasn’t disappointed.
Still, I wondered what she would think if she knew how many men I had personally put to death for that very thing.
How they were some of the few deaths I had enjoyed.
That there were lines even I wouldn’t cross.
I lifted my hand to massage away the headache that seemed to spontaneously form every time I was in her presence.
“I’m not here for…that,” I assured her. “Storms, even I’m not that much of a monster.”
“Says the man who stole me and called me his pet .”If anything, she managed to look even more offended, making me realize she hadn’t looked remotely afraid to begin with.
Of course she hadn’t. Why be afraid when you can be righteously indignant?
“Rightfully claimed, you mean,” I reminded her. “And you and I have wildly different ideas of the word pet.”
“Then why are you sharing my room?”
Leave it to her to feel ownership over the room at the inn in my kingdom that I secured with my funds.
“Technically, you’re sharing my room, but I wasn’t going to accuse you of ill intentions.”
She gave me a look that reminded me of my cat when the maids trapped him in my bathroom, and I contemplated how unpleasant she could make the rest of the night for me when all I wanted to do was sleep.
“There are two beds here, for storms’ sake,” I relented. “Everyone is sharing, and it isn’t like anyone else was volunteering to room with the Lochlannian.”
“So it wasn’t enough for you, ruining my life and future, now you’re going to destroy my…reputation?”
If I were a person who snorted, I would have done it now. Instead, I raised an eyebrow, daring her to pretend she was concerned with her reputation after the antics I had heard about. Storms knew what she had been up to in her own kingdom before that.
“From what I hear, you did that pretty well on your own, Lemmikki.”
She reared back like she was insulted, a calculated move that she paired with widened eyes and parted lips. There were no words, truly.
“The guard you were found in the tunnel with—” I reminded her.
“That was different. Davin is…a eunuch. All of the Lochlann…royal…princess guards are, for…obvious reasons.”
That…had to be a lie, but I couldn’t quite figure out why she would bother. Only for her pride? The name Davin niggled at something in my memory, so I filed away her reaction to ponder later, returning to the matter at hand.
“I believe there was also the business with the ‘stableboy’?” The spy would have been trained to find the easiest target.
Was this princess the most approachable in Lochlann, or simply the one who spent the most time in the stables? The one with the biggest mouth?
Likely that last one.
Socairans dealt in information as much as we did jewels. Hell, that was part of why I was bothering to talk to her now, when she revealed so much more than she realized.
The other part didn’t bear thinking about, the curiosity that stemmed from a place I had long believed dead. The amusement at watching her flounder for lies and half truths that made even less sense than she did.
“Well…that was…also different,” she insisted. “Because we had a deep connection…in our souls.”
Sure they did.
“Ah.” I nodded in false acceptance. “Indeed. But then, of course, there was Lord Theodore in the smuggler’s hole. Honestly, I couldn’t be less concerned with your prior escapades, Lemmikki, but as you raised the issue of your reputation, I feel compelled to ask, was that also ‘different’?”
It was jarring to realize that I could, in fact, be concerned with her escapades—and what was more, that I apparently was. I knew she wasn’t really mine, not in any way that truly mattered, and that I would give her back the moment I had the chance, if only to spare my people a war, but the idea of Korhonan touching her was still distinctly…bothersome.
Rowan raised her chin, squaring her shoulders to lie some more. “Obviously. Theo and I were…practically married.”
Funny enough, that wasn’t how I remembered her blatant horror at the idea of marrying him. A disbelieving laugh escaped my lips before I could rein it in.
“Of course. So practically married that you waited until death was the only other option to agree to it.”
Something darker flitted through her expression, and she swallowed before shooting a feral grin my way. “I’m sure your sparkling personality makes you an expert in interpersonal relationships, but you really don’t know the first thing about mine.”
That was rich, coming from someone who fell victim to a spy who wasn’t even from her own kingdom.
“But your ninety-second engagement gives you a wealth of insight? You know, I think I’ll forgo taking criticism from someone who has managed to become a captive two times over in as many weeks.”
She let out a furious little huff, her cheeks reddening and her lips parting in rage, which was altogether preferable to the brief moment of sadness she had displayed before. I wasn’t sure what to do with that.
“You know, I think I’ll forgo defending myself to a man who took me as his slave ,” she spat.
That was rich, considering, if anything, I was acting as her slave, transporting her around and securing her lodgings.
“I may not have the moral high ground in many situations,” she added. “But I’m fairly certain I have it here.”
Any amusement I felt dissipated with the reminder of who we both were, and the very different lives we had led.
She really had no idea. Unless she had been spending her spare time debating the relative merits of mercy killing the villagers before burning their homes to the ground, her morality was far superior to mine. There was a reason she lacked the capacity to comprehend the reality of the situation she had landed herself in, a lifetime full of privilege and easy choices that did not lend itself to the nuances of Socairan society, let alone the perilous edge we would find ourselves in once we reached Bear Estate.
Tired of arguing with her, I put on my most bored expression.
“Oh, no doubt, Princess, but the rooming situation stays. Worry not, you can comfort yourself with the knowledge that this is also different , because you’re my pet and I’m your owner.”
Better that she understand the roles we had to play now than botch it all when my father was in the picture.